First performance of my work in 2020! January 4th and 5th at The Studios of Key West.
Directed by Murphy Davis
The presentation of two World Premieres and one Regional Premiere of three contemporary one-act opera theatre monologues performed over a single evening, “Single Occupancies” proves that opera is just as powerful, funny, emotional and relevant as ever. The first of the operas depicts a young man with obsessive compulsive disorder, and an absurd encounter with a Manhattan dog walker that triggers his grief over the recent loss of his dog. The second is a conversation between an international socialite, accused of a crime, being interviewed by an unseen journalist that blurs the lines between fact and fiction. And the third, with a libretto by Pulitzer-winner Mark Campbell, whose Stonewall just opened the New York City Opera’s season, depicts an artist who has assisted in the suicide of her friend dying of AIDS as she paints a canvas awaiting the inevitable in the “other room”. Contemporary opera is a genre enjoying a resurgence nationally. “Single Occupancies” justifies the popularity with a production by top-notch performers, telling stories that are fresh and relevant. Each opera is unified by setting, theme and texture.
The evening features a libretto and presentation by Mark Campbell, perhaps the most prolific and well-known librettist of new American opera.
Premiere – New York City, 2014, in the “Inner Voices” series. A moving, often humorous musical, work celebrating the power of friendship and birth of their activism during the early years of the AIDS crisis. In 1990, in a Manhattan apartment, Lena is in the living room of her friend Steve, painting at an easel to distract her from assisting in his suicide. Steve is seriously ill and occupying the “other room.” Scored for piano, cello and digital electronics.