2021
January 15, 2021 — BroadwayWorld
WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2020 BROADWAYWORLD OPERA AWARDS!
American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program Wins Best Opera Education Program. READ MORE
2020
September 14, 2020 — Words First: Talking Text in Opera
WORDS FIRST: TALKING TEXT IN OPERA
Words First: Talking Text in Opera - Host Keturah Stickann sits down with Lawrence Edelson, founder of American Lyric Theater, and Artistic Director of Opera Saratoga. They discuss the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), what makes a good librettist, the art of dramaturgy, and creating new opera in America. READ MORE
September 1, 2020 — BroadwayWorld
OPERA AMERICA AWARDS $980,000 IN INNOVATION GRANTS TO 13 MEMBER COMPANIES
OPERA America has announced the 13 Professional Company Members receiving a total of $980,000 as part of the fourth cycle of the Innovation Grants program. These grants enable organizations of all sizes to increase their commitment to experimentation and innovation, as well as contribute to field-wide learning. The grants are generously funded by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. READ MORE
April 29, 2020 — BroadwayWorld
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER HOSTS A FREE LIBRETTO READING ONLINE THIS SUNDAY
The themes of THE SELFISH GIANT are so important today, including what it means to be other/excluded, and gaining an awareness of others' realities; the responsibility we have to share our resources; and how the walls we build to protect ourselves out of fear actually divide us further. Through a beloved fairy tale, young audiences (and those who are young at heart!) will be taken on a magical journey about the power that kindness has to transform, and that empathy has to bridge the gap between who we appear to be and who we truly are. READ MORE
February 26, 2020 — Seen and Heard International
AN OPERATIC TAKE ON THE HALLOWEEN TREE DELIGHTS AT INSIGHTALT 2020
Lawrence Edelson, the founder of the American Lyric Theater, is right: we need some fresh, exciting, family-friendly operas. Just how many dumbed-down, truncated productions of the classics with colorful costumes and visual tricks can children and their parents bear? (My words, not his.) The Halloween Tree may be a magic bullet – it certainly delighted the child in this baby boomer. READ MORE
February 20, 2020 — WWFM The Classical Network
A TEMPO: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER OFFERS 'INSIGHT' INTO NEW OPERAS
American Lyric Theater, whose Composer Librettist Development Program provides training and mentoring for composers and librettists, this weekend is giving the public a look at three of its new works in development at its annual InsightALT Festival. A Tempo host Rachel Katz speaks with ALT founder Larry Edelson about ALT, its mission and the festival's readings, and librettist E.M. (Ellen) Lewis, who worked with composer Evan Meier on "Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant", one of the operas that will be featured in the festival. READ MORE
February 17, 2020 — The New Yorker
INSIGHTALT FESTIVAL
American Lyric Theatre, which provides resources, mentorship, and funding for the composition of new operas, presents concert readings of three works in progress. READ MORE
February 14, 2020 — parterre box
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE SLEUTH
Opera for families may not generally be my thing, but I loved feeling like I was a tiny part of shaping a new opera. READ MORE
February 6, 2020 — Observer
A NEW FESTIVAL, INSIGHTALT, IS HERE TO REVIVE CONTEMPORARY OPERA IN AMERICA
Sherlock Holmes, the lives inside a zoo, and teenagers on a Halloween night: none of these seem like expected topics for an opera, but then again American Lyric Theater (ALT) is not trying to confirm your expectations of this age-old art form. Instead, this necessary incubator, which launches its first festival this February, is ushering in the next generation of opera makers. READ MORE
January 1, 2020 — Opera America
THE RISE OF THE NEW
New work played at best a negligible role in the repertories of North American companies in 1970. An occasional new piece popped up, as if in response to criticism that companies had turned into museum-like repositories for the works of the past, causing the art form itself to atrophy. But these premieres seldom had an afterlife in revivals or new productions. As a whole, the industry gave every indication that its priorities lay elsewhere, and that American opera’s true business lay in the presentation of the inherited repertoire. Over the past half-century, the landscape for new work has changed so radically as to be unrecognizable. READ MORE
2019
August 15, 2019 — NewMusicBox
SHAPING THE AMERICAN OPERATIC CANON
The last decade has seen an explosion of new American opera. In 2010, productions of American operas written after 2000 represented 5% of total productions by Opera America Professional Company Members; by 2018, this number more than tripled to 18%, and is on track to rise. We are entering a time of opportunity to develop an American operatic canon and leave a musical legacy for future generations. But how do we discover and train the next generation of composers and librettists? How can we shape a legacy that represents the many voices within contemporary American society? READ MORE
Spring 2019 — Opera America
OUT OF THE CLOSET AND INTO THE LIMELIGHT
Lawrence Edelson, producing artistic director of American Lyric Theater, which workshopped The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, puts a similar stress on the need for universality in LGBTQ operas. “Successful LGBTQ operas have more than one point of intersection,” Edelson says. “Alan Turing was persecuted for being a gay man, but the story also appeals to computer scientists and mathematicians, and Turing’s role during World War II appeals to history buffs. Any good LGBTQ opera will reach a diverse audience.” READ MORE
February 21, 2019 — Chicago Reader
IN ONE BIG WEEKEND, CHICAGO OPERA THEATER SHOWS OFF AN OPERA IN PROGRESS AND A BRAND-NEW PRODUCTION
Last weekend was an auspicious one for Chicago Opera Theater. On Friday, at DePaul University’s handsome Gannon Concert Hall, COT presented The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, an opera in progress by composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico. This one-night concert performance was the culmination of a weeklong workshop… it was a revelatory evening, worthy of the man who invented the modern computer and facilitated the Allied victory in World War II by breaking the German military’s secret code—only to be prosecuted and chemically castrated by British authorities for homosexual activity, which was then illegal and heavily policed. READ MORE
February 16, 2019 — Picture this Post
CHICAGO OPERA THEATER PRESENTS THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING REVIEW—OPERA HISTORY SNEAK PEEK
Silence—feeling as long as five seconds—seemed to underline that we in the audience were now a part of opera history. This was the end of a performance in DePaul’s spanking new dark wood paneled Gannon Music Hall capping a weeklong workshop of The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing by composer Justine F. Chen and librettist David Simpatico. Though still a work-in-progress, there are already so many moments of transporting music in this work that one can’t imagine- or at least this reviewer can’t—that …Turing won’t some day be on the calendar of one of the world’s great opera houses, though likely transformed by this weeklong work shop process and the audience feedback session at its conclusion. READ MORE
2018
November 13, 2018 — BroadwayWorld
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF DRAMATURG APPRENTICES
Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today the selection of two Dramaturg Apprentices who will join the Composer Librettist Development Program at ALT as Resident Artists for the 2018-19 season: Hannah McDermott and Katherine Pitt. Dramaturg Apprentices will receive mentorship under the auspices of American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), the only full time multi-year professional training program for opera composers and librettists in the country. The Dramaturg Apprenticeship within the CLPD is led by Cori Ellison, a founding member of ALT's faculty and the nation's leading opera dramaturg. READ MORE
June 20, 2018 — BroadwayWorld
BWW SPEAKING OUT: CREATING A NEW AMERICAN OPERATIC CANON
