Central Opera Service Bulletin - Directory, 1980 - CPANDA

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CENTRAL OPERA SERVICE BULLETIN
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Central Opera Service • Lincoln Center • Metropolitan Opera • New York, N.Y. 10023 • [phone]

CENTRAL OPERA SERVICE COMMITTEE
Founder
MRS. AUGUST BELMONT
Honorary National Chairman
ROBERT L. B. TOBIN
National Chairman
ELIHU M. HYNDMAN
National Co-Chairmen
MRS. NORRIS DARRELL GEORGE HOWERTON
Professional Committee
KURT HERBERT ADLER BORIS GOLDOVSKY
San Francisco Opera Goldovsky Opera Theatre
WILFRED C. BAIN DAVID LLOYD
Indiana University Lake George Opera Festival
GRANT BEGLARIAN LOTFI MANSOURI
University of So. California Canadian Opera Company
MORITZ BOMHARD GLADYS MATHEW
Kentucky Opera Association Community Opera
SARAH CALDWELL RUSSELL D. PATTERSON
Opera Company of Boston Lyric Opera of Kansas City
TITO CAPOBIANCO MRS. JOHN DEWITT PELTZ
San Diego Opera Metropolitan Opera
KENNETH CASWELL EDWARD PURRINGTON
Memphis Opera Theatre Tulsa Opera
ROBERT J. COLLINGE GLYNN ROSS
Baltimore Opera Company Seattle Opera Association
JOHN CROSBY JULIUS RUDEL
Santa Fe Opera New York City Opera
WALTER DUCLOUX MARK SCHUBART
University of Texas Lincoln Center
ROBERT GAY ROGER L. STEVENS
Northwestern University John F. Kennedy Center
DAVID GOCKLEY GIDEON WALDROP
Houston Grand Opera The Juilliard School
Central Opera Service Bulletin • Vol. 22, No. 2 • T980
Editor, MARIA F. RICH Assistant Editor, JEANNE HANIFEE KEMP
The COS Bulletin is published quarterly for its members by Central Opera
Service. For membership information see back cover.
Permission to quote is not necessary but kindly note source.
Please send any news items suitable for mention in the COS Bulletin as
well as performance information to The Editor, Central Opera Service
Bulletin, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023.
Copies this issue: $8.00
Regular news issues: $3.00 ISSN 0008-9508
CENTRAL OPERA SERVICE BULLETIN
Volume 22, Number 2 1980
DIRECTORY
of
AMERICAN AND FOREIGN
CONTEMPORARY OPERAS
and
AMERICAN OPERA PREMffiRES
1975-1980
This volume is a sequel to four original COS publications, the directories of American
Contemporary Operas (1965 - $5), Foreign Contemporary Operas (1967 - $5), American and
Foreign Contemporary Operas (1975 - $8), and American Opera Premieres (1966 - $2). These
four issues contained information on some 3,000 operas, and the current volume lists an
additional 455 American operas, 449 foreign operas, and 96 operas in American premieres.
INDEX
INTRODUCTION 1
KEY TO LISTINGS 3
KEY TO NATIONALITIES 4
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY OPERAS 5
FOREIGN CONTEMPORARY OPERAS 35
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES 61
APPENDIX A (Publishers & Sources) 65
APPENDIX B (Index of American Operas) 67
APPENDIX C (Index of Foreign Operas) 71
APPENDIX D (Index of North American Premieres) 76
INTRODUCTION
Five years ago, in the introduction to the COS Directory of American and Foreign
Contemporary Operas (Volume 17, Number 2), we stated that "interest in con-
temporary opera [was] at an all-time high". From our 1980 vantage point we see
that this was only the beginning of a trend which has gathered momentum over the
last years, with the 1978-79 season culminating in the most startling statistics yet.
While opera generally continued its growth in popularity, performances of con-
temporary works have more than doubled over the past few years, accounting for
3,373 presentations of 256 different operas during the past season. Of these, 202
were by American composers, and were offered in 2,764 performances.
These changes can be primarily traced to two recent developments. Building a
larger and more dedicated audience resulted in a more adventurous and curious
opera public, willing — and often eager — to hear new works. In general, we noted
a much greater diversification of the repertoire as it was presented during the last
season, which included many rarely performed operas. The second cause is the
numerous subsidiary programs established by major companies to bring opera into
the community — to schools, parks and plazas, senior citizens' homes, museums,
hospitals, community centers, and prisons. The repertory here is almost exclusively
contemporary American works, and there is a continuous search for suitable
material.
Thus, this volume, together with its three precursors (Directory of American Con-
temporary Operas 1967; Directory of Foreign Contemporary Operas 1969; Direc-
tory of American and Foreign Contemporary Operas 1975), is intended as a guide
to opera producers, as well as a record of the abundance of recently completed
music-theatre pieces. The present issue contains information on 455 new American
op'eras, 449 new foreign operas, and 96 foreign operas premiered in the United
States during the past five years. It complements and up-dates the above-mentioned
COS Directories, and documents the tremendous creativity of our present-day
composers.
