CLDP OPERA WRITERS SYMPOSIUM

From February 27 through April 24, 2021 American Lyric Theater invited the curious and the creative to join us for A FREE, eight-week, virtual symposium on writing for the opera stage.

If you missed the live sessions, or if you want to review any of the classes or access the support materials, you can now enjoy all of the symposium offerings on your own schedule!

Drawing on different facets of ALT’s internationally-acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program, the CLDP Opera Writers Symposium was created to provide artists with practical tools for both first-time and experienced creatives with an interest in creating new opera. The course also offered artists considering applying to the upcoming cycle of the CLDP a chance to understand ALT’s ethos, to meet faculty and alumni of the program, and to experience, first-hand, a taste of ALT’s approach to artist mentorship and how we develop new works, and how ALT encourages and supports diverse artists to tell their stories through opera.  

The CLDP Opera Writers Symposium included a series of mini-seminars and workshops, each consisting of two or three online classes. Whether you are a writer, or an opera lover who is interested in learning more about the new works development process, we hope you will enjoy these archival videos!

THE ARCHITECTURE OF OPERA: OUTLINING FOR COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS

DRAMATIZING HISTORY AND OPERA AS ACTIVISM

OPERA, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

FROM ERASED TO SELF-EMPOWERED: CELEBRATING BIPOC COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS

WRITING OPERA AND THE LAW: A LEGAL PRIMER FOR COMPOSERS AND LIBRETTISTS

HOW TO HAVE A HAPPY MARRIAGE: COLLABORATION BEST PRACTICES

Led by ALT Faculty Mentor, composer / librettist Mark Adamo

SAMPLE OUTLINES: During the second and third classes of this seminar, three composer/librettist teams created collaborative outlines that were discussed in detail. These outlines may be found at the link below.

Part I: Saturday, February 27, 2021 @ Noon – 3pm ET
Part II: Saturday, March 13, 2021 @ Noon – 3pm ET
Part III: Saturday, March 27, 2021 @ Noon – 3pm ET

ALT principal faculty mentor Mark Adamo developed a unique outlining method while writing his first, critically-acclaimed opera, Little Women, now exclusively taught as a foundational part of the Composer Librettist Development Program. Learn how to use this practical process, which centers the collaborative relationship between composer and librettist through the creation of parallel outlines by each writer before a note of the music or a word of the libretto has been written.

Led by Dramaturg Cori Ellison

With composers Jeremy Howard Beck, Anthony Davis and Laura Kaminsky; librettists Thulani Davis, Richard Wesley, Stephanie Fleischmann, Kimberly Reed, and Mark Campbell; and memoirist Brian Castner

Part I: Tuesday, March 9, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part II: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part III: Thursday, March 11, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET

From Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Francesco Busenello’s The Coronation of Poppea to Anthony Davis and Richard Wesley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Central Park Five, opera has always been an extraordinary mirror in which to reflect and challenge social, historical, and political events. Composers and librettists alike will gain valuable perspective on approaches to dramatizing history, along with practical tools for developing works based on real-life events past and present.

Led by ALT Alumni, Composers Kamala Sankaram and Jorge Sosa

With user audio AR producer Richard Rodkin, sound designer Jon Robertson, director Elena Araoz, designer Jeanette Oi Suk Yew, conductor Maria Sensi Sellner, and librettist Rob Handel

Part I: Monday, March 22, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part II: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part III: Friday, March 26, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET

Technology has helped to shape opera throughout its history. In this workshop, we will explore some of the most exciting and accessible tools that are available for creating new works. We will compare the use of technology for producing established works versus considerations for writing new operas specifically for the virtual landscape; what specific tools are available; how partnerships can enhance your work, and how to broker them; and activating storytelling through user experience.

Led by ALT’s Associate Artistic Director, Kelly Kuo

With composers Daniel Bernard Roumain, Justine F. Chen, Anthony Davis, Huang Ruo, and Errollyn Wallen; and librettists Richard Wesley, David Henry Hwang, Kanika Ambrose, and Andrea Davis Pinkney

Part I: Tuesday, April 6, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part II: Wednesday, April 7, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part III: Thursday, April 8, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET

BIPOC artists have written for operas for centuries, but until recently, most of their contributions to the repertoire were consciously erased from the opera house. We take a look back at the history of BIPOC writers in opera, and are then joined by a group of remarkable BIPOC composers and librettists changing the face of opera today to discuss why they are drawn to opera; navigating racism in the field; and the complementary value of allyship and self-empowerment in advancing their work.

Led by Entertainment Lawyer James Kendrick

With Lawrence Edelson, Founder / Artistic and General Director, American Lyric Theater; Barbara Hogenson, Agent and Founder, The Barbara Hogensen Agency; Peggy Monastra, Director of Promotion, G. Schirmer, Inc.; and Justin Werner, Artist Manager and Founder, Strategem Artists

SAMPLE AGREEMENTS

The sample agreements provided here are not intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice. Many factors will affect the applicability of the terms and structure of each unique agreement. American Lyric Theater strongly recommends consulting a legal advisor or other music licensing professional prior to entering into any agreement related to the development or licensing of your work.

Part I: Saturday, April 17, 2021 @ 4pm – 6pm ET
Part II: Sunday, April 18, 2021 @ 4pm – 6pm ET

Composers and librettists need to know their rights, and they need to understand the law. In this two-day seminar, opera writers will receive an understandable overview of intellectual property law and the issues surrounding the creation and of new operas including collaboration and commission agreements; working with publishers, agents and managers; issues related to adaptation and life rights; and how to obtain the rights to adapt a work that is not in the public domain.

Led by dramaturg Cori Ellison and ALT’s Founder Lawrence Edelson

With composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek; composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Rob Handel; composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann; and Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell; and composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang

Part I: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part II: Wednesday, April 21, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET
Part III: Thursday, April 22, 2021 @ 7:30pm – 9pm ET

Opera is the ultimate collaborative art — but what makes a successful collaboration? We will explore how some of the most successful composer-librettist teams, past and present, have ensured that their collective vision of the story they wanted to tell through opera could be effectively realized. The roles of both dramaturgs and directors will also be explored, and how these artists’ different skills can best be leveraged at the ideal point in each opera’s development.