Why do we need a program to train opera composers and librettists? Mozart and Da Ponte - together, creators of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, DON GIOVANNI and COSI FAN TUTTE - didn't go through training programs! I am often asked this question, and recently, I had the honor of discussing the importance of composer and librettist mentorship as a delegate at the first World Opera Forum in Madrid. READ MORE
May 16, 2018 — OperaWire
NEW YORK OPERA FEST 2018 PREVIEW: CHECK OUT NEW OPERATIC WRITERS & COMPOSERS AT AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER
Nurturing young operatic writers is not something many companies do. In fact, the American Lyric Theater is the only one who works full time to mentor such writers. And some of the recent efforts will be on display at this year’s New York Opera Fest. READ MORE
May 2, 2018 — Houstonia
HGOCO’S WORLD-PREMIERE MONKEY AND FRANCINE IN THE CITY OF TIGERS IS A CROSS-CULTURAL KIDS OPERA MADE FOR HOUSTON
MONKEY AND FRANCINE IN THE CITY OF TIGERS tells the story of a monkey prince and his brainy sister who outwit a hungry crocodile and escape from the opera’s eponymous city. It’s a children’s production that borrows from both Indian and Chinese mythology, and the music is a mashup of Bollywood, opera, and Ethiopian jazz. That kind of diversity and cultural blending is on display this week at Miller Outdoor Theatre, as Houston Grand Opera’s outreach arm, HGOco, presents the Monkey and Francine world premiere, with music by rising composer Kamala Sankaram and libretto by David Johnston. The singers hail from the company’s acclaimed Opera to Go ensemble, and Monkey and Francine is a co-commission with American Lyric Theater. READ MORE
April 20, 2018 — BroadwayWorld
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER PRESENTS INSIGHTALT: OPERA IN EDEN
American Lyric Theater concludes the 10th Anniversary of its nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program this season with InsightALT: Opera in Eden, a one-night-only concert featuring three new one-act operas written by ALT Resident Artists, hosted by composer/librettist Mark Adamo and producing artistic director Lawrence Edelson. READ MORE
Spring 2018 — The New Yorker
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATRE: “INSIGHTALT”
In celebration of the tenth anniversary of its Composer Librettist Development Program, the company presents “Opera in Eden,” featuring concert performances of three new one-act works by the program’s current resident artists. READ MORE
March 18, 2018 — PlayerFM
THE AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER AND “OPERA IN EDEN”
American Lyric Theater is the only company in the U.S. offering extensive, full-time mentorship for emerging operatic writers. Producing Artistic Director Larry Edelson previews The Living Libretto: Opera in Eden, a first look at three new one act operas, premiering at the National Opera Center. READ MORE
March 14, 2018 — BroadwayWorld
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER PRESENTS THE LIVING LIBRETTO: OPERA IN EDEN
The Living Libretto: Opera in Eden gives audiences a first glimpse at three new one-act operas being written by first year resident artists in American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). READ MORE
February 26, 2018 — Schmopera
”GREAT OPERAS DON’T JUST HAPPEN”
Lawrence Edelson founded American Lyric Theater in 2005 as a response to the dearth of opportunities for new opera to truly develop. In the thirteen years since, ALT has developed works like The Golden Ticket (2010), The Long Walk (2015), and most recently, JFK(2016). A key part of the workshopping of new projects is ALT’s Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), a mentorship and creation opportunity for the creators of opera. READ MORE
January 2018 — QOnStage
CROSS-DRESSERS, CHRISTMAS TREES, MONKEYS & TIGERS, OH MY! AT AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER
On January 14, at Merkin Concert Hall, alumni of the American Lyric Theater (ALT) Composer-Librettist Development Program presented an opera-in-concert triple bill of scenes from a work-in-process, selections from a new work already given its premiere, and a short new work about to make its debut. READ MORE
January 21, 2018 — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PITTSBURGH OPERA’S ‘THE LONG WALK’ IS A SMART, CHAOTIC, EXPLOSIVE SUCCESS
Pittsburgh Opera’s Saturday production of “The Long Walk” was a smart, compelling testament to the quality of the opera’s resident artist program. “The Long Walk” refers to a soldier’s walk towards a live explosion, as well as his psychological journey home after the war. The two-act opera is based on Iraq war veteran Brian Castner’s written account of his time in the military’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit and his tortured reintegration into civilian and family life. READ MORE
January 17, 2018 — TribLive
PITTSBURGH OPERA TACKLES WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH
Opera's potential to convey both emotion and more complex layers of experience was applied to the story of one American wounded warrior in the recent opera “The Long Walk,” which was first performed in July 2015 and is coming to Pittsburgh Opera starting this weekend. It is based on the autobiographical book “The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows” by Brian Castner, who was an officer in an explosive ordnance unit in Iraq. READ MORE
2017
October 25, 2017 — The State Press
ASU BRINGS HALLOWEEN SHOW TO THE STAGE
Just in time for Halloween, an ear-catching presentation of “The Halloween Tree” is centerstage at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center. “The Halloween Tree” is based on Ray Bradbury’s novella of the same name. The opera adaptation was commissioned by the American Lyric Theater (ALT) with librettist Tony Asaro and composer Theo Popov. “It’s quite a big process moving a children's novella on to the operatic stage,” Popov said. “We had to work out a lot of details … figure out the pacing, outline and characters.” READ MORE
August 21, 2017 — Broadway World
BWW CLASSICAL WORLD: SEVEN ARTISTS SELECTED FOR 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that three composers, three librettists, and one dramaturg have been selected as Resident Artists to participate in the tenth anniversary season of the company's nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). The artists selected for this prestigious residency and training program are composers Shuying Li, Andy Tierstein, and Liliya Ugay; librettists Lorene Cary, Julian Crouch, and Lila Palmer; and dramaturg Antigoni Gaitana. "We are thrilled to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our flagship program, the CLDP, with such an extraordinary group of artists," said Edelson. READ MORE
June 1, 2017 — Operawire
HIGH NOTES: PRIDE MONTH 2017: A LOOK AT THE LGBT OPERAS IN HISTORY
June marks the start of Pride Month, a month dedicated to commemorating the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride events occur to honor the achievements of LGBT individuals. This month OperaWire will also dedicate a section to honoring LGBT individuals, operas, and achievements. It is our goal to bring visibility to works that have long been neglected and that need to be brought to the forefront and which showcase underrepresented individuals. READ MORE
May 18, 2017 — Wilson Center
ARTISTIC VISIONARIES AND COMMUNITY CREATORS: LAWRENCE EDELSON AND OPERA
Opera producer Lawrence Edelson and composer/librettist Mark Adamo had been enjoying a pleasant enough summer in 2002 as they worked away on a production of Adamo’s 1998 opera “Little Women” at Cooperstown, New York’s Glimmerglass Opera. The production was going well and the weather in New York’s Finger Lakes district had remained comfortable, if a bit wet at times. Still, breaks now and then were welcomed so, in need of an interlude in the mission of bringing an opera to the stage, they set off for drinks. Sometime later in this century, that particular cocktail hour may be remembered as recharting the course of American opera. As Edelson and Adamo settled in they began to chat about how so many programs existed to help the sorts of younger singers performing at Glimmerglass. Nevertheless, very little systematic support existed for mentoring those who wanted to write operas as Adamo had been doing to critical and audience acclaim. READ MORE
May 4, 2017 — Broadway World
