The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University will present “Inside Look: Modern American Operas” Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. in Morrison Theater at Brockman Hall for Opera, offering audiences an uncommon opportunity to experience how contemporary opera is created, staged and brought to life.
Led by internationally acclaimed stage director Paul Curran, the Aleko Endowed Artist and Director, the program explores two full-length American comic operas through a deconstructed, audience-guided format. Curran will work closely with Shepherd School voice students as they perform Karim Al-Zand’s world premiere “A Joint Interest” and William Bolcom’s fast-paced farce “Lucrezia.” He will also participate in a Q&A with Al-Zand before the performance.
“For a medium that is notoriously rooted in classical forms originating many centuries ago, there is something so special for young musicians and audiences alike to interact with living composers who are creating new works,” said Joshua Winograde, professor and director of opera. “It reminds us all that opera is a living, breathing and ever-evolving canon in which we can honor its ancient origins and celebrate its future at the same time. Normally, these types of exploratory, workshop performances are done with minimal musical forces, and so we are thrilled to be able to present these works with their fully intended orchestras.”
The Shepherd School Chamber Players will accompany both operas under the baton of Miguel Harth-Bedoya, offering students hands-on experience with staged contemporary works performed with full ensemble rather than piano reduction.
“Opera is such a collaborative art form,” said Al-Zand, professor of composition and theory. “It brings together instrumentalists, singers, staging and direction in a way that no other genre really does, and this project draws all of those elements together.”
Commissioned by the Shepherd School in celebration of its 50th anniversary, “A Joint Interest” marks a distinctive addition to the school’s slate of anniversary works. The piece composed by Al-Zand is a chamber opera scene for three singers and small ensemble inspired by O. Henry’s short story “Makes the Whole World Kin.” The comic narrative unfolds through a late-night encounter shaped by insomnia, minor crimes and the shared discomforts that quietly connect strangers.
“I wanted to create something that represented a different corner of the school,” Al-Zand said. “This piece is an operatic scene, and it felt like a great way to highlight collaboration between singers, instrumentalists and the opera program in a more intimate format.”
Rather than approaching the commission as a one-off project, Al-Zand said he saw it as the right moment to realize a long-held idea.
“Like most composers, I carry around a list of projects I’d love to write someday,” Al-Zand said. “This story had been on my mind for a long time, and this commission felt like the perfect opportunity to finally bring it to the stage.”
Al-Zand’s commission is part of a multiyear initiative commissioning seven new works by Shepherd School faculty composers in celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary, supported in part by Rice’s Office of Research. Learn more about the anniversary commissions here.
Following the premiere of “A Joint Interest,” the program continues with Bolcom’s “Lucrezia,” a 60-minute comic opera for five vocalists that blends sharp wit with theatrical flair as its title character outmaneuvers her admirers.
Tickets for “Inside Look: Modern American Operas” are pay-what-you-wish, starting at free, but are required. Click here for more information.