VIEW THIS IN YOUR BROWSER. "Completely riveting." Musical America. Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts

Transcription

1 VIEW THIS IN YOUR BROWSER FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 14, 2018 Tickets & Information: 212/ PRESS CONTACTS Aleba Gartner, 212/ Arlene Kriv, 212/ "Completely riveting." Musical America Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts opens its 30th Anniversary Season and launches its new Chamber Opera Commissioning Initiative with the New York Premiere of PROVING UP MUSIC BY MISSY MAZZOLI LIBRETTO BY ROYCE VAVREK Adapted from the short story Proving Up by Karen Russell Co-commissioned by Washington National Opera, Opera Omaha, and Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2018 G. Schirmer Inc. In a new production by Opera Omaha After triumphing in Washington D.C. and Omaha, composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek's newest opera comes to NYC. This haunting tale of a family s pursuit of the American Dream will transform the Miller stage into post-civil War Nebraska. Wednesday, September 26, 2018, 8:00 p.m. Friday, September 28, 2018, 8:00 p.m.

2 Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street, New York, NY) Tickets: $40 $75; Students with valid ID: $7 $39 CLICK HERE for digital press kit with opera synopsis, bios, photos Plus a special event: Introducing Proving Up: A Conversation with Missy Mazzoli, Royce Vavrek, and Karen Russell Tuesday, September 25, 2018, 6:30 p.m. Lenfest Center for the Arts (615 W. 129th Street) On the eve of the New York premiere of their newest opera Proving Up, the creative duo joins Karen Russell author of the short story which they adapted for a conversation about the project with Associate Dean and Executive Director Melissa Smey. Free and open to the public. Registration opens in September. Co-Presented by Columbia University School of the Arts and Miller Theatre From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey: We are thrilled to launch our 30th Anniversary Season with the highly anticipated New York premiere of the opera Proving Up by the brilliant team of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. I am honored to have played a role in this project, and deeply grateful to co-commissioners Washington National Opera and Opera Omaha for inviting us to take part. I ve seen the work performed in Washington and in Omaha, and can t wait for New York audiences to experience this powerful new contribution to the repertoire.

3 A scene from Proving Up; Photo by James Matthew Daniel Opening Night Wednesday, September 26, 8:00 p.m. Friday, September 28, 8:00 p.m. Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street) Proving Up Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek thrilled audiences and critics alike in 2016 with the premiere of their opera Breaking the Waves. This dynamic creative duo reunites for Proving Up, a harrowing tale of a family s pursuit of the American Dream set in post-civil War Nebraska. Miller s 30th Anniversary Season opens with the New York premiere of this chamber opera that is by turns optimistic, exultant, and menacing. After its premiere at Opera Omaha this past April, Musical America described Proving Up as "completely riveting from the beginning to its devastating conclusion" and "a suspenseful, gripping, and unsettling work of music theater." Proving Up premiered in January 2018 at Washington D.C. s Kennedy Center, then the new production premiered in April 2018 at Opera Omaha as part of their newly launched ONE Festival. CREATIVE TEAM: Missy Mazzoli, composer Royce Vavrek, librettist Christopher Rountree, conductor James Darrah, production Nathan Troup, director Adam Rigg, scenic designer

4 Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, costume designer Pablo Santiago, lighting designer Ronell Oliveri, wig & makeup designer CAST: Michael Slattery, Miles Zegner John Moore, Mr. Johannes Pa Zegner Talise Trevigne, Mrs. Johannes Ma Zegner Cree Carrico, Zegner Daughter, Littler Abigail Nims, Zegner Daughter, Taller Andrew Harris, The Sodbuster Sam Shapiro, Peter Zegner International Contemporary Ensemble Royce Vavrek and Missy Mazzoli. Photo by Matt Zugale for Miller Theatre. Miller Theatre's Chamber Opera Commissioning Initiative Proving Up launches Miller Theatre's new Chamber Opera Commissioning Initiative, which will contribute meaningfully to the American opera landscape, provide composers with an opportunity to create significant new work, and increase audience engagement with contemporary opera. This initiative builds upon the success of Miller