BWW OPERAVIEW: A LOOK INTO THE KENNEDYS, GHOSTS AND HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AT ALT ALUMNI CONCERT AT THE MORGAN LIBRARY
Baritone Joseph Lattanzi and mezzo Laura Krumm didn't originate at the roles of Jack and Jackie Kennedy when JFK--the new opera by David T. Little and Royce Vavrek--premiered in Fort Worth a year ago. Neither did Heather Johnson as Jackie O nor Jessica James as the maid Clara (and other roles). But they certainly owned them in the excerpts presented in the most daring of the four excellent works represented in the "ALT Alumni: Composers and Librettists in Concert" in the Gilder Lehrman Hall at New York's Morgan Library & Museum last week. READ MORE
May 1, 2017 — Broadway World
BWW WORLD: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID RUBEO
American Lyric Theater (ALT) announces the appointment of David Rubeo as new Executive Director, effective May 1, 2017. "David Rubeo comes to ALT with more than twenty-five years' experience in New York's non-profit sector, primarily in classical music and the performing arts," said ALT's Founder and Producing Artistic Director Lawrence Edelson. "I have admired David's work for many years, and am thrilled to have him join ALT's leadership team. As we look forward to the 10th Anniversary of our Composer Librettist Development Program this fall, David's experience and passion will help position ALT both for growth and exciting new initiatives that will deepen our service to composers, librettists and the opera field." READ MORE
April 21, 2017 — Hollywood Soapbox
INTERVIEW: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER, MORGAN LIBRARY TO SHOWCASE BEST OF NEW OPERA
Excerpts from several new operas will be on display as part of American Lyric Theater and The Morgan Library & Museum’s special showcase of ALT Alumni: Composers & Librettists in Concert, set to take place Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m. at the Morgan’s Gilder Lehrman Hall on Madison Avenue in New York City. Audiences can look forward to hearing the work of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek (JFK), Dave Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann (After the Storm), Gerald Cohen and Deborah Brevoort (Steal a Pencil for Me), and Clint Borzoni and John de los Santos (The Copper Queen). READ MORE
April 3, 2017 — The Salt Lake Tribune
REVIEW: "THE LONG WALK" AN INSPIRING JOURNEY INTO AN IRAQ WAR VETERAN'S REALITY
Utah Opera took a big step outside the proverbial box this weekend with two special performances of "The Long Walk," Jeremy Howard Beck and Stephanie Fleischmann's chamber opera based on a memoir by Iraq War veteran Brian Castner, in the intimate Jeanné Wagner Theatre. It's a painful but important, and ultimately inspiring, story. READ MORE
March 29, 2017 — Salt Lake City Weekly
UNFAMILIAR ARIAS; THE LONG WALK TURNS ONE SOLDIER'S IRAQ WAR EXPERIENCE INTO CONTEMPORARY OPERA
In 2015, Brian Castner wrote for the online magazine Literary Hub about the experience of having his memoir, The Long Walk, commissioned as an opera by New York's American Lyric Theater: "It was like winning a vacation to a country you've never thought of visiting, like Uruguay or Botswana." Much about the origin of The Long Walk as an opera seems improbable, even as Utah Opera gives it its second-ever production. READ MORE
March 21, 2017 — Huffington Post
STAGE DOOR: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE FALLEN GIANT
As any Sherlock Holmes fan knows, since his debut in the pages of The Strand Magazine over a 130 years ago, audiences worldwide have been hooked on the world’s first consulting detective. His deductive and intellectual powers are striking — and a marketing dream. That may explain the varied and compelling incarnations in print, theater, TV and film, not to mention comics, radio and video games. Indeed, in the recent Sherlock, a coproduction of the BBC and WGBH Boston, creators adapted his techniques to the 21st century. As the inimitable Baker Street sleuth, Benedict Cumberbatch secured a new generation of fans. Now the famed crime fighter is making his opera debut: March 26, 3 p.m at Merkin Hall on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The American Lyric Theater, a company that focuses on helping composers and librettists develop new works, will stage Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant. READ MORE
January 19, 2017 — Broadway World
BWW OPERAVIEW: A FUNNY THING - OR NOT - HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE OPERA HOUSE
What's new in opera? Everything you can imagine--and much that you couldn't conceive of, all in the space of a few days in New York. While TURING is not yet completed, last week's performance at Merkin Concert Hall presented by ALT, under Lawrence Edelson, which commissioned the work, proved that it's rapidly moving in that direction. Turing's story has become familiar through its film treatment, THE IMITATION GAME, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightly, and various other incarnations, but the opera by Justine Chen and David Simpatico stands in no one's shadow. READ MORE
January 11, 2017 — The Daily Beast
INSIDE THE OPERA ABOUT ALAN TURING, CODEBREAKER AND LGBT HERO
Alan Turing, the gay mathematical genius who broke the Nazi Enigma Code in World War II and who was chemically castrated after being convicted of “gross indecency” in 1952, is the subject of a new opera which will have its first NYC concert performance this Thursday, Jan. 12. The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing, composed by Justine Chen with a libretto by David Simpatico, is the first full-scale opera about Turing’s life and hopes to do justice to Turing’s story and especially his sexuality. READ MORE
January 9, 2017 — Hollywood Soapbox
INTERVIEW: NEW OPERA HIGHLIGHTS ALAN TURING'S PERSONAL STRUGGLES, PROFESSIONAL TRIUMPHS
Alan Turing lived a remarkable life. The famous mathematician and computer scientist helped break the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, and his life was dramatized in the recent film, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Turing was also persecuted for being gay in a time when being open about one’s sexuality could lead to imprisonment. Turing’s personal struggles and professional accomplishments are the subject of a new opera, The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing. READ MORE
2016
August 2016 — Opera News
THE INCUBATOR: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER CONCENTRATES ON TEAMWORK
The tagline on American Lyric Theater’s website is “Great operas don't just happen”—an apt mantra for an unusual venture. ALT is not a conventional opera company; it does not mount a regular season of productions. Rather, the New York City-based ALT and its signature Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP)—recipient in May 2016 of a $40,000 Art Works award from the National Endowment for the Arts—were created to initiate successful collaborations between composers and librettists that would lead to the creation of significant and durable repertoire. READ MORE
May 2016 — Opera News
REVIEW: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ALUMNI COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTIST IN CONCERT, 2/7/16
On February 7, Brooklyn audiences got a sneak preview at National Sawdust of three selections from the long-awaited opera Breaking the Waves, subsequently announced as the opener of Opera Philadelphia’s 2016–17 season. Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek were both present, and both espoused their admiration for the disturbing source film, by Lars von Trier. The first excerpt, “Golden Heart,” was a lyrical showcase, sung strongly and with feeling by mezzo Eve Gigliotti, this concert’s MVP; she was as convincing as a young Isle of Skye widow as she would later be as a Jewish grandmother—and any part in between. READ MORE
April 25, 2016 — The New York Times
FORT WORTH OPERA'S 'BURIED ALIVE' AND 'EMBEDDED' CONJURE POE'S DARK TERRAIN
There have been ups and downs on the way to Fort Worth Opera’s 70th-anniversary season. In 2007, grappling with financial challenges, the company decided to concentrate its offerings in a festival format, with three or four productions presented during a month or so in the spring. This year’s festival opened here on Saturday with the premiere of “JFK,” an ambitious opera by the composer David T. Little and the librettist Royce Vavrek. Sunday afternoon brought another adventurous offering: a double bill of recent one-act chamber operas. The 475-seat W. E. Scott Theater at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center proved an ideally intimate space for these modern-day spins on two stories by Edgar Allan Poe, commissioned as part of American Lyric Theater’s Poe Project. READ MORE
