I’m thrilled that the focus of my work right now is developing brand new shows. I love the collaborative process and the opportunity to contribute to the creation of something new.
I just finished working on THE WOLF BY THE EARS a new opera by Dana Wilson, based on the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. I returned to my alma mater, Ithaca College on May 2nd, 2012, as a guest artist to play Thomas Jefferson, a man I have wanted to play ever since I saw the film of 1776. Jefferson said “Music is the passion of my soul.”, a sentiment I share. My fascination with Jefferson deepened when I visited Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia while working at Ash Lawn Opera in 2005. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with two old friends and celebrated members of the opera community, Director David Lefkowich and Conductor Brian DeMaris on this great new piece. It is a complex score and a complex character. I was especially excited to be returning to the academic setting and to work with students. I was reminded of the wonderful experience I had in summer 2009 when I returned to my high school to play the title role in a benefit production of SWEENEY TODD between performing in SOUTH PACIFIC and THE ADDAMS FAMILY on Broadway. It is always inspiring to experience the passion and commitment of students of music and the theatre and to learn from them. THE WOLF BY THE EARS is a fantastic opera and tells a very important chapter of our American story. I hope this piece gets some notice and has a life in the operatic world.
Prior to that was another new opera, A BLESSING ON THE MOON by Andy Teirstein based on the novel by Joseph Skibell. With a cast of five, most of us played several characters. The story centered around Chaim Skibelski, an incredible man on an incredible journey across Poland. The opera was accompanied by the Grammy nominated Warsaw Village Band, who flew over from Poland to be a part of this mesmerizing piece. We enjoyed a one night only stint at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge and three days at Vancouver’s Chutzpah Festival. I got to play a German soldier, a Rabbi who was reincarnated as a crow, a Chassidic fellow named Kalman, and a few other wildly different characters. It was an absolute blast and a deeply rewarding artistic experience…and ANOTHER fantastic new opera that I hope to see have a life beyond our production. New opera! It’s important!
Speaking of new opera, I have recently decided to dip my hands into composing for the first time. I have always wanted to write a piece. In the fall of 2011, while visiting a favorite professor of mine at Ithaca College, I was presented with the challenge to write an opera myself. Though a slightly daunting task, I have to admit I was excited by the challenge. I have never written music but have been submerged in it since I was born and began formal training on the piano at age 5. I have been performing in operas for the past 10 years and more recently producing and developing new opera as Artistic Director of Metropolis Opera Project. Now I am sitting down at my dusty piano to put my knowledge of the genre to work. Wish me luck!