Synopsis
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2024) |
| Castor and Patience | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Gregory Spears | |
| Librettist | Tracy K. Smith |
| Language | English |
| Premiere | |
Castor and Patience is an opera composed by Gregory Spears to a libretto by Tracy K. Smith, commissioned by Cincinnati Opera for its 100th anniversary season and received its world premiere there in July 2022. [1] [2] The opera was developed by Opera Fusion: New Works, a collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music which focuses on the creation of new American operas. The world premiere production was directed by Kevin Newbury and conducted by Kazem Abdullah.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, July 21, 2022 [3] Conductor: Kazem Abdullah |
|---|---|---|
| Patience | soprano | Talise Trevigne |
| Castor | baritone | Reginald Smith Jr. |
| Celeste | mezzo-soprano | Jennifer Johnson Cano |
| Wilhelmina | soprano | Victoria Okafor |
| West | baritone | Benjamin Taylor |
| Judah | tenor | Frederick Ballentine |
| Ruthie | soprano | Raven McMillon |
| Clarissa/Ensemble | soprano | Amber Monroe |
| Jane/Ensemble | mezzo-soprano | Zoie Reams |
| Nestor/Ensemble | tenor | Victor Ryan Robertson |
| Cato/Ensemble | baritone | Phillip Bullock |
| Second Man/Ensemble | bass-baritone | Earl Hazell |
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2024) |
Castor and Patience was named one of the Best Classical Music Performances of 2022 by The New York Times [4] and was on the shortlist for the Best World Premiere in the International Opera Awards in 2022. [5]
In his review for The New York Times, Zachary Woolfe named the performance a "Critic's Pick" and described the work as "passionate, but also clear, focused and humble" and praised the music as "so fervent, the melodies so sweet, that you can find yourself moved nearly to tears by more or less random lines." [6]
Kathleen Deanna Battle is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid-1970s. She made her opera debut in 1975. Battle expanded her repertoire into lyric soprano and coloratura soprano roles during the 1980s and early 1990s, until her eventual dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. She later has focused on recording and the concert stage. After a 22-year absence from the Met, Battle performed a concert of spirituals at the Metropolitan Opera House in November 2016, and again in May 2024.
Jake Heggie is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers.
Anthony Carl Tommasini is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief classical music critic for The New York Times from 2000 to 2021. Also a pianist, he has released two CDS and two books on the music of his colleague and mentor, the composer and critic Virgil Thomson.
Alex Ross is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Ross has been a staff member of The New Yorker magazine since 1996. His extensive writings include performance and record reviews, industry updates, cultural commentary, and historical narratives in the realm of classical music. He has written three well-received books: The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (2007), Listen to This (2011), and Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music (2020).
Peter Gelb is an American arts administrator. Since August 2006, he has been General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Isabel Leonard is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer based in New York City. She is of Argentine ancestry on her mother's side.
X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X is an opera with music by Anthony Davis and libretto by Thulani Davis, to a story by Christopher Davis. It is based on the life of the civil rights leader Malcolm X.
David T. Little is a Grammy-nominated American composer, record producer, and drummer known for his operatic, orchestral, and chamber works, most notably his operas JFK,Soldier Songs, and Dog Days which was named a standout opera of recent decades by The New York Times. He is the artistic director of Newspeak, an eight-piece amplified ensemble that explores the boundaries between rock and classical music, and is the Chair of the composition faculty at Mannes School of Music.
Missy Mazzoli is an American composer and pianist who is a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes College of Music. In 2018, she became one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan Opera House. She is the founder and keyboardist for Victoire, an electro-acoustic band. From 2012-2015 she was composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia, in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theater Group. Her music is published by G. Schirmer. Mazzoli received a 2015 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award, a Fulbright Grant to the Netherlands, and in 2018 was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Classical Composition. In 2018, Mazzoli was named for a two-season term as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mazzoli was named the Bragg Artist-in-Residence at Mount Allison University beginning in 2022.
Gregory Spears is an American composer of instrumental and operatic works that blend aspects of romanticism, minimalism, and early music. Among his best known works are the operas Fellow Travelers and Paul's Case, as well as his Requiem.
Karawane is a composition for chorus and orchestra by the Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The work was jointly commissioned by the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic with support from the philanthropist Marie-Josée Kravis, the Bamberg Symphony, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. It was first performed by the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and the Zürcher Sing-Akademie conducted by Lionel Bringuier in the Tonhalle, Zürich, on September 10, 2014. The piece is set to the eponymous poem by the German author and Dadaist Hugo Ball.
Breaking the Waves is an opera in three acts by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. It is based on the 1996 film of the same name by Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The opera was first performed on September 22, 2016, by Opera Philadelphia.
The Source is an oratorio by American composer Ted Hearne, with libretto by Mark Doten. The work concerns the WikiLeaks disclosures of United States Army soldier Chelsea Manning.
Talise Trevigne is an American operatic soprano.
Hamlet is an opera in two acts by Australian composer Brett Dean, with an English libretto by Matthew Jocelyn, which is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. The libretto uses "as little as 20 per cent" of the play's text and also takes inspiration from the "first quarto" as it "offers a different view on certain moments".
Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey is a Hawaiian baritone, who is particularly noted for his performances in operas by Verdi. He has been featured in leading roles by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, as well as other major opera companies in America and Europe.
Prototype Festival is an annual, weeklong contemporary opera and musical theater festival held in New York City.
Eurydice is an opera composed by Matthew Aucoin with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl based on her 2003 play of the same name, a retelling of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. It had its premiere at the Los Angeles Opera on February 1, 2020, with Aucoin conducting. It had its Metropolitan Opera premiere on November 23, 2021.
Vladyslav Buialskyi is a Ukrainian bass-baritone. Since 2020, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera as a member of its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Zachary Woolfe is an American music critic who specializes in classical music. Since 2022 he has been chief classical music critic for The New York Times.
 | This article about an opera or opera-related subject is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
