Deborah Drattell is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

. She was born in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York, and started her career in music as a violinist. Her compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Tanglewood and Caramoor Music Festivals, and many other groups and venues. Renowned for her operas, she rewrote the role of the villain in Nicholas and Alexandra, Rasputin, from baritone to tenor when Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...

 expressed interest in the role.

Selected Operas

• Festival of Regrets (1999)
• Marina Tsvetaeva (2000)
• Lilith
  Lilith (opera)
  Lilith is an English-language opera created by American composer Deborah Drattell, with a libretto by David Steven Cohen. The opera reimagines Eve returning to Eden following the funeral of Adam...
  
  (2001)
• Nicholas and Alexandra (2003, Los Angeles Opera
  Los Angeles Opera
  The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
  
  ), with Plácido Domingo
  Plácido Domingo
  Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
  
   as Rasputin, Nancy Gustafson as Alexandra, and Rod Gilfry
  Rod Gilfry
  Rodney Gilfry is a leading American opera baritone. After launching his career at Frankfurt Opera in 1987, Gilfry quickly established a reputation for stylish singing and acting...
  
   as Nicholas.
• Best Friends (2005) libretto by Wendy Wasserstein
  Wendy Wasserstein
  Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
  
   and Christopher Durang
  Christopher Durang
  Christopher Ferdinand Durang is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s.- Life :...
  
  

Selected Orchestral Works

• Clarinet Concerto: Fire Dances (1986)
• The Fire Within (1989)
• Sorrow is not Melancholy (1993)