Gotham Chamber Opera
Encyclopedia
Gotham Chamber Opera is a professional opera company located in New York City, New York, and is a member of Opera America
. The company specializes in producing rarely performed chamber opera
s from the Baroque era
to the present. The company was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street Chamber Opera by Artistic Director Neal Goren. In 2003, it changed its name to the Gotham Chamber Opera after incorporating as an independent 501(c)3 organization. Its Executive Director is David Bennett .
(1771), staged by Christopher Alden in 2001 at the Playhouse at the Abrons Arts Center, a 350-seat theater on the New Yorks's Lower East Side.
Soon after, the company produced a double bill of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (1689) and Darius Milhaud
's Les malheurs d'Orphée (1924). Two more American premieres followed in November 2002 with Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů
's 1928 Dada opera, Larmes du couteau (Tears of the Knife), and his 1935 Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest).
's 1935 masterpiece Die schwarze Spinne (The Black Widow).
Gotham's February 2005 production of Handel's Arianna in Creta
played to full houses and drew favorable reviews. That summer, in a co-production with the Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA
, the company performed Ottorino Respighi
's fantastical La bella dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty in the Woods), featuring the puppetry of Basil Twist. In the spring of 2006, Benjamin Britten's only comedy, Albert Herring
, received its first professional staging in New York in more than 30 years, and in the winter of 2007, Rossini's Il signor Bruschino
received its first major professional New York staging in more than half a century.
In the 2007-2008 season, the company presented New York City’s first staged production of Astor Piazzolla
's 1968 tango opera María de Buenos Aires
; Scenes of Gypsy Life, a fully staged evening of song cycle
s by Janáček
and Dvořák
; and Ariadne Unhinged, a retelling of the Ariadne myth
through the music of Monteverdi, Haydn, and Schoenberg
. And in 2009, Mark Morris
directed the U.S. stage premiere of Haydn's L'isola disabitata
.
Gotham presented Haydn’s Il mondo della luna
at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History in January 2010. This high-tech production, staged by Diane Paulus, featured NASA-generated moon travel projections on the Planetarium's 360-degree dome.
In October 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera with Tectonic Theater Project
presented the U.S. premiere of Xavier Montsalvatge's "El gato con botas (Puss in Boots)." The production was directed by Moisés Kaufman
, with bunraku puppetry by the Blind Summit Theatre of London, England. The opera premiered at The New Victory Theater in New York City.
In November 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera, Music-Theatre Group and the Opera Company of Philadelphia
announced the commission of a new American opera, Dark Sisters, composed by Nico Muhly
with libretto by Stephen Karam, conducted by Neal Goren, and directed by Rebecca Taichman. The work is co-commissioned and will be co-produced by the three organizations. It scheduled to have its world premiere in November 2011 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in New York, one of the first works to be presented at the Theater following the creation of a new lobby at the space. Dark Sisters will also be presented in June 2012 as part of the Opera Company of Philadelphia's chamber opera series at the Perelman Theater. Gotham has scheduled two workshops and orchestra readings in November 2010 and March 2011, for the new work.
As it has grown, Gotham Chamber Opera has increasingly become more involved in the New York City community, with appearances on WNYC, displays at Bergdorf Goodman
and Prada Soho, annual collaborations with the Gagosian Gallery
, and performances in various Manhattan venues. The company's activities also include school residencies, workshops, and free rehearsals.
Opera America
Opera America, officially OPERA America, is a service organization in North America promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera...
. The company specializes in producing rarely performed chamber opera
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
s from the Baroque era
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
to the present. The company was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street Chamber Opera by Artistic Director Neal Goren. In 2003, it changed its name to the Gotham Chamber Opera after incorporating as an independent 501(c)3 organization. Its Executive Director is David Bennett .
Henry Street Chamber Opera
The company first presented the American premiere of Mozart's Il sogno di ScipioneIl sogno di Scipione
Il sogno di Scipione, K. 126, is a dramatic serenade in one act composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, which is based on the book Somnium Scipionis by Cicero. Mozart had originally composed the work at the age of 15 for his patron, Prince-Archbishop Sigismund von...
