Eklund Opera Program Director Leigh Holman and student performan Meagan Mahlberm rehearse a scene from "A Song for Susan Smith," opening Friday, June 12, at the ATLAS Black Box Theater.
It鈥檚 mostly hard work.
It looks like magic from the outside, the process of creating a large-scale, complex work of art like an opera. But the more you are able to see inside the process, the more you see the hard work it takes to get from an idea to a viable piece of art to a fully committed production in front of an audience.
It is part of the wonder of the University of Colorado, Boulder College of Music CU NOW (New Operatic Works) program that it offers a glimpse into the magic-producing hard work of making a new opera, while advancing students鈥� careers and the world of opera.
The program, started six years ago by Leigh Holman, director of the CU Eklund Opera Program, brings composers to campus to work on developing a new operatic work, working over a couple of weeks with student singers in the CU College of Music. In a win-win-win situation, the students benefit from working closely with a composer on a new work, developing skills useful in the professional world; the composers benefit from hearing their work performed as they write it; and audiences benefit from seeing inside the creative process.
This year鈥檚 CU NOW program will come to fruition Friday and Sunday (June 12 and 14) with performances of scenes from an opera in progress by composer听听and librettist听, a CU alumnus whose other libretti include Kevin Puts鈥檚听Silent Night, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer prize in music, and the recently premiered听.
Scenes from Redler and Campbell鈥檚A Song for Susan Smith听will be performed with a cast of CU student singers at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the ATLAS Black Box Theater on the CU campus. The scenes will be stage directed by Holman.
The performance will feature six or seven of a projected 15 scenes in a one-act, 90-minute opera. Based on the notorious 1994 case of a woman who was sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of her two sons,听A Song for Susan Smith听does not dramatize or feature the killings. Instead, it focuses on the period between the killings and Smith鈥檚 eventual confession nine days later, and on Smith鈥檚 mental state during that time.
Between those two performances, CU NOW will also present the Composer Fellows鈥� Opera Showcase, scenes by CU student composers who have been working with Redler and other operatic professionals brought to campus for CU NOW, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, in the Music Theater inside the CU Imig Music Building. All CU NOW performances are free and open to the public.
A Song for Susan Smith听started as a scene that Redler wrote for his wife, soprano Brittney Redler, to sing for a doctoral voice recital. The text came from a completed libretto that Campbell had never used and forms a prologue to the opera, portraying Smith before the killings. That scene has now been performed several times, including as part of the Ft. Worth (Tex.) Opera鈥檚 Frontiers program. It will not be included in the CU performances but can be viewed on the composer鈥檚听听(scroll down to the video, featuring the composer at the piano and Brittney Redler singing).
Redler is not unaware that Susan Smith is a difficult subject for an opera, one that might be disturbing to some audience members. 鈥淚鈥檓 drawn to characters that are hard to comprehend,鈥� he says. 鈥淪usan Smith has been through a lot, but because [infanticide] is a too common thing鈥�500 cases a year!鈥擨 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 exploitive. I think it鈥檚 using a very specific instance to tell a very general story.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a horrible problem, because it鈥檚 not that these people are necessarily inherently evil. Susan came from an extremely dysfunctional childhood and household. So it鈥檚 about mental health and about mob mentality (when the town turns from supporting Susan to shunning her). A lot of the music is kind of trying to show Susan鈥檚 perspective.鈥�
Holman and Patrick Mason, a professor of voice, opera and choral studies in the CU College of Music, started CU NOW to give students experience tackling completely new music and new roles. At the time, there were few programs devoted to new opera, but that has changed in the past six years.
鈥淲hen we started this six years ago, there weren鈥檛 many people doing what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Holman says. 鈥淣ow, people are doing it everywhere.
鈥淭he most important thing that was happening at the Opera America Conference two weeks ago was new works鈥攃omposers there, librettists there, all these big companies looking for new works to do. That鈥檚 what audiences want. That鈥檚 where the market is now. Six year ago it wasn鈥檛.鈥�
CU鈥檚 unique niche in this world is taking works in progress that have not been completed or received a commission, works where the composers are just getting started, and giving them the chance to mold it to living, breathing singers. 鈥淲e like to do brand new things,鈥� Holman says. 鈥淲e want out students to have the opportunity to work with a brand new piece.
鈥淭he composers are hearing their piece for the first time with our students. And our students get the opportunity to work with the composers. Our students can鈥檛 listen to a recording and learn it. There鈥檚 no other singer that has already said, 鈥楾his is how it鈥檚 supposed to sound.鈥� It鈥檚 really their own interpretation.鈥�
Redler seconds Holman鈥檚 comments. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really great for (the students),鈥� he says. 鈥淚n professional opera companies, it鈥檚 the young artists who are doing the workshops and the readings of new works. It鈥檚 just such an important skill for them to have, to be able to pick up a new piece of sheet music that no one has ever recorded and learn it.鈥�
He is equally enthusiastic about what the program means for him as a composer. 鈥淗earing scenes that I鈥檝e only heard in my head is just so important,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he piece changes in front of an audience as well, so to get to see that is fantastic.鈥�
And the value for the audience? You can tell the rest of us: Go to the performances, and post your reaction here afterwards! You too might help open doors for new creations.
This article originally appeared in Sharps & Flatirons. .