April 21, 2016 — Star-Telegram
OPERA 'EMBEDDED' DEALS WITH ISSUES OF AGEISM, SEXISM
What really scares you? That was the central question put before the creators of Buried Alive / Embedded, two new, one-act operas based on Edgar Allan Poe stories, which will receive their regional premieres at Scott Theatre beginning Sunday as part of Fort Worth Opera’s 2016 festival. READ MORE
April 15, 2016 — Broadway World
FORT WORTH OPERA'S 'JFK,' THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY OPERA, & AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S LAWRENCE EDELSON
The premiere of JFK in Fort Worth on April 23 is a big step forward for composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek--who made a splash in contemporary opera circles with their post-apocalyptic DOG DAYS--as their first "grand" opera. It's also a major leap for American Lyric Theater (ALT), and its founder and artistic director, Lawrence Edelson, which co-commissioned the work with the Fort Worth Opera. READ MORE
April 13, 2016 — The New York Times
'JFK' ENVISIONS OPERATIC ENDING FOR CAMELOT
We learn about it. We might relate to it personally, recalling where we were when we heard about it. We could even have a theory about it. More words have probably been printed about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vincent Bugliosi wrote in “Reclaiming History,” “than any other single, one-day event in world history.” READ MORE
March 29, 2016 — The Daily Beast
FIRST HAMILTON THE MUSICAL, NOW JFK THE OPERA
The creators of JFK, a new opera about Jack Kennedy’s assassination, hope that their ‘cosmic’ work brings opera to a new young audience. READ MORE
March 2016 — Opera News
NIGHT ON EARTH
Next month, Fort Worth Opera gives the world premiere of JFK, David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s exploration of the president’s final hours and the tragedy that continues to haunt us. READ MORE
February 2016 — Opera News
REVIEW: AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ALUMNI COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTIST IN CONCERT, 11/15/15
New York City has an opera problem. Those of us who live here are lucky to have the world-class work done by the Met, but that house presents a limited number of new works, including nothing this season written after 1935, and no other smaller company really fills in the void. You can read, in the pages of OPERA NEWS, about the myriad new operas performed around the country, but they rarely make it to the country’s opera capital; sometimes you have to hop a bus to Philadelphia just to hear a work like Silent Night. That’s why this great concert on November 15, presented by American Lyric Theater (which mentors composers and librettists, including almost all of the ones heard here), was especially welcome—it offered New Yorkers the rare opportunity to hear excerpts of what audiences in Houston, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Saratoga Springs have already heard—fantastic opera written by living young composers! READ MORE
February 2016 — Stage Buddy
INTERVIEW: ALT FOUNDER LAWRENCE EDELSON IS KEEPING OPERA ALIVE AND KICKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Lawrence Edelson, founder and producing artistic director of American Lyric Theater (ALT) wears many hats in the opera world and beyond. For the past nine years, ALT’s Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) has been a vital and important part of nurturing new contemporary opera from ideas to productions throughout the country. READ MORE
February 2016 — Stage Buddy
REVIEW: ALT ALUMNI COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS IN CONCERT
American Lyric Theater presented daring, new work by composers and librettists on Sunday, February 7 at National Sawdust in Williamsburg. Artistic Director Lawrence Edelson has done something visionary with ALT alumni teams, putting together a program featuring arias, scenes, duets, and quartets. More a collaborative stage than a battle-ground of competing new work, the program was lively and engaging. READ MORE
2015
October 2015 — Opera News
REVIEW: THE LONG WALK
Lawrence Edelson, the new general and artistic director of Opera Saratoga, comes to the company from American Lyric Theater, where he has helped to spark and develop contemporary works during his time as producing artistic director. Edelson intends to do new works yearly in Saratoga. This summer included a notably successful world premiere — The Long Walk, by Jeremy Howard Beck, who turns thirty this year — that had been shepherded by ALT. READ MORE
July 16, 2015 — Times Union
NO, 'THE LONG WALK' IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL OPERA
That's what I wanted to tell the couple behind me at "The Long Walk," the world-premiere opera that opened last Friday and runs for two more performances — 2 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, July 25 — at Opera Saratoga. READ MORE
July 10, 2015 — The New York Times Magazine
AN IRAQ VETERAN'S HOMECOMING, WITH ARIAS
Early in the opera adaptation of “The Long Walk,” Brian Castner’s dark memoir of his tour as a bomb-disposal officer in Iraq and his struggles with anxiety and brain injury after returning home, the performance signals that it will build on the original account’s claustrophobic exploration of what its protagonist calls, with a convincing mix of detail and bluntness, his “Crazy.” READ MORE
July 2, 2015 — Times Union
WAR'S TRAUMA INFORMS OPERA
Guns and yoga: not a common mix in any context, and certainly not in opera. But there they were, a phalanx of armed young troops in an Iraqi firefight, running around a yoga class as it stretched languidly from the mountain pose to upward dog, then downward dog, then warrior. Shouts of "We're taking potshots, sir!" and "Get the bomb suit! Put it on me!" filled the room as a group of calm and oblivious yogi curved, bent, peaked. But one class member, breaking from formation, was neither calm nor oblivious. This was his flashback. This was his fight. "Warrior!" he sang, his arms hefting an invisible rifle. "Warrior!" READ MORE
March 19, 2015 — Times Union
VETERAN'S STORY IS BASIS FOR AN OPERA
When many of us think of opera, we think fusty. Foreign. Dull. Women in Viking helmets, or maybe a cat in a tux singing figaro-figaro-figaro. What we don't imagine is this: an Iraq War veteran singing from the top of a staircase — and from the depths of PTSD — fingering his rifle and planning to kill anyone who dares approach his sleeping children. READ MORE
2014
April 2014 — Classical Singer
CULTIVATING NEW WORKS
Singers have Young Artist Programs to help them make the leap from student to professional. But what about up-and-coming composers? How do they get the training needed to successfully write operas? A New York City-based organization is providing just such training. READ MORE
April 7, 2014 — The Spectrum
POE PROJECT BRINGS CONTEMPORARY UPDATE TO OPERA
Since 1968, the Fargo- Moorhead Opera has relied on the same 20 operas to fill its seasons. For 2013-2014, the company shook things up with a co-production that brought together professionals from New York, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Minnesota and beyond. The Poe Project—this world-premiere, double-bill production—came alive at Festival Concert Hall after five years of creation, writing, readings and rehearsals. READ MORE
March 29, 2014 — InForum
FARGO-MOORHEAD OPERA DELIVERS SCARY GOOD POE-INSPIRED PREMIERES
With world premieres of two operas, it was understandable for those producing "Buried Alive" and "Embedded" to be on edge at Friday night's Fargo-Moorhead Opera performance. But it was the audience on the edge of their seats for the delightfully dark double feature. The two works, inspired by the gothic writings of Edgar Allan Poe, delivered chills, and the six visiting singers supplied the thrills. READ MORE
March 28, 2014 — Sequenza 21
REVIEW: BURIED ALIVE AND EMBEDDED AT FARGO MOORHEAD OPERA
There is an audience for new opera out here on the prairie. Fargo-Moorhead Opera staged two world premieres this past weekend: Buried Alive (music by Jeff Myers, libretto by Quincy Long) and Embedded (music by Patrick Soluri, libretto by Deborah Brevoort). Both are part of American Lyric Theater’s Poe Project, in which creative teams were commissioned to write operas inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. The operas staged in Fargo used a group of six singers and a chamber orchestra. READ MORE