We have retained our established format of listings arranged in alphabetical order
by composer, with each of the three sections indexed by title. The first part,
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY OPERAS, has been prepared in collaboration
with the American Music Center, and our sincere thanks go to Margaret Jory and
her staff for their assistance. With the exception of a few entries which came to our
attention after the 1975 publication, operas contained herein have been written
and/or premiered within the past five years. Operas listed in the earlier Directories
have not been relisted unless information on a premiere could be offered. American
and foreign composers appearing in one or more of the three preceding publications
are identified by an asterisk (*) next to their names. In those rare cases where
more than one composer collaborated on one opera, the work will appear under
each name. (A detailed key may be found on the following page.)
One feature new to this issue is the identification of operas for which reviews are
available in the Central Opera Service files. This should prove helpful to producers
contemplating new productions. A dagger (t) following the opera's title is the code
for reviews available. Copies may be requested from the COS office at a charge of
250 per page. There is no charge to group and institutional members.
Operas commissioned and premiered by the same organization appear as "comm:
name of company, place, date". If no date is entered, the information pertains to a
commission only (not a premiere). Premiere performances are entered on the last
line in the "title" column. First performances scheduled to take place after the
closing of this volume are preceded by "proj.prem:" (projected premiere), and
information should be verified with COS as to the current status of the work.
Please note that operas are arranged by composers' nationalities and not by the
country in which they were premiered. Thus, operas by foreign composers first
performed in the United States will be found in Part II, FOREIGN OPERAS
(e.g., Thea Musgrave's A Christmas Carol) and, of course, the reverse is true for
operas by American composers first heard abroad.
j
Part III, AMERICAN PREMIERES, does not include any world premieres, which,
in cases of contemporary works, are included in Part I or Part II. In this section,
the dagger (t) following the title also signifies a review in the COS files. However,
the review is not necessarily of the first American performance.
In addition to the three indices of titles, the book contains a "Key to Listings",
"Publishers and Other Sources for Material", and a "Key to Nationalities".
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the faithful
and tireless assistance of our volunteers, Fritzi (Mrs. Ludwig) Bickhardt and
Norma (Mrs. George) Litton, our administrative intern, Carol Marton, and,
last but by no means least, my assistant editor, Jeanne Kemp. This volume, and
indeed our manifold activities and services, would be impossible without their
proficient and dedicated collaboration.
MARIA F. RICH
Editor
' £* '
Key to Listings
1st column:
name of composer (in Part II followed by nationality — key to
abbreviations on page 4). If more than one composer col-
laborated on one opera, the work appears under each name.
* following the name of a composer indicates inclusion of other
operas by same composer in previous COS Directories of
American and/or Foreign Contemporary Operas.
name of librettist
2nd column:
title of opera (in bold), alternate or translated title
t following the title indicates reviews available in COS files (see
Introduction)
description of work (children's opera, comedy, based on book/play,
etc.)
grants, prizes, etc. (NEA — National Endowment for the Arts
Composer/Librettist Program)
comm: commissioned by (company, place); if followed by date
indicates world premiere by same company
world premiere company, place, date
proj.prem: projected premiere at a date after the closing of text for
this Directory; please verify this information
orig.vers: original version premiere
rev.vers: revised version premiere
stg.prem: first staging of work
Am.prem: American premiere (only in Part II, Foreign Operas;
relisted in Part III, American Premieres. World premieres of
American operas are not included in Part III.)
all dates are in order of month/day/year
3rd column:
FL - full length opera, S - short work (suitable for double bill),
number of acts, sc - scenes, prol - prologue, epil - epilogue
hr(s) - playing time in hours, min - playing time in minutes
cast: s - soprano, m - mezzo-soprano, c - contralto, t - tenor, c-t -
counter-tenor, b - baritone, bs-b - bass-baritone, bs - bass,
spk(s) - speaker(s), narr - narrator, act(s) - actors(s), ch -
chorus, chl - children, dc(s) - dancer(s), prcpl - principal
roles
orchestration: (first set of numbers) flute/oboe/clarinet/bassoon,
(second set) French horn/trumpet/trombone/tuba, ace -
accordion, bar.h - baritone horn, bs.cl - bass clarinet, bsn -
bassoon, eel - celeste, cl - clarinet, cb - cembalo, crumhn -
crumhorn, cnt-bsn - contra bassoon, dbs - double bass, Eh -
English horn, el. - electric, fl - flute, flgl. hn - flugelhorn, glock
- glockenspiel, gtr - guitar, hrmn - harmonium, hn - French
horn, hp - harp, hpch - harpsichord, mand - mandolin, ob -
oboe, orch - orchestra, org - organ, p(s) - piano(s), pc -
percussion, pice - piccolo, red. orch - reduced orchestration,
reed - recorder, sx - saxaphone, stg.bnd - stage band, stierhn
- stierhorn, str - strings, str. qt - string quartet, str. qt -
string quintet, syn - synthesizer, tp - tympani, tri - triangle,
tro - trombone, tru - trumpet, v - violin, vib - vibraphone,
via - viola, vie - violincello, xl - xylophone
3
4th column:
publishers: key to abbreviations of publishers or sources for musical
material and addresses are in Appendix A. In case of foreign
publishers with American representatives, both are listed.