(1771), staged by Christopher Alden in 2001 at the Playhouse at the Abrons Arts Center, a 350-seat theater on the New Yorks's Lower East Side.
Soon after, the company produced a double bill of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (1689) and Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
's Les malheurs d'Orphée (1924). Two more American premieres followed in November 2002 with Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
's 1928 Dada opera, Larmes du couteau (Tears of the Knife), and his 1935 Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest).
Gotham Chamber Opera
After incorporating as an independent 501(c)3 organization in 2003, the newly renamed Gotham Chamber Opera continued its emphasis on overlooked treasures with the American premiere of Swiss composer Heinrich SutermeisterHeinrich Sutermeister
Heinrich Sutermeister was a Swiss opera composer.-Life and career:During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid 1930s, he devoted his life to...
's 1935 masterpiece Die schwarze Spinne (The Black Widow).
Gotham's February 2005 production of Handel's Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.-Performance history:The opera was first given at...
played to full houses and drew favorable reviews. That summer, in a co-production with the Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy...
, the company performed Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's fantastical La bella dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty in the Woods), featuring the puppetry of Basil Twist. In the spring of 2006, Benjamin Britten's only comedy, Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
, received its first professional staging in New York in more than 30 years, and in the winter of 2007, Rossini's Il signor Bruschino
Il signor Bruschino
Il signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo is a one act operatic farce by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the play Le fils par hasard, ou ruse et folie by Alissan de Chazet and E.T.M. Ourry...
received its first major professional New York staging in more than half a century.
In the 2007-2008 season, the company presented New York City’s first staged production of Astor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
's 1968 tango opera María de Buenos Aires
María de Buenos Aires
María de Buenos Aires is a tango opera with music by Ástor Piazzolla. and libretto by Horacio Ferrer which premiered at the Sala Planeta in Buenos Aires in May 1968....
; Scenes of Gypsy Life, a fully staged evening of song cycle
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
s by Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
and Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
; and Ariadne Unhinged, a retelling of the Ariadne myth
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...
through the music of Monteverdi, Haydn, and Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
. And in 2009, Mark Morris
Mark Morris
Mark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments...
directed the U.S. stage premiere of Haydn's L'isola disabitata
L'isola disabitata
L'isola disabitata , Hob. 28/9, is an opera by Joseph Haydn, his tenth opera, written for the Eszterházy court and premiered December 6, 1779. The libretto by Pietro Metastasio was previously set by Giuseppe Bonno and subsequently used by Manuel García...
.
Gotham presented Haydn’s Il mondo della luna
Il mondo della luna
Il mondo della luna , Hob. 28/7, is an opera buffa by Joseph Haydn with a libretto by Carlo Goldoni, first performed at Eszterháza, Hungary on 3 August 1777. Goldoni's libretto had previously been set by four other composers, first by the composer Baldassare Galuppi and performed in Venice in the...
at the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History in January 2010. This high-tech production, staged by Diane Paulus, featured NASA-generated moon travel projections on the Planetarium's 360-degree dome.
In October 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera with Tectonic Theater Project
Tectonic Theater Project
With Moisés Kaufman at the helm, the Tectonic Theater Project explores the ways in which experimentation with form and structure can inform theme in contemporary drama....
presented the U.S. premiere of Xavier Montsalvatge's "El gato con botas (Puss in Boots)." The production was directed by Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman is a playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project. He is the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, 33 Variations and is perhaps best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project...
, with bunraku puppetry by the Blind Summit Theatre of London, England. The opera premiered at The New Victory Theater in New York City.
In November 2010, Gotham Chamber Opera, Music-Theatre Group and the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Opera Company of Philadelphia
The Opera Company of Philadelphia is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces four fully staged opera productions annually, encompassing works from the seventeenth through the 21st century...
announced the commission of a new American opera, Dark Sisters, composed by Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly is a contemporary classical music composer, who has worked and recorded with classical and pop/rock musicians. He currently lives in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan in New York City.-Early years:...
with libretto by Stephen Karam, conducted by Neal Goren, and directed by Rebecca Taichman. The work is co-commissioned and will be co-produced by the three organizations. It scheduled to have its world premiere in November 2011 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College in New York, one of the first works to be presented at the Theater following the creation of a new lobby at the space. Dark Sisters will also be presented in June 2012 as part of the Opera Company of Philadelphia's chamber opera series at the Perelman Theater. Gotham has scheduled two workshops and orchestra readings in November 2010 and March 2011, for the new work.