March 25, 2014 — Classical MPR
POE PROJECT OPERAS
Later this month the Fargo-Moorhead Opera will be performing the first world premieres of its four-and-a-half-decade existence, in collaboration with the NYC-based American Lyric Theater. READ MORE
March 23, 2014 — InForum
WHAT WOULD POE DO? FARGO-MOORHEAD OPERA SCARES UP WORLD PREMIERE
To move forward, the Fargo-Moorhead Opera is reaching out of its comfort zone. Actually, the organization hopes its audience freaks out. The F-M Opera's spring performances, "Buried Alive" and "Embedded," both inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, are staged Friday night and Sunday afternoon. This will be the first time the F-M Opera provides the world premiere of a work. READ MORE
March 19, 2014 — WDAY TV
FARGO-MOORHEAD OPERA TO STAGE TWO SHORT OPERAS
The F-M Opera has an offer, too good to pass up. Mix a little flavor from Edgar Allen Poe, add the voices of nationally known Opera Singers and you have a night of mystery, the macabre, and an abbreviated taste of opera. F-M Opera is about to stage the World Premiere here in Fargo, of two short operas. READ MORE
2013
November 19, 2013 — Fort Worth Star-Telegram
'JFK' OPERA LIBRETTIST WILL TALK ABOUT THE WORK AT FORT WORTH'S FORMER HOTEL TEXAS
Royce Vavrek says the piece will use the late president’s dreams to tell the story. READ MORE
October 15, 2013 — Fort Worth Business Press
FORT WORTH OPERA TO JOIN WITH AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER FOR PLANNED 'JFK' OPERA
American Lyric Theater has joined Fort Worth Opera as co-commissioner for the world premiere of JFK, which will take place during the Spring 2016 Festival in Fort Worth. READ MORE
August 19, 2013 — New Music Box
GRANT ENABLES MAJOR EXPANSION OF AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $150,000 grant to the American Lyric Theater to support capacity building and the national expansion of the company’s Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), which is the only full-time professional mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the country. The new grant will enable the company to expand CLDP from a 10-month program offered annually, to a comprehensive three-year artist mentorship cycle through which artists will not only receive personalized mentorship, but also be commissioned to write new operas. READ MORE
August 18, 2013 — Musical America
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES $150,000 GRANT FROM THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that the company has been awarded a $150,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support capacity building and the national expansion of the company's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP), the only full-time professional mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the country. READ MORE
July 23, 2013 — NPR Morning Edition
A VETERAN'S PIERCING TRUE STORY LEAPS FROM PAGE TO STAGE
Iraq veteran Brian Castner wrote a book about his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder for his kids, so they could someday know what he'd been going through when he came home from war. READ MORE
June 15, 2013 — Opera Pulse
LA REINA (ALMOST) READY FOR THE STAGE
One of the major reasons I devote so much of my performance life to new music is my fascination with the process: the evolution of a libretto or a piece of music; the learning process, and consequent evolutions of the piece necessitated by the first hearing; the formulation of opinions and reactions; the way that the music exists because several brains went to work to bring it into existence.While it’s almost always the vision and execution of one composer, music can’t come to life without its interpreters, and I believe it achieves much more of its potential when it is subject to review – by audiences, colleagues, its performers, and so on. READ MORE
June 11, 2013 — Opera Pulse
THE TURING PROJECT'S PROMISING POTENTIAL
Alan Turing’s life was indeed meant for opera. Church-going boy confused and embarrassed by homosexual tendencies; mathematically gifted mind takes young man to Cambridge and Princeton; code-breaking abilities land him a job with British government; created the device that decoded Nazi messages; added many theories and innovations to electronics, mathematics and computer science; put on trial for being a homosexual and forced to use female hormones (chemical castration) instead of jail time; cyanide poisoning suicide at 41 years old. READ MORE
June 5, 2013 — Opera Obsession
LA REINA - OLD-FASHIONED MELODRAMA MEETS MODERN GRIT AT INSIGHTALT
The InsightALT festival of masterclasses, symposiums, and opera performances concluded on Monday with La Reina, a dark, sensual opera for which I'm tempted to coin the term neo-verismo. Composed by Jorge Sosa with a libretto by Laura Sosa Pedroza, the opera was heard in a "first draft" version scored for piano and electronics; the eventual scoring is planned for chamber orchestra and electronics. Mila Henry was the able and energetic pianist; Andrew Bisantz conducted, holding all the elements together, and impressively realizing (I thought) dramatic tension and musical nuance. READ MORE
June 1, 2013 — The New York Times
CROWD-SOURCING AN OPERA - A CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK FOLLOWING INSIGHTALT
The creation of a new opera is a chancy proposition. So the American Lyric Theater has come up with a way to bolster budding librettists and composers: invite a crowd of opinionated New Yorkers to a concert reading of a fledgling work and ask them to criticize it. Bring in a living opera legend and let her have a go at it, too. Whatever is left standing, the reasoning goes, has a fighting chance to make it into production. READ MORE
May 29, 2013 — The Huffington Post
CREATIVITY BEHIND THE SCENES - DEVELOPING THE CRAFT FOR A 21ST CENTURY AUDIENCE
I stumbled across this article about the Carlisle Project in Pennsylvania, a workshop for emerging choreographers. I found it fascinating that this question was already being asked in 1986: At this point, a generation of choreographers has been lost. Who will step up to take their place? READ MORE
May 29, 2013 — Classical Lite
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S INSIGHTALT FESTIVAL OFFERING THREE OPERAS IN DEVELOPMENT
The InsightALT Festival is offering an inside look into American Lyric Theater's unique process of creating new operas. Featuring concert readings of three new works, with guest performers from the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet and many more of the world's great opera houses, InsightALT will also include symposia and masterclasses related to the new operas in development. READ MORE
May 28, 2013 — Operavore
SPRING AWAKENING AT NYC'S SMALL OPERA COMPANIES
On May 11, the Metropolitan Opera ended its 2012-2103 season with a flourish. In the afternoon, Valhalla burned down, all the gods met their ends, the Rhine overflowed to put out the fires and reclaim its gold, and all was right with the world. Until, that is, the evening came and a convent of Carmelite nuns were beheaded. READ MORE
May 27, 2013 — IndieOpera
PODCAST 22: LAWRENCE EDELSON OF AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER
A conversation with Lawence Edelson of ALT, plus tons of conversation about the Opera America conference, English vs. original language, was Wagner the first film composer, beer with your opera, upcoming events and what do do this summer! READ MORE
May 26, 2013 — Opera Obsession
INSIGHTALT FESTIVAL: NEW OPERA FROM SKETCHPAD TO STAGE
On Thursday, I got to visit the open rehearsals of all three operas which will be performed at this year's InsightALT festival, a series of events under the auspices of the American Lyric Theater. Founded in 2005, the American Lyric Theater's primary mission is the commissioning and development of new operas; The Golden Ticket, based on Roald Dahl's beloved fable, is one product of their efforts. This year's festival, consisting of masterclasses and round table events as well as opera performances, runs from May 28-June 3. READ MORE
May 25, 2013 — Barihunks
LISTEN TO AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S THREE NEW OPERAS LIVE
We've been posting about the American Lyric Theater's project to commission three new operas under the auspices of their Composer Librettist Development Program. They include plenty of barihunks and now you'll be able to enjoy them online at OperaMusicBroadcast.com. READ MORE
May 22, 2013 — Gay City News
A PRODIGY SACRIFICED
With a Wilde-themed “Oscar” starring David Daniels in preparation for Santa Fe Opera this summer and “Harvey Milk” approaching its 20th anniversary, New York’s valiant American Lyric Theater adds to the operatic repertory on iconic 20th century gay martyrs. “The Turing Project,” an “historical fantasia” with a score by Justine F. Chen and a libretto by David Simpatico, explores the life, incredible legacy, homophobic persecution, and mysterious death of British computer pioneer — and seminal World War II code-cracker — Alan Turing (1912-1954). READ MORE
May 1, 2013 — OperaTeen
AN INTERVIEW WITH LAWRENCE EDELSON, FOUNDER AND PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER
Nobody can turn away from the fact that the economy is difficult and money is tight. In a society that doesn’t value the arts the way it used to, performing arts companies, opera companies, in particular, have suffered. However, under the skillful leadership of Lawrence Edelson, the American Lyric Theater located in New York City hasn’t just worked with the economy, but thrived. Recently, I was fortunate enough to interview Mr. Edelson about The American Lyric Theater, his business model, and the new and innovative type of opera this forward thinking company is producing. READ MORE
March 23, 2013 — Tulsa World
TULSA OPERA PRESENTS ONE ACT SHOWS
The parts of operas most people remember - the big arias, for example - are the easy part. "What is an aria but a beautiful song?" Christopher Cerrone said. "Beautiful songs are something I can do. It's filling in all the things around those beautiful songs that's what's hard about writing an opera." READ MORE
March 2013 — Gramophone Magazine
THE GOLDEN TICKET CD REVIEW
More than a few works by the British novelist Roald Dahl have provided bountiful fodder for stage and screen adaptations. They include two film versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a forthcoming West End musical based on the same source starring Douglas Hodge as the eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka. READ MORE
February 12, 2013 — Opera Pulse
CREATING A NEW OPERA - THE LONG WALK
Placing an opera in present day society is a poignant but risky decision. With settings and events that the audience can readily identify, the emotional impact of the opera is more immediate; however, overt commentary on the very current lives of an audience can backfire. READ MORE
February 5, 2013 — Musical America
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES NATIONAL EXPANSION OF COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today the national expansion of the company's core initiative Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). Through the use of newly acquired HD teleconferencing technology, gifted emerging artists with an interest in writing for the opera stage will be able to participate in the CLDP, regardless of where they live in the country. READ MORE
February 5, 2013 — Opera Pulse
THE CHANGING FACE OF OPERA
February seemed to come even quicker than in years past. Why? Consider the fact that the scenery is changing quickly in the opera world; opera companies are getting leaner in every aspect and, thus, our artistic world is moving at a faster pace. READ MORE
January 31, 2013 — Buffalo News
OPERA BASED ON THE LONG WALK IN THE WORKS
Last summer, when his book “The Long Walk” was being heralded by critics and readers alike for its moving account of life in and after war, local writer Brian Castner found himself surprised at the amount of attention but also was enjoying the whirlwind. READ MORE
2012
December 24, 2012 — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
RECORDING OF 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' RETAINS ITS CHARM
In the beginning, Roald Dahl wrote “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” a darkly funny tale of goodness rewarded and brattiness given its just desserts. That begat (so far) two movie adaptations, a musical and an opera. READ MORE
December 10, 2012 — Wall Street Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
David T. Little's "Dog Days," one of the most exciting new operas of recent years, had its world premiere earlier this fall not at a traditional opera company but at Montclair State University in New Jersey, co-produced by the school's Peak Performances and an independent nonprofit, Beth Morrison Projects. READ MORE
November 13, 2012 — Latinos Post
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER SHOWCASES LIBRETTO READING OF LA REINA AS PART OF COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The American Lyric Theater showcased its first libretto reading Sunday as part of its Composer Librettist Development Program. The libretto showcased on Sunday was “La Reina” by Laura Sosa Pedroza. The work will be set to music by Jorge Sosa and tells the story of a cartel leader who must come to terms with the sins that she has committed. As the libretto begins, Regina Malverde is behind bars and awaiting her judgment. She is visited in her cell by the Santa Muerte, an occult figure venerated in Mexico and some parts of the US. The Santa Muerte gives her a chance to relive her crimes and change her past in hopes of redeeming herself. READ MORE
November 5, 2012 — Stage Tube
BEHIND THE SCENES OF AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S NEW OPERA, LA REINA
American Lyric Theater's popular series of public libretto readings, The Living Libretto, continues this season at the new National Opera Center. These events are the culminating readings of extensive libretto workshops conducted for the new operas currently being written by ALT Resident Artists, featuring guest actors from Broadway and off-Broadway. Each reading includes a brunch with the featured artists, and is followed by a discussion with the artists moderated by American Lyric Theater's Producing Artistic Director, Lawrence Edelson. READ MORE
November 1, 2012 — Barihunks
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES THREE NEW OPERAS
American Lyric Theater (ALT) has announced three newly commissioned operas and the release of the company's first recording with barihunk Daniel Okulitch. READ MORE
August 2012 — Opera News
A PROFILE OF THE NEW NATIONAL OPERA CENTER
Jennifer Melick visits Manhattan's brand-new National Opera Center, a meeting, rehearsal and performance facility planned and operated by OPERA America. READ MORE
June 19, 2012 — The New Yorker
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER — OPERA IN EDEN
Mark Adamo, a bona-fide master of the medium, hosts (along with Lawrence Edelson) an inviting evening of four short operas on the theme of temptation. READ MORE
March 14, 2012 — Operagasm
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ATLANTA OPERA TO RECORD 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced today that ALT is partnering with The Atlanta Opera to record The Golden Ticket, a comic opera based on Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, during the performances of the opera in Atlanta from March 3rd to March 11th, 2012. The recording will be released in the late fall. READ MORE
March 8, 2012 — Opera Pulse
'THE GOLDEN TICKET' TO BE RECORDED
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater (ALT), announced yesterday that ALT is partnering with The Atlanta Opera to record The Golden Ticket, a comic opera based on Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” during the performances of the opera in Atlanta from March 3rd to March 11th, 2012. The recording will be released in the late fall. READ MORE
March 7, 2012 — Atlanta Journal Constitution
REVIEW OF 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
There may come a day when music teachers everywhere will use characters from “The Golden Ticket” to teach lessons about voices in opera. What does a bass-baritone sound like? They would listen for Willy Wonka. Charlie Bucket is a soprano, but so is Veruca Salt. Students would have to explain the difference. There’s potential for extra credit for kids who could recognize bel canto or a countertenor. READ MORE
March 4, 2012 — MacaroniKid
STUDENT REVIEW - MY FIRST OPERA: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
I promise you, after seeing the Atlanta Opera's The Golden Ticket last week, all I could think about was getting my hands on some sweet, sugary chocolate. READ MORE
March 3, 2012 — Barihunks
DANIEL OKULITCH REPRISES WILLY WONK IN GOLDEN TICKET