Material deposited with AMC (American Music Center) or
CMC (Canadian Music Centre) is available for perusal and
reference only, not for rental or sale. Where no information
was available but a premiere is listed, information may be
available from the performing group.
Key to Composers' Nationalities
Am. American (used in Part III only)
Arg. Argentinian
Aust. Austrian
Austrl. Australian
Bel. Belgian
Braz. Brazilian
Br. British
Bui. Bulgarian
Can. Canadian
Cz. Czechoslovakian
Dan. Danish
Du. Dutch
Fin. Finnish
Fr. French
Ger. German
Gha. Ghanian
Gr. Greek
Hun. Hungarian
Iran. Iranian
Isr. Israeli
It. Italian
Kor. Korean
Jap. Japanese
Malt. Maltese
Nor. Norwegian
Pol. Polish
Port. Portuguese
Rom. Romanian
Russ. Russian
Sc. Scottish
Sp. Spanish
Swe. Swedish
Swi. Swiss
Tk. Turkish
Ukr. Ukranian
Venez. Venezualan
Viet. Vietnamese
Wei. Welsh
Yug. Yugoslavian
— 4 —
PART I: AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY OPERAS 1975-80
Composer/ Librettist Opera/ GenJnform.I Premiere LengthlCastjOrch. Source
Adler, Samuel* The Lodge of Shadows 1 act,40 min. AMC
Ramsey, Jarold drama for baritone and dancers b
NEA grant 1973 2111,1120,pc,hpcd,
str.
Adolphe, Bruce The Tell-Tale Heart 1 act,50 min. AMC
same after Edgar Allan Poe s,t,b,bs-b,bs.
1111,1110,p,tp,pc,
str.
Ahlstrom, David* America, I Love You 3 acts,5 sc,120 min.
cummings, e. e. cast of 9,ch.
P-
Ahjstrom, D. Doctor Faustus Lights the Light 1 act,6 sc,45 min.
Stein, Gertrude Stein's play by same name 2s,m,c,t,b,bs,ch;dcs.
P.
Ahlstrom, D. My Heart's in the Highlands 2 acts.lO sc,90 min.
after play by William Saroyan 2s,c,2t,3b,2bs,ch.
1120,1110,pc,p,str.
Ahrold, Frank The Spider & the Fly 1 act, 35 min. BM
madrigal opera based on Mary Howitt's poem s,t,ch,spk,dcs.
llll,1110,tp,pc,hp,
cnt-bsn.
Ahrold, F. The Tour Guide 1 act, 15 min. BM
Driggers, Richard Lon mono-drama b.
p(chamber ensemble
in preparation)
Ahrold, F. The View 1 act BM
Driggers, R. L. dramatic allegory 2s,2m,c,t,2b,bs
llll,1100,4pc,vcl.
Aitkin, Hugh Fablest 2 acts,90 min. TP
same based on Aesop in the de la Fontaine version s,2t,b AMC
comm:Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation 1201,0000,str.qt.
New York Chamber Soloists.Library of Congress,
Washingten,DC ll/75(record avail.)
Albert, Thomas Lizbetht 1 act,60 min. AMC
Herman, Linde Hayen "psycho-drama"on story of Lizzie Borden 2s,2m,c,b,act.
NEA grant 1222,2000,tp,pc,hp,
Shenandoah College,Winchester,VA 11/18/76 p.toy p,str.
Albright, Lola* Saul and the Medium
biblical drama
Alexander, Roland Hodges & Co.f 2 acts
& Rivers, Sam black cowboys in American West 6 soloists
Taylor, Emory Harlem Opera Co., Houston,TX 6/78 4-pc.jazz band
Ames, Roger Amarantha 1 act,45 min.
same based on Wilbur D. Steele's short story
"How Beautiful With Shoes"
prem:Composer/Librettist Conference,
O'Neill Theatre Center & Opera Co.of
Philadelphia.New London.CT 7/19/80
Ames, R. Amistad 2 acts AMC
Artist, Virginia 1839 revolt on a slave ship 1121,3220,pc,str.
NEA grant 1976
Anderson, Garland Soyazhet 1 act,70 min. AMC
Cooper, Jamie Lee NEA grant s,c,2t,b,ch.
Central City Opera,CO 7/28/79 2213,2000,tp,tri,
hp,str.
— 5 —