UP NEXT AT ALT…
On Friday, April 12th at 7:30pm, ALT presents the next event in our InsightALT series - an orchestral reading of WORKING FOR THE MACBETHS by composer Johanny Navarro and librettist Marcus Yi. Shakespeare meets Monty Python in WORKING FOR THE MACBETHS, a riotous look behind the tragedy we think we all know. After three witches prophesize the downfall of Macbeth, Florinda - Lady Macbeth’s Lady-in-Waiting - is determined to fight fate and give the Macbeths the happy ending they deserve. Can destiny be changed, or is the play doomed to repeat itself?
FEATURING: Anna Laurenzo, Meghan Kasanders, Ethan Vincent, Jennifer Zetlan, Dane Suarez, Karen Vuong, Kimberly Sogioka, and Wayne Tigges; with the American Lyric Theater Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Kelly Kuo.
WHERE: The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 West 37th Street.
WHEN: Friday April 12th @ 7:30pm
HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
NEWSFLASH! Congratulations to Justine F. Chen and David Simpatico - THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING, presented by our partners at Chicago Opera Theater, has been named the best world premiere of 2023 by the Chicago Tribune! "Fantastical, evocative and nuanced, this operatic account of the persecuted British polymath was a feat of stage synchronicity from composer Justine F. Chen, librettist David Simpatico and scenic designer Benjamin Olsen. Companies everywhere should clamor to produce it." For interested companies and schools, the world premiere production is available from COT, and licensing is available from ALT!
NEWSFLASH! Our partners at Opera Modesto have a huge hit on their hands! Evan Meier and E.M. Lewis’s SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE FALLEN GIANT received its world premiere in January in an enchanting production for audiences of all ages. Following their performances of the complete opera, an abridged touring version will be performed by the company at over 20 different schools and public venues across the region. For interested companies and schools, licensing for future performances is available from ALT!
NEWSFLASH! The entire American Lyric Theater family congratulates Lila Palmer on her appointment as General and Artistic Director of New Orleans Opera! Lila is not only an alumna of the CLDP and a remarkable librettist (don't miss the world premiere of her new opera, AMERICAN APOLLO, with composer Damien Geter this summer at Des Moines Metro Opera), but her innovative work at ALT as a member of our senior management team has helped to shape many of our current and future initiatives. We look forward to seeing how Lila's creativity helps to shape the future of New Orleans Opera!
The Composer Librettist Development Program
Founded in 2007 the CLDP is the only full-time professional mentorship initiative for operatic writers in the country. The CLDP is a tuition-free program that includes a core curriculum of classroom training and hands-on workshops with some of the country’s leading working artists. Applications for the 2024-25 CLDP are now open for composers, librettists and dramaturgs! The application deadline is April 29, 2024.
“the essential contemporary opera lab.”
—The New Yorker
THE ARIA ACCESS PROJECT
The Aria Access Project (AAP) is a new resource for educators and singers that provides free access to arias by contemporary American composers and librettists for educational an audition use. This online hub includes arias from works that have recently received their premieres, as well as from operas for which the premieres are forthcoming.
CLDP Opera Writers Symposium
HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED TELLING YOUR STORIES THROUGH OPERA?
In 2021, ALT presented the first-ever virtual CLDP Opera Writers Symposium! We invited composers, playwrights, lyricists, poets, and all artists with stories to tell to experience a taste of ALT's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) through a series of free mini-seminars and workshops including Dramatizing History and Opera as Activism and A Legal Primer for Composers and Librettists. Whether you’re a writer or an opera lover, you can now enjoy the symposium sessions on your own schedule!
ALT’s Commitment to Action
RACIAL
JUSTICE
Opera is the ultimate storytelling form, and who tells what stories matters. In 2020, American Lyric Theater adopted The Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative, a strategic framework that has evolved into a series of tangible actions to address racial justice and equity in American Lyric Theater’s contributions to the opera field.
Featured Artist
Johanny Navarro Composer
Johanny Navarro's unique musical identity is deeply rooted in the rich traditions of Afro-Caribbean aesthetics, particularly from the vibrant tapestry of Puerto Rican musical culture. Her opera, ¿Y los Pasteles?, which she received the 2020 OPERA America Discovery Grant for Female Composers, premiered to critical acclaim, July 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her current project with ALT, WORKING FOR THE MACBETHS, will receive an orchestral workshop in April 2024.
Featured Opera
La Reina
Jorge Sosa, Music & Text
Laura Sosa Pedroza, Text
A “Queenpin” in the drug trade prays to the patron saint of drug dealers (La Santa Muerte) from her prison, and is taken on the journey of a lifetime.
Operas for Production
ALT currently has over 20 operas available to license, created by alumni of the Composer Librettist Development Program. Looking for a one-act chamber opera? A full-length, family-friendly work? An opera for your school touring program? A large-scale work for professional or academic production? Find the exact opera to suit your needs.