OPERAS

She Stoops to Conquer, one-act chamber opera adapted from the comedy by Oliver Goldsmith.  53 min.  Libretto by Andrew Joffe.  Commissioned by the American Chamber Opera Company, New York, NY; with funding from the Indiana Arts Commission, the Stickley Foundation, and the American Music Center.  Excerpts presented by Sonja Mihelcic, mezzo; Dustin Dougan, baritone; Paulo de Andrade, piano; Michiana Composers Concert, Indiana University South Bend Auditorium, IN, 3/20/01; premiered by the American Chamber Opera Company, June 10, 11, 14 & 15, 1999, St. Clement’s Church, 423 West 46th Street, New York, NY.  Andrew Joffe, stage director; Douglas Anderson, conductor; Kate Hardcastle, Lynn Norris, soprano; Constance Neville, Pamelia Phillips, mezzo; Mrs. Hardcastle, Daniel Rawe, countertenor; Young Marlow, Mark Victor Smith, tenor; Tony Lumpkin, Mark Heimbigner, baritone; Mr. Hardcastle, Mark Sullivan, bass-baritone.  Drafts of Scenes 1-3 presented at the Crossroads of Traditions:  The Second InterAmerican Composition Workshop, convened by the Latin American Music Center, Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, IN, 7/13/96.

Goddess Songs, chamber opera for SSA chorus, flute, oboe, bassoon, piano, percussion, and dancers. 1 hour.  Premiered by Opera Millennium and The Southern Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, 7/25-28/96.  Text by composer adapted from Greek goddess myths.  Angela Malek, artistic director; Kim Dienhelt, conductor; Linda Shapiro, movement director.  Funded by The McKnight Foundation, Arts Midwest-Meet The Composer, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Jerome Foundation, St. Paul, MN.

The Scarlet Letter, an opera in 2 acts, libretto by the composer.  2 hours.  Scenes in concert version presented at Words and Music:  The First InterAmerican Composition Workshop convened by Carmen Tellez, Director, Latin American Music Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 7/9/94 & 7/15/94.  A concert presentation of entire piano-vocal work premiered at the Creative Arts Auditorium, Bloomington, IN, 3/29/93.  Hester Prynne, Emily Howard, soprano; Pearl, Angela Malek, soprano; Arthur Dimmesdale, Fred Kilgallin, tenor; Roger Chillingworth, Curtis Cook, bass; Dan Michalek, piano.

Brenda, monodrama/song cycle for soprano, violin, and piano.  37 min.  Text arranged by composer based on prose by Brenda Ueland.  Commissioned by the Schubert Club, St. Paul, MN.  Excerpts premiered at St. Benedict’s College, Collegeville, MN, 9/30/86.  Entire composition broadcast on KFAI, Minneapolis, MN, 3/8/87; WCBN, Ann Arbor, MI, 10/25/87; and WCVT, Baltimore, MD, 2/2/89.  Excerpts performed on the American Women Composers-Midwest 1987-88 concert series, Chicago, IL, 5/13/88.

Dance of Death, chamber opera in 2 acts.  48 min.  Libretto by Dan Pinkerton, adapted from the play by August Strindberg.  Premiered by the Skylight Comic Opera Theatre, Milwaukee, WI, 2/2&3/85.  Soprano, mezzo, tenor, bass, mime role, 2 french horns, percussion, piano, and string quartet.  Commissioned by the 1983 Minnesota Composers Forum Commissioning Program and the Jerome Foundation.