Ricky Ian Gordon
Encyclopedia
Ricky Ian Gordon is an American composer of songs, stage musicals
and opera. The death of his lover from AIDS
inspired Dream True (1998) and Orpheus and Euridice (2005). He has composed several operas and had his music performed by Audra McDonald
, Dawn Upshaw
, Renée Fleming
, Todd Palmer and others.
Gordon grew up on Long Island
and attended Carnegie Mellon University
. Donald Katz based his book, Home Fires: An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar America, on Gordon's family life.
In February 2007, Gordon's opera, The Grapes of Wrath
, premiered in Saint Paul, Minnesota
. The opera was co-commissioned and co-produced by the Minnesota Opera
and the Utah Symphony & Opera.
. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam; and he grew up on Long Island
with his three sisters, Susan, Lorraine and Sheila.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and opera. The death of his lover from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
inspired Dream True (1998) and Orpheus and Euridice (2005). He has composed several operas and had his music performed by Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...
, Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, Todd Palmer and others.
Gordon grew up on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
and attended Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. Donald Katz based his book, Home Fires: An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar America, on Gordon's family life.
In February 2007, Gordon's opera, The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (opera)
The opera version of The Grapes of Wrath was composed by Ricky Ian Gordon to a libretto by Michael Korie based on John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel of the same title. The three-act opera was originally commissioned by the Minnesota Opera and co-produced with Utah Symphony & Opera...
, premiered in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The opera was co-commissioned and co-produced by the Minnesota Opera
Minnesota Opera
The Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Frankenstein by Libby Larsen...
and the Utah Symphony & Opera.
Early life
Gordon was born in Oceanside, New YorkOceanside, New York
Oceanside is a hamlet located in the south part of the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York. The population was 32,109 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam; and he grew up on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
with his three sisters, Susan, Lorraine and Sheila.
Awards and recognition
- Obie AwardObie AwardThe Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
- AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Award - Richard RogersRichard RogersRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
Award - Jonathan LarsonJonathan LarsonJonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!...
Foundation Award - Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
Alumni Merit Award (2003) - Shen Family Foundation Award
- Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
Award - Gilman and Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Award
- Constance Klinsky Award
- Multiple awards from:
- ASCAP
- National Endowment of the Arts
- American Music CenterAmerican Music CenterThe American Music Center is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the creating, performing, and enjoying new American music. The organization was founded in 1939 by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter.The organization has a...
- Residencies: Ucross FoundationUcross FoundationThe Ucross Foundation, located in Ucross, Wyoming, is a nonprofit organization that operates an internationally known retreat for visual artists, writers, composers and choreographers working in all creative disciplines.-History:...
and Civitella Ranieri Foundation
External links
- http://www.andflowerspickthemselves.com/
- http://www.rickysingsricky.com/
- http://www.greensneakerscd.com/