Politics and Opera: “Poperatics” – Reimaging Offenbach’s La Périchole in the 21st Century. Can an 1868 opera tell the story of 2018 American politics and culture? There is an uncanny similarity in Offenbach’s satire and the political milieu of the last two decades. This presentation will investigate how a modern production of La Périchole can honor Offenbach’s charming music and wry humor, maintaining rhyme-scheme and story line, while simultaneously engaging in relevant contemporary political and social discussion. Audio and visual examples included.

Small academic opera programs are often challenged by limited resources to produce theatrically credible, artistically satisfying performances of scenes, one-act, or full-length operas. This session serves as a resource guide for those working within a tight set of constraints, be they related to budget, personnel, areas of expertise, or community engagement and are wishing to generate a certain ambiance, suggest a period and location, define characters, and transform a recital hall into a theatrical space.  Topics included in the session will be ideas and resources for basic costume design, including inexpensive hacks for fabric and material purchases; basic set design and construction, including easy and inexpensive set painting and resources for creating ambient staging effects with borrowed materials; and ideas for audience building and community engagement and education, including collaborative ideas for campus and community groups.

Session will feature a live performance of excerpts from works by BALLAD OF BABY DOE composer Douglas Moore and his mid 20^th century colleagues and students. Works will include selections from WINGS OF THE DOVE (1961), CARRY NATION (1966), and GALLANTRY (1958), and Beeson's SWEET BYE AND BYE (1956). Works will be presented and introduced by Michael Ching and Gordon Ostrowski, who both have been involved with Moore's legacy through the Douglas Moore Fund for American Opera. Performers will include undergraduate, graduate, and faculty colleagues from the region. Session is coinciding with the relase of THE DOUGLAS MOORE SONGBOOK by EC Schirmer Music Publishers.

Many opera programs don’t have access to a full opera orchestra for every production, so smaller-scale performances of standard works often default to accompaniment by piano only. However, more interesting results can often be achieved with the addition of just a few instruments to an otherwise piano-only production. This session will explore a range of ideas for productions to employ “piano-plus” instrumentation, from modest additions of one or two instruments, up to fully arranged versions for chamber ensembles,  including numerous sources for finding and renting them. Be inspired to draw on the instrumental talent available at your institution to enhance your next workshop production!

Training opera singers to be singer-actors requires an acting technique that addresses the needs unique to the demands placed on the performance of opera theatre. The tenets of the Chekhov technique can be expressed fully in musical terms, which facilitate a more integrated and full-bodied performance approach. This presentation would be conducted in a workshop format that afford singers and—perhaps more importantly—teachers the opportunity to experience the work. In a short time, each participant will be given a set of tools that can be immediately transferred to work in the classroom and the rehearsal hall.

Most opera workshop scenes program consist entirely of works by male composers. Even those interested in changing the canon may not know where to start in adding music by women. So this session will provide recommendations and specific resources regarding operas by female composers to excerpt in scenes programs. The session will present repertoire from the Baroque era to the 21^st century, including works by Francesca Caccini (La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina), Pauline Viardot (Cendrillon), Libby Larsen (Picnic, A Wrinkle in Time), Lori Laitman (The Scarlet Letter, The Three Feathers), as well as less familiar up-and-coming female composers.

This lecture will discuss the findings resulting from the creation of a comprehensive bibliography of English Language children’s opera books published from 1895 to present. Historically opera was often assumed to be an elitist art in the United States and was thus seldom discussed in library collection development literature, and equally rarely highlighted in children’s literature periodicals. Recently, two librarians, supported by a Carnegie Whitney grant from the American Library Association, investigated the impact of opera themed children’s books by compiling a bibliography which documented instances of opera in published English Language children’s literature over the last 125 years. By analyzing what was published, this presentation will provide new insights about the cultural appreciation of opera in the United States.

Despite the importance of this vocation, there are few opportunities to train emerging coaches and collaborative pianists specializing in opera. While reputable programs such as Aspen Music Festival and Music Academy of the West have established collaborative piano streams, they do not offer dedicated instruction in vocal coaching. This session will offer a detailed outline of how to add a collaborative piano track to an existing summer program or workshop, outlining necessary resources, possible session topics, and various methods of mentorship. Further, training programs that cater to collaborative pianists interested in specializing in vocal repertoire will be compared and contrasted.

Presented in collaboration with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in the Rock Hall’s Foster Theater. A interactive exploration of the past, present, and future of Rock Opera.  Recorded and live performance examples including: Concept Album, Rock Opera, Symphonic Metal, Opera Metal, Rock Musicals, Rap Opera, and Hip Hopera provide historical context, a sampling of current repertoire, and set the stage for discussion about groundbreaking future collaborations, education and outreach opportunities, and genre-expanding projects.  Enjoy the music, share perspectives and help to ensure that Opera continues to rock, now, and for future generations!

This annual celebration of opera scenes is an entertaining energetic evening featuring young artists from all across the United States in undergraduate and graduate opera divisions and a musical theatre division. National finalists are selected from a competitive preliminary round.