Canadian barihunk Daniel Okulitch will reprise his huge success as Willy Wonka in The Golden Ticket opening tonight with the Atlanta Opera. READ MORE
March 2, 2012 — Atlanta Business Chronicle
SLIDESHOW - ATLANTA OPERA'S 'GOLDEN TICKET' REHEARSALS
Get ready to revisit old friends Willy Wonka, the Oompa Loompas and Veruca Salt. The Atlanta Opera will premiere its second production of the 2011-2012 season on March 3 with “The Golden Ticket,” based on Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” READ MORE
February 28, 2012 — Atlanta Journal Constitution
BOY SOPRANOS SAY OPERA IS 'TICKET' TO YOUNG AUDIENCES
Ruben Roy and Benjamin Wenzelberg have more in common than just their co-lead roles as Charlie in the Atlanta Opera’s “The Golden Ticket,” an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic tale “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” READ MORE
February 27, 2012 — Creative Loafing
VERUCA SALT SINGS OUT IN OPERA VERSION OF "CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY"
Gluttonous Augustus Gloop. Gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde. Television-addicted Mike Teavee... The child-grotesques from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are legendary, but perhaps none more so than our own personal favorite: bratty, tantrum-throwing, 90s-band-inspiring diva-in-training Veruca Salt. READ MORE
February 24, 2012 — Opera Pulse
DRAMATIZING HISTORY WITH COMPOSER ANTHONY DAVIS
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. READ MORE
January 25, 2012 — Broadway World
THE ATLANTA OPERA TO PERFORM 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT COBB ENERGY CENTER
The second production in the Atlanta Opera's 2011-12 season is a comic opera called The Golden Ticket, based on the classic children's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," by Roald Dahl. The Golden Ticket will be presented on March 3, 6, 9 and 11, 2012 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. READ MORE
2011
November 4, 2011 — Broadway World
CAROLINE WORRA, CAMILLE ZAMORA SET FOR 'THE POE PROJECT'
Tickets are now on sale for The Poe Project, a concert of three new one-act operas inspired by the fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, commissioned by American Lyric Theater. READ MORE
September 13, 2011 — Broadway World
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER ANNOUNCES UPCOMING SEASON
American Lyric Theater (ALT), home to the nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program, has announced the 2011-2012 public performance season, featuring workshop performances of seven new operas by Resident Artists; as well as lectures and master classes with some of the country's leading operatic writers. READ MORE
May 16, 2011 — Theater Mania
GLENN SEVEN ALLEN, CAROLINE WORRA ET AL. SET FOR OPERA IN EDEN
Casting has been announced for Opera in Eden, to be presented at Symphony Space on Thursday, June 2 at 7pm. Composer/librettist Mark Adamo will moderate the event, which is the culmination of an intensive workshop led by Adamo as part of the core curriculum of American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program. READ MORE
March 7, 2011 — Stage Directions
MELLON FOUNDATION SUPPORTS AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER'S COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has donated $90,000 to the American Lyric Theater to support its Composer Librettist Development Program. The Mellon Foundation continues to shift its funding from merely supporting institutes to supporting programs that mentor younger artists, and help build the infrastructure to develop and support new work. READ MORE
March 6, 2011 — The New York Times
GRANTS FOR OPERA WRITERS
American Lyric Theater, an organization formed in 2005 to help develop new operatic works, has been chosen by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to receive a $90,000 grant. READ MORE
February 2, 2011 — Arts Critic ATL
ATLANTA OPERA'S 2011-12 SEASON HIGHLIGHTED BY NEW VERSION OF WILLY WONKA'S MAGICAL CHOCOLATE FACTORY
The Atlanta Opera’s 2011-12 season, its fifth at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, might be remembered as the year of “The Golden Ticket” — the attention grabber both for opera fans and general audiences. READ MORE
January 27, 2011 — Access Atlanta
AMID MONEY WOES, ATLANTA OPERA ANNOUNCES A NEW SEASON WITH A WILLY WONKA SURPRISE
The magical chocolate maker Willy Wonka, the demonic sexual predator Don Giovanni and a homicidal bride named Lucia are the stars of the Atlanta Opera’s 2011-2012 season, announced Thursday amid news that the 31-year-old company is starting to edge back from the financial brink. READ MORE
January 27, 2011 — Broadway World
THE ATLANTA OPERA ANNOUNCES THE 2011-2012 SEASON INCLUDING 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
The Atlanta Opera's Zurich General Director Dennis Hanthorn announced today the details of the company's 2011-2012 season, celebrating its fifth anniversary in the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, and welcoming Arthur Fagen as its Music Director. READ MORE
2010
November 3, 2010 — Parterre.com
EDGAR ALLAN NOUVEAU
A painter’s nightmares of death start to become real. A man’s lover dies of a flesh-eating plague and inhabits the body of a new young fling. A TV news anchor finds herself on the other side of the headlines, drowning in the Holland Tunnel. If Edgar Allan Poe were alive today, these are the operas he might have written. READ MORE
November 2, 2010 — Brian Dickie Online
MONDAY NIGHT AT SYMPHONY SPACE
I had a hugely enjoyable evening at Symphony Space yesterday evening. American Lyric Theater gave one of its periodic "readings" of new work - in this case of the three 50 minute pieces that comprise The Poe Project. Three hours of new stuff might be expected to be intimidating. But it was pure enjoyment, getting better and better as the evening proceeded. READ MORE
October 26, 2010 — Theater Mania
THE POE PROJECT TO PLAY SYMPHONY SPACE ON NOV. 1
American Lyric Theater will present a concert reading of The Poe Project, three one-act operas inspired by the fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, on Monday, November 1 at 7pm at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Peter Norton Symphony Space. Leesa Dahl serves as music coordinator and pianist for the concert, which will be conducted by Keith Chambers. READ MORE
October 16, 2010 — The Irish Independent
READ THE BOOK, SEEN THE MOVIES, NOW GO TO THE OPERA?
Today marks the opening of Wexford Festival Opera, the first time in its 59-year history that it has ever opened on a Saturday and the first time that it is hosting the European premiere of a new opera, The Golden Ticket. READ MORE
September 23, 2010 — Broadway World
CAROLINE WORRA, KEVIN BURDETTE AND MORE SET FOR THE POE PROJECT
What might the master of horror, Edgar Allan Poe, write if he were alive today? This is the question American Lyric Theater asked of three composers and three librettists to create The Poe Project! READ MORE
September 1, 2010 — The Irish Independent
ROALD DAHL'S WIDOW TO ATTEND OPERA PREMIERE
Felicity Dahl, the widow of Roald Dahl, the famous children's author will attend Wexford Festival Opera this year to see the European premiere of an opera based on her husband's much-loved story 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. READ MORE
September 1, 2010 — Wexford People
TREAT IN STORE WITH 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
'Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination...' Willie Wonka, Roald Dahl's best loved children's character, will bring out the child in even the most aloof opera lover this year when the European premiere of the new opera ' The Golden Ticket' forms part of the trilogy for this year's Wexford Festival. It's the first time for the Festival Committee to choose an opera they hope will appeal directly to children and families, and it represents a brave new venture. READ MORE
September 2010 — Opera News
SURVIVING THE CRUNCH
How do U.S. opera companies plan their way through the lean years? David Belcher reports. READ MORE
September 2010 — Opera News
REVIEW OF THE OTSL 2010 SEASON INCLUDE THE GOLDEN TICKET
This year, the gem of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis's four-production season — consisting of one new work, one eighteenth-century piece, one novelty and something from the standard repertoire — was 'A Little Night Music.' READ MORE
August 13, 2010 — St. Louis Today
WHAT RULED THE ROOST THIS SUMMER?