As it has grown, Gotham Chamber Opera has increasingly become more involved in the New York City community, with appearances on WNYC, displays at Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
and Prada Soho, annual collaborations with the Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. There are currently eleven gallery spaces: three in New York; two in London; one in each of Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Moscow.-1980s:...
, and performances in various Manhattan venues. The company's activities also include school residencies, workshops, and free rehearsals.
U.S. and world premieres
- 2001 Il Sogno di Scipione (1771) by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
(U.S. Stage Premiere)
- 2002 Les Larmes du couteau (1928) by Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
(U.S. Premiere)
- 2002 Hlas Lesa (1935) by Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
(U.S. Premiere)
- 2004 Die schwarze Spinne (1935) by Heinrich SutermeisterHeinrich SutermeisterHeinrich Sutermeister was a Swiss opera composer.-Life and career:During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid 1930s, he devoted his life to...
(U.S. Premiere)
- 2005 Arianna in Creta (1733) by Georg Friederich Handel (U.S. Stage Premiere)
- 2005 La bella dormente nel bosco (1922) by Ottorino RespighiOttorino RespighiOttorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
(U.S. Stage Premiere)
- 2008 Ariadne Unhinged, music by Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
(1608), Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
(1789) and Arnold SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
(1912) (World Premiere)
- 2009 L’isola disabitata (1779) by Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
(New York Stage Premiere)
- 2010 El gato con botas (1946) by Xavier MontsalvatgeXavier MontsalvatgeXavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
(U.S. Stage Premiere)
Productions of the company
- 2001 Il Sogno di Scipione (1771) by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, directed by Christopher AldenChristopher Alden (director)Christopher Alden is a radical theater director known for staging revisionist productions of opera. He is the twin brother of David Alden, also an opera director, and belongs to a generation of modernist directors that includes Robert Wilson and Peter Sellars, though Alden retains his own personal...
at The Abrons Art Center
- 2002 Dido and Eneas (1689) by Henry PurcellHenry PurcellHenry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
, directed by Laurence Dale at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2002 Les Malheurs d’Orphée (1924) by Darius MilhaudDarius MilhaudDarius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, directed by Laurence Dale at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2002 Les Larmes du couteau (1928) by Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
, directed by Ned Canty at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2002 Hlas Lesa (1935) by Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav MartinuBohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
, directed by Ned Canty at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2004 Die schwarze Spinne (1935) by Heinrich SutermeisterHeinrich SutermeisterHeinrich Sutermeister was a Swiss opera composer.-Life and career:During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid 1930s, he devoted his life to...
, directed by Robin Guarino at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2005 Arianna in Creta (1733) by Georg Friederich Handel, directed by Christopher Alden at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2005 La bella dormente nel bosco (1922) by Ottorino RespighiOttorino RespighiOttorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
, directed by Basil Twist at Lincoln Center
- 2006 Albert Herring (1947) by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, directed by David Schweizer at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2007 Il signor Bruschino (1813) by Gioachino Rossini, directed by Robin Guarino at The Abrons Arts Center
- 2007 María de Buenos Aires (1968) by Astor Piazzola directed by David Parsons at Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU
- 2007 Scenes of Gypsy Life a cautionary tale featuring music of Antonin DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
(1880) and Leos JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
(1919), directed by Eric Einhorn at the Morgan Library
- 2008 Ariadne Unhinged, music by Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
(1608), Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
(1789) and Arnold SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
(1912) directed by Karole Armitage at The Playhouse, Abrons Arts Center
- 2009 L’isola disabitata (1779) by Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
., directed by Mark Morris at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater
- 2010 Il mondo della luna (1777) by Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, directed by Diane Paulus at the Hayden PlanetariumHayden PlanetariumThe Hayden Planetarium is a public planetarium, part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, currently directed by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson....
- 2010 El gato con botas (1946) by Xavier MontsalvatgeXavier MontsalvatgeXavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
, directed by Moisés Kaufman at the New Victory Theater