Aryeh Lev Stollman

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Aryeh Lev Stollman
Born1954 (age 69–70)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
OccupationNovelist, Librettist, Neuroradiologist
NationalityCanadian-American
Period1990s–present
Notable worksThe Far Euphrates, The Illuminated Soul, Awakenings (libretto), Lili Elbe (libretto)
Spouse Tobias Picker
Website
www.aryehlevstollman.com

Aryeh Lev Stollman (born 1954) is a writer and physician based in the United States. [1] A neuroradiologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, [1] he has also published several works of fiction. [2]

Contents

Early life

Born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Windsor, Ontario, where his father was an Orthodox rabbi [1] and professor and chairman of the English Department at the University of Windsor, [3] Stollman studied at Yeshiva University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. [1]

Works

He published his first novel, The Far Euphrates (Riverhead), in 1997. The book won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction at the 10th Lambda Literary Awards, as well as being named to year-end notable books lists by the American Library Association, the Los Angeles Times and the National Book Critics Circle. The Far Euphrates has been translated into German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and Hebrew. In the New York Times Book Review, Margot Livesey called The Far Euphrates "radiant . . . remarkable both for Stollman's eloquently understated prose and for the ease with which he constructs his artful plot . . . At the heart of The Far Euphrates lie the vexed questions raised by the Holocaust and its legacy: how we must try to solve for ourselves the riddle of God's existence and cultivate a sense of mercy in an unforgiving age." [4]

His second novel, The Illuminated Soul (Riverhead), was published in 2002 and won the Harold U. Ribalow Prize for Jewish literature from Hadassah Magazine, and his short story collection The Dialogues of Time and Entropy (Riverhead) was published in 2003.

His story "Lotte Returns!" was commissioned and broadcast by National Public Radio in 2008. [5]

His third novel, Queen of Jerusalem, was published in 2020 by Aryeh Nir/Modan in Hebrew translation. [6]

Stollman wrote the libretto for Tobias Picker's Awakenings , based on Oliver Sacks' 1973 chronicle of his efforts to help the victims of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic, [7] which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, conducted by Roberto Kalb and directed by James Robinson. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The East Coast premiere of Awakenings was performed by Odyssey Opera in partnership with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, conducted by Gil Rose and directed by James Robinson, on February 25, 2023 at the newly renovated Huntington Theater. [13] [14]

He has also written the libretto for Lili Elbe, an opera composed by Tobias Picker, commissioned by Theater St. Gallen, which will premiere October 22, 2023 in Saint Gallen starring Heldenbaritonistin Lucia Lucas. [15] [16] [17]

Private life

He is the husband of composer Tobias Picker. [1] [18]

Works

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Lili Elbe is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker, with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, starring Lucia Lucas as Lili Elbe. Based on the life of Lili Elbe and the book Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex, the opera premiered on 22 October 2023, and received "Best World Premiere" in the 2023 Oper! Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Homes you can't go back to". Haaretz , September 5, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Neuroradiologist Aryeh Lev Stollman on creativity and the brain". Studio 360 , November 23, 2002.
  3. ↑ "Aryeh Lev Stollman" Archived 2013-11-13 at the Wayback Machine . Bomb , Summer 2003.
  4. ↑ Livesey, Margot (21 September 1997). "In a World of Secrets". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Hanukkah Lights 2008". NPR.org.
  6. ↑ ""Queen of Jerusalem" by Arie Lev Stollman— Wife and Mother of a King". Reviews by Amos Lassen. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. ↑ MacCarthy, Fiona (5 December 1985), "Travels round a couch", The Times
  8. ↑ Fenske, Sarah. "Awakenings Opera Premiering In St. Louis Came From Couple's Mutual Inspiration". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. ↑ Cohn, Fred. "Re-Awakenings". Opera News . Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ Barone, Joshua (May 25, 2022). "An Oliver Sacks Book Becomes an Opera, With Help From Friends". The New York Times . Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  11. ↑ Brook, Tom. "Awakenings opera opens three decades after Hollywood movie". BBC . Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  12. ↑ Waleson, Heidi. "'Awakenings', 'Harvey Milk' and 'Carmen' Review: Two Poignant Premieres and an Old Favorite". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  13. ↑ Orbey, Eren (February 20, 2023). "Oliver Sacks Gets An Opera". The New Yorker . Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ Madonna, A.Z. (February 27, 2023). "'Awakenings' is the stuff of dreams". The Boston Globe . Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Lili Elbe". tobiaspicker.com. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  16. ↑ Charles Shafaieh. "Living Authentically". Opera News . Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  17. ↑ Moritz Weber (2 February 2023). "Der Opernbetrieb tut sich immer noch schwer mit Transmenschen". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen .
  18. ↑ "Slipped Disc - US composer is married by Supreme Court Justice". slippedisc.com. 20 April 2016.
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