We at Go! magazine would rather re-asphalt the Post-Dispatch parking lot than hear Katy Perry's "California Gurls" one more time this summer. We also are over grilled meats, chlorinated pools and underarm sweat stains. But there are some sounds, sights and flavors of summer we wish we could savor forever. Here, we look back at what made this summer the best ever — or at least the best one since last year. READ MORE
July 23, 2010 — St. Louis Business Journal
OPERA THEATRE REWARDED FOR BET ON 'GOLDEN TICKET'
Despite the challenges of operating a nonprofit performing arts group in a rough economy, Opera Theatre St. Louis took what General Director Tim O’Leary described as “calculated risks” in its recent season. READ MORE
July 11, 2010 — St. Louis Dispatch
OPERA THEATRE SEASON HITS HIGH NOTE
The 2010 season at Opera Theatre of St. Louis solidified the company's standing as one of the country's premiere opera festivals. READ MORE
July 1, 2010 — The Chicago Tribune
REVIEW: 'GOLDEN' IS DELICIOUS IN WORLD PREMIERE AT ST. LOUIS OPERA
Opera is far more than a pleasant diversion at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis – it is an art to be intelligently planned, carefully produced and diligently sold to an engaged public that apparently can't get enough of it during the six weeks in June that constitute OTSL's festival season. The company remains one of the best springboards in the nation for young Americans on the cusp of big careers. READ MORE
June 22, 2010 — The Financial Times
REVIEW: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS
The world premiere of The Golden Ticket was late in coming. Peter Ash finished a preliminary version of his operatic incarnation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory roughly a decade ago. But then came a long process of finding support, workshopping the piece and persuading an opera company to stage it. Along the way it picked up plaudits – Simon Rattle called it “a really impressive achievement”, an assessment that stands up well after its belated official debut here. Donald Sturrock’s libretto captures the wit, wizardry and wonder of Dahl’s story about five children who gain access to the legendary Willy Wonka’s confectionery establishment in a contest by finding golden tickets in their chocolates. READ MORE
June 21, 2010 — The Wall Street Journal
REVIEW: BEST WHEN IT'S TANGY, NOT SWEET
The beauty of Roald Dahl's darkly comic children's books is how they balance attraction and menace. "The Golden Ticket"—an opera by composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock, based on Dahl's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," having its world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis—is most successful when its score does the same. The opera's best music is edgy and snappy, its astringent orchestration giving prominence to the winds and the brass, capturing the story's restless unpredictability. READ MORE
June 21, 2010 — Opera Today
REVIEW: NIGHT MUSIC MAGIC 'N' MORE IN ST. LOUIS
With Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ stunning A Little Night Music, at long last we have been treated to a multi-faceted production that not only equals, but in many ways surpasses the dazzling original. READ MORE
June 19, 2010 — The Classical Review
REVIEW: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS
Writing an opera on spec is a risky proposition for obvious reasons, but it worked out handsomely for composer Peter Ash, even if the rewards were slow in coming. He had a preliminary version of The Golden Ticket, his operatic incarnation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ready as long ago as a decade but its official world premiere occurred only this month at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The interim brought a period of revision, workshopping and finding support, during which time the opera picked up admirers, including conductor Simon Rattle, director Trevor Nunn and baritone Gerald Finley. Judging from the June 16 performance, their faith in The Golden Ticket was not misplaced. READ MORE
June 19, 2010 — Los Angeles Times ROALD DAHL'S 'CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY' STRIKES THE RIGHT NOTES With 'The Golden Ticket' playing at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and a rumored Broadway musical in the works, it's clear the beloved children's classic was destined for musical fame. READ MORE
June 19, 2010 — Dallas Morning News REVIEW: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS Opera Theatre of St. Louis has a magic all its own. New and off-the-beaten-path operas, including 20 world premieres, have enlivened the festival's 35 seasons. With a thrust stage and a semicircle of just 673 seats, Webster University's Loretto-Hilton Center virtually demands inventive stagings, and everything is sung in English. The orchestra is drawn from the estimable St. Louis Symphony. READ MORE
June 16, 2010 — NPR
'THE GOLDEN TICKET' IS FINALLY UNWRAPPED
The opera called The Golden Ticket seemed like just that — a natural way for opera companies to attract new audiences by bringing families into the opera house. But the world premiere under way now at Opera Theatre of St. Louis did not have a sweet ride from conception to opening night. READ MORE
June 16, 2010 — Theatre Mania
REVIEW: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS
Daniel Okulitch leads a first-rate cast in the Opera Theatre of St. Louis' charming musical adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. READ MORE
June 14, 2010 — St. Louis Post Dispatch
'GOLDEN TICKET' STAR ENJOYS PLAYING KID
The bad kids are among the best things about Opera Theatre of St. Louis' world premiere production of "The Golden Ticket." As sung by coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl, Violet Beauregard is a tiny red-haired, red-hot, gum-cracking, trill-tossing, cowboy-booted pistol of a character. READ MORE
June 14, 2010 — KDHX / StageLeft
REVIEW: 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' AT OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS
One of the many admirable things about Opera Theatre is the company's support for new works. Their thirty-five seasons are strewn with national and world premieres; an encouraging sign for a genre often depicted in popular entertainment as stodgy and old-fashioned. This year's new kid on the block—The Golden Ticket, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1964 children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—is an appropriately tasty concoction of juvenile humor, adult wit, and musical invention with just the right amount of creepiness. READ MORE
June 4, 2010 — St. Louis Beacon
GLOW PRECEDES 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' DEBUT
Opera lovers lament that few operas engage both children and adults. Sunday evening (June 13) Opera Theatre of St. Louis hopes to begin to fill that gap. That night the Loretto-Hilton Center's lights will go up on the world premiere of a family opera: "The Golden Ticket." READ MORE
May 24, 2010 — Theatre Mania
TRACY DAHL, MICHAEL KEPLER MEO, DANIEL OKULITCH, ET AL. SET FOR THE GOLDEN TICKET
Opera Theatre of St. Louis has announced casting for the world premiere of The Golden Ticket, which, as previously reported will run June 13- 26. James Robinson will direct the piece, which is adapted by composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. READ MORE
May 23, 2010 — New York Times
A 'GOLDEN TICKET' FOR ST. LOUIS OPERA FANS
“The Golden Ticket,” a new opera based on Roald Dahl’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” is to have its world premiere on June 13 with the Opera Theater of Saint Louis at the Loretto-Hilton Center of Webster University. READ MORE
May 20, 2010 — Broadway World
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR 2010-2011 COMPOSER LIBRETTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
American Lyric Theater is currently accepting applications for the 2010-2011 Composer Librettist Development Program. Application Deadline is June 1st. READ MORE
April 29, 2010 — Irish Times
15-DAY RUN FOR WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA INCLUDES 'THE GOLDEN TICKET'
Wexford Festival Opera will this year run for 15 days and feature an expanded programme. The highlights of the 59th festival, which will take place from October 16th to 30th, include a European premiere of The Golden Ticket, an opera based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. READ MORE
2009
October 29, 2009 — Broadway World
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER LAUNCHES NATIONAL ONLINE CHOCOLATE AUCTION
American Lyric Theater (ALT) launches a national online auction beginning tomorrow, featuring unique and delicious products from Chocolate Show exhibitors, as well as exclusive VIP experiences and themed items related to the wonderful world of Willy Wonka and all of Dahl's fantastic characters. The Chocolate Auction will begin at 9am on Friday, October 30 and will run for two weeks, ending at midnight on Friday, November 13. READ MORE
October 27, 2009 — Playbill
I'VE GOT A GOLDEN TICKET!
Chocolate lovers will get a taste of the new family-friendly opera The Golden Ticket, based on Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," at the New York Chocolate Show this week. READ MORE
October 27, 2009 — Broadway World
AMERICAN LYRIC THEATER PRESENTS EXCERPTS FROM THE GOLDEN TICKET AT NEW YORK CHOCOLATE SHOW
American Lyric Theater (ALT) will present 11 Family Preview Performances featuring excerpts from THE GOLDEN TICKET, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," as part of the KidZone program of family events at The New York Chocolate Show, to take place at The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th Street, NYC, from October 30 - November 1, 2009. READ MORE
February 25, 2009 — Broadway World
ALT COMMISSIONED 'THE GOLDEN TICKET' OPERA BASED ON DAHL'S 'CHOCOLATE FACTORY,' HOLDS SPECIAL NYC READING 4/4
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of ALT, has announced that the company has commissioned The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. READ MORE