Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced on March 15 the six composer and librettist teams whose unpublished works have been selected for the company’s sixth annual, critically acclaimed new works series, Frontiers, funded in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
During the final week of the 2018 FWOpera Festival, these selected pieces will be presented in two separate showcases of three works each on Wednesday, May 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, and Thursday, May 3 from 7:30 to – 9:30 p.m. at Bass Performance Hall.
The performances will feature 20-minute excerpts of each selected piece sung by artists from the 2018 FWOpera Festival with piano accompaniment, the opera said.
Frontiers is entering its sixth season and has established itself as a pioneering leader in seeking out the best and brightest new voices in the opera industry, the opera said in a news release.
Fort Worth Opera also noted that two of the operas are by female composer-librettists.
In 2020, the opera will present the first opera composed by a woman in the company’s history, Gabriela Lena Frank’s The Last Dream of Frida and Diego.
Frontiers includes a distinguished panel of collaborative partners who will take part in closed feedback sessions with the composer and librettist teams to help them strengthen and develop their pieces, the opera said.
Tickets for the showcases are $10 and can be ordered by calling Fort Worth Opera’s Customer Service team at 877-396-7372.
THE OPERAS
Savitri & Sam: Composer John Mills Cockell. Librettist Ken Gass. Inspired by the true story of Savitri, a 17-year old high school student living in a remote Punjabi community of northern British Columbia who is fatally stabbed by her father after her love for Sam, an 18-year old aboriginal boy of Haisla heritage is exposed.
Mabel’s Call: Composer and librettist Nell Shaw Cohen. Inspired by the life of Mabel Dodge Luhan who abandons her life in 1910s New York as an international icon of the avant-garde and reinvents herself in the remote desert village of Taos, New Mexico.
Hagar and Ishmael: Composer and librettist William David Cooper. Egyptian handmaid Hagar encounters an angel after she flees Abraham’s camp, who tells her an incredible prophecy about her son Ishmael. Sixteen years later, Ishmael learns that newborn Isaac will be Abraham’s successor, and tries to kill him. Exiled and desperate in the desert, Hagar and Ishmael find faith, freedom and a marvelous destiny.
Companionship: Composer and librettist Rachel Peters. Recovering from a nervous breakdown, aspiring baker Leslie Sinclair finally reaches the end of her obsessive quest to bake the perfect baguette when the 207,345th one suddenly comes to life. Adapted from the short story by Arthur Phillips.
Domestic: Composer and librettist Ben Stevenson. Domestic is a set of two one-act operas exploring the ways that people interact when no one is watching. Act one is about how people end a relationship, while Act Two is about the hope that others can offer when things seem hopeless.
Fordlandia: Composer William Susman. Librettist Stuart Rojstaczer. Henry Ford and his son, Edsel, struggle over the leadership and future of Ford Motor Co. Henry’s inability to relinquish control to a son he loves dearly destroys Edsel emotionally and physically. The tragedy between father and son is only mitigated by the strength and actions of their wives