Greetings, friends. It’s been way too long since I’ve posted, in part because I’ve been legitimately busy with a million other things, in part because I’ve gotten out of the habit, and in part because I’ve gotten in my head about it. The old nagging inner critic working overtime to keep the bar too high. I’m not always going to have something super insightful to say, but if I wait till I’m convinced what I have to say is super insightful, well, then it might be a while. So I decided to post a quick post today no matter what.
I’ve also decided to broaden to focus of the blog a little bit, from simply being a means of encouraging potential opera fans to go see operas that are coming up in their areas (or on Met in HD) to being a place where I can also share updates on my own work as a librettist. So, a quick update on current projects:
- I finished work in February on a one-act libretto called “The Pilot” (an original story developed in collaboration with Cleveland-area composer Lorenzo Salvagni). I hope we might see this opera produced as part of Holy Rosary Church’s Christmas programming in December 2020.
- I am in the process of making revisions based on excellent feedback from another wonderful Cleveland composer, Inna Onofrei, on a new libretto based on the Armenian legend of “Ara the Beautiful.”
- I am excited to begin work on an libretto based on De Maupassant’s tale “Le Horlà”–my first attempt at a libretto in French–for a collaboration with the Houston-based composer Andrew Schneider.
I’m also thrilled to embark on a deep-dive with a student into three Verdi operas and the Shakespeare plays that inspired them: Macbeth, Otello, and Falstaff. We’ll draw on Gary Wills’s excellent brief study, Verdi’s Shakespeare, as well as Joseph Kerman’s excellent Opera as Drama. How lucky am I?
Till next time, don’t forget to take a peek as some of the amazing opera the Met is streaming every night during the current shutdown. (I’m hoping to catch Verdi’s Ernani next Tuesday, myself.) And consider sending even a small gift to your favorite arts organization today. Helping great arts organizations to survive this pandemic is in everyone’s best interest!
Till next time, happy listening,
Tim
theoperaevangelistwordpresscom 