Friday, February 10, 2012

Another Freshly Brewed, with History

An upcoming ALT event, this one on Sunday, Feb 26, 2012 at Opera America, with composer Anthony Davis. Since I'm feeling blog-lazy today in the midst of all my other projects, I'm simply copying and pasting parts of the press release! I'm a lazy lazy man. Ah, screw it, I have to finish this libretto and my taxes.

"American Lyric Theater (ALT) is pleased to announce that composer Anthony Davis will host the next event in the company's FRESHLY BREWED concert and master class series on Sunday, February 26th, 2012, at 1:00 PM.

The FRESHLY BREWED series was designed to give the public a chance to see inside the Composer Librettist Development Program studio. ALT's flagship program, the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) is the only full time mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the United States. Anthony Davis, internationally acclaimed composer of the operas X, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X, TANIA, AMISTAD, and WAKONDA'S DREAM, is a guest faculty member and artist mentor for the CLDP.

Davis is known around the globe for his exciting works that draw from the lives of historical figures. This month's FRESHLY BREWED event will be the culmination of his winter residency at ALT, during which composers and librettists in the CLDP have been exploring the challenges of dramatizing history for the opera stage. Guest singers from the country's leading opera houses join us for a program of newly written scenes based on real-life figures, including Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense during Vietnam under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; Henry Morton Stanley, the famous British explorer of Africa; (HEY THERE EVERYONE THIS ONE IS MINE, LOVE DAVID) Helen Suzman, the lone woman in South Africa’s parliament for 36 years, and a tireless dissenter against apartheid; and Salvador Allende, President of Chile from 1970-1973, and the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America.

American Lyric Theater Resident Artists to be featured include composers Alla Borzova, Jeremy Beck, Theo Popov, Jorge Sosa, and Jeffrey Smith; and librettists Magda Bogin, Kate Light, Stephanie Fleischmann, David Johnston, and Laura Sosa."

"Tickets, which include a light brunch, are available for $20 through Smarttix. Advance purchase is required. Due to limited seating capacity at OPERA America, tickets are strictly limited and will not be sold on the day of the event. OPERA America is located at 330 Seventh Avenue (between 28th and 29th)."

Thursday, February 9, 2012

A Quote of the Day from Joseph Mitchell

Somebody runs a Joseph Mitchell Facebook page, and periodically posts one of his wonderful, understated, pitch-perfect quotes.

“I believe the most interesting human beings, so far as talk is concerned, are anthropologists, farmers, prostitutes, psychiatrists, and an occasional bartender. The best talk is artless, the talk of people trying to reassure or comfort themselves, women in the sun, grouped around baby carriages, talking about their weeks in the hospital or the way meat has gone up, or men in the saloons, talking to combat the loneliness everyone feels.” From his collection of short pieces, My Ears Are Bent