5 Theatre s past acclaimed productions, including the New York stage premiere of Elliott Carter s What Next? and the U.S. premieres of Olga Neuwirth s Lost Highway and Iannis Xenakis s Oresteia. As part of its famed Opera Workshop in the 1940s, Columbia presented many important new opera works and rediscoveries, most notably the world premieres of Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden s Paul Bunyan, and Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein s The Mother of Us All. Miller Theatre is proud to celebrate its rededication to this pioneering legacy. Missy Mazzoli As an established composer on the contemporary music scene, Missy Mazzoli inhabits an exquisite and mysterious sound-world that melds indie-rock sensibilities with formal training from Louis Andriessen, David Lang, Aaron Jay Kernis, Richard Ayres, and others. Missy Mazzoli s music has been performed all over the world by the BBC Symphony, Kronos Quartet, JACK Quartet, eighth blackbird, LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, and Opera Philadelphia, among others. Her music has been featured at numerous festivals including the BBC Proms, Bang on a Can Marathon and Ecstatic Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival (Santa Cruz), and the Gaudeamus Festival (Amsterdam). Her opera with librettist Royce Vavrek, Breaking the Waves, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia with Beth Morrison Productions was awarded the inaugural Award for Best New Opera by the Music Critics Association of North America and hailed as among the best twenty-first-century American operas yet produced by Opera News. Mazzoli is currently on the composition faculty of the Mannes College of Music, a division of the New School, and a co-founder of Luna Composition Lab. An active pianist, Mazzoli performs with Victoire, an all-star, all-female quintet (Time Out New York) she founded, which is dedicated exclusively to her own compositions. Royce Vavrek Royce Vavrek is a Canada-born, Brooklyn-based librettist and lyricist who has been called an exemplary creator of operatic prose (The New York Times), and one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world (CBC Radio). His opera Angel s Bone with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. With composer Missy Mazzoli he wrote Song from the Uproar, premiered by Beth Morrison Projects in 2012, and subsequently seen in multiple presentations around the country. Their second opera, an adaptation of Lars von Trier s Breaking the Waves, premiered at Opera Philadelphia to critical acclaim in September of The work won the 2017 Music Critics Association of North America award for Best New Opera and was nominated for Best World Premiere at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Royce is currently collaborating with composer David T. Little to develop an original work for the Metropolitan Opera through the Met/LCT commissioning program. Vavrek is Co-Artistic Director of The Coterie, an opera-theater company founded with Tony-nominee Lauren Worsham. He

6 holds a BFA in Filmmaking and Creative Writing from Concordia University s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University. Miller Theatre Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and one of the most vital forces nationwide for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, and multimedia performances. Founded in 1988, Miller Theatre has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles over the years, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the United States. A fourtime recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller Theatre continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders to present innovative programs, support the development of new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences. Opera Omaha Opera Omaha, the only professional opera company in Nebraska, began in 1958 as the Omaha Civic Opera Society, a volunteer association, and with tremendous community support became fully professional by Opera Omaha produces a season of original mainstage productions, presented at the historic Orpheum Theater, and smaller productions and musical events throughout the community. Opera Omaha is internationally known for its productions of eight world premieres and four American premieres of classical masterpieces, and is highly regarded regionally for an extensive community engagement and education program that annually reaches as many as 15,000 people from elementary school through adulthood. Major support for Proving Up is provided by Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts and H.F. Lenfest Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation. Opera Omaha's New York appearance is generously supported by Omaha Steaks.

7 Columbia University s Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall. Directions and information are available online at millertheatre.com or via the Miller Theatre Box Office at The Box Office is closed for phone and in person sales for the summer and will reopen Tuesday, September 4. Tickets are available online. For photos, please contact Arlene Kriv at 212/ or ark2125@columbia.edu. For further information, press tickets, photos, and to arrange interviews, please contact Aleba & Co. at 212/ or aleba@alebaco.com. Copyright 2018 Aleba & Co., All rights reserved. subscribe to this list unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences