Real Time Opera
Encyclopedia
Real Time Opera is a performing arts organization dedicated to the production of new opera. Founded in 2002, it is based in Contoocook
, New Hampshire
and produces opera across the USA, engaging professional singers and a range of instrumental ensembles for performances at a wide variety of venues.
and Susan Gubernat based on the life of the famous Polish children's doctor, orphanage director and Holocaust martyr, Janusz Korczak
. It was performed at the Lebanon
Opera House in New Hampshire and in May 2004 was presented at New York City Opera
as part of VOX 2004: Showcasing American Composers. It continues to have workshopped performances at Opera Theatre of Brooklyn.
Hawaiian Tan Ratface
with words and music by John Trubee was premiered in February, 2004, at San Francisco's Studio Z, accompanied by the Ugly Janitors of America with choreography by Carl Franzoni.
Feynman
is a new opera by composer Jack Vees, Operations Director of the Yale
Center for Studies in Music Technology, and librettist Paul Schick. Its subject is the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and cult figure Richard Feynman
. A percussion quartet provides the orchestra backing a solo Dr. Feynman onstage. The premiere performance at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, CT, in June 2005, and subsequent tour of New England were performed by SO Percussion and baritone Michael Cavalieri. In December 2005, Feynman was restaged in New York City at the Knitting Factory
, with lighting and video design by Barry Steele and scenery design by Damen Mroczek. A world tour is in planning.
and librettist Paul Schick, first produced in 2009. A House in Bali is based on the autobiographical book by Canadian composer Colin McPhee
. Performances in New York City
, San Francisco and Bali
have combined the traditional Balinese gamelan
and dancers with Western musicians from the Bang on a Can All-Stars
.
Leave me Alone!
was written by Dan Plonsey
to a new libretto by Harvey Pekar
who is perhaps best known for his series of autobiographical comic books and the subsequent movie: American Splendor
. It premiered January 31, 2009 at Oberlin college.
Contoocook, New Hampshire
Contoocook is a village and census-designated place within the town of Hopkinton in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,444 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and produces opera across the USA, engaging professional singers and a range of instrumental ensembles for performances at a wide variety of venues.
First seasons and achievements
The first season in 2003 presented a workshop of Korczak's Orphans by Adam SilvermanAdam Silverman
Adam Benjamin Silverman is a composer of contemporary classical music. His works include the opera Korczak's Orphans , chamber and orchestral music, and music for the theater...
and Susan Gubernat based on the life of the famous Polish children's doctor, orphanage director and Holocaust martyr, Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor or Stary Doktor...
. It was performed at the Lebanon
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
Opera House in New Hampshire and in May 2004 was presented at New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
as part of VOX 2004: Showcasing American Composers. It continues to have workshopped performances at Opera Theatre of Brooklyn.
Hawaiian Tan Ratface
with words and music by John Trubee was premiered in February, 2004, at San Francisco's Studio Z, accompanied by the Ugly Janitors of America with choreography by Carl Franzoni.
Feynman
is a new opera by composer Jack Vees, Operations Director of the Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Center for Studies in Music Technology, and librettist Paul Schick. Its subject is the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and cult figure Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
. A percussion quartet provides the orchestra backing a solo Dr. Feynman onstage. The premiere performance at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, CT, in June 2005, and subsequent tour of New England were performed by SO Percussion and baritone Michael Cavalieri. In December 2005, Feynman was restaged in New York City at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
, with lighting and video design by Barry Steele and scenery design by Damen Mroczek. A world tour is in planning.
Additional Works
A House in Bali an opera by composer Evan ZiporynEvan Ziporyn
Evan Ziporyn is an American composer of post-minimalist music and music for Balinese gamelans. He plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, and metallophone, borrowing from classical music, avant-garde, and jazz...
and librettist Paul Schick, first produced in 2009. A House in Bali is based on the autobiographical book by Canadian composer Colin McPhee
Colin McPhee
Colin McPhee was a Canadian composer and musicologist. He is primarily known for being the first Western composer to make an ethnomusicological study of Bali, and for the quality of that work...
. Performances in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, San Francisco and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
have combined the traditional Balinese gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
and dancers with Western musicians from the Bang on a Can All-Stars
Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
.
Leave me Alone!
was written by Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
to a new libretto by Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
who is perhaps best known for his series of autobiographical comic books and the subsequent movie: American Splendor
American Splendor
American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals...
. It premiered January 31, 2009 at Oberlin college.