(Photo credits: Ben Livengood & Frank Gimpaya)

Composer James Adler and Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Victoria Livengood met with OperaWire to discuss the new album, “That Star in the Picture,” which features a re-recording of “Pie Jesu” from Adler’s “Memento mori: An AIDS Requiem” (2001).

In recognition of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, we began by discussing “Memento Mori.” The work is an oratorio for soloists, men’s chorus and chamber orchestra and is dedicated to those who have succumbed to AIDS. The piece consists of traditional English, Hebrew, and Latin texts with original prose and poetry by Quentin Crisp, Philip Justin Smith, Denise Stokes, and Bill Weaver. Livengood re-recorded “Pie Jesu” in a chamber setting for the new album.

“That Star in the Picture” is a collection of Adler’s musical theater and art songs. It features sopranos Elizaveta Ulakhovich and Shana Farr, tenors Kennedy Kanagawa and Michael Buchanan, and baritone Perry Sook. For this album, Adler was named a Silver Medal Winner in the Global Music Awards Composer category.

OperaWire: What does “Memento mori: An AIDS Requiem” mean to you? Is there a piece you connect with most?

James Adler: I had lost about 160 to 175 loved ones to AIDS and I had to do something and I had to do it musically.

Picking a favorite piece feels like picking a favorite child, but I will tell you the “Pie Jesu” octavo outsold the others in the requiem ten to one. It’s got that dark, rich color that I think lends itself to the Latin setting of the text.

Victoria Livengood: James wrote his requiem with an understanding on how to write for the mezzo voice. When I tried it for the very first time I just felt like I had put on a velvet glove. Then digging in I connected to the piece because I also had lost friends to AIDS. It was just such a poignant moment for me.

OW: Victoria, can you please talk about the first recording of “Pie Jesu” versus the new chamber version?

VL: James called me to pitch the re-recording idea when I was performing in San Francisco, the call came as a big surprise. I didn’t have my score, so I listened on iTunes, since I hadn’t heard it in a long time and I sat in my friend’s San Francisco apartment listening to it and I started sobbing. I was sobbing at just reliving the experience and at hearing my younger self and not realizing how much has evolved and how much time has past. It was incredible, it was a real, emotional experience. I’ve sung this piece on recitals and have programmed it for my students, but getting to recreate this piece was a blessing.

The first recording was in 2000, and then I re-recorded it in January of 2023. So, 23 years later obviously the voice has evolved. I’ve become more of a contralto than a mezzo, the voice is lower, richer, fuller. This is one of my favorite things about working with living composers, it’s fantastic, you can say, “I’m not as comfortable with this tessitura as I was when we did it 23 years ago,” and James and I talked about that over the phone and in emails, so when I got to his apartment in New York for the rehearsal we even came up with ideas on the fly once the ensemble got there. There was an ethereal felling I remember in the studio for the re-record. We all worked together to make it better and better. I was thrilled with the final product.

I think when you’re 23-years older things take on even more meaning, more color, and become more poignant. Now I have lost friends and I just think that I bring maturity and experience to it this time that I maybe didn’t have in 2000. It was a different experience and more emotional for me, but it was equally as beautiful but there is an added depth.

OW: James, what did your process look like when making the chamber arrangement?

JA: There’s a lot of love involved in this. I spend hours and hours orchestrating and re-orchestrating. But like Victoria said, we all came together in the rehearsal and made adjustments that just worked. They matched what I had in mind, and more.

Victoria and I talked about how we wanted to make it the same, yet different and how we wanted to breathe new life into it. I put a little bit of minimalism into the accompaniment to darken it some from the original version.

OW: Tell me about the curation of “That Star in the Picture.” What inspired you?

JA: This album was a celebration of my theater music. I’m one of the many people who was privileged to say that my mentor since 1978 was Stephen Sondheim, and Steve loved my theater music but he also loved art music. So that’s one of the reasons the album has theater music. Our deal was, whenever I was proud of something I was to send it to him, and when I sent him the requiem, he said, (in a letter) “Dear James, I finally had a chance to listen to your requiem and found it beautiful and moving thanks for sending it. Happy New Year, Steve.” The “Pie Jesu” is a stand alone piece because it can be performed with orchestra, chamber ensemble, or just voice and piano. This piece has touched hearts in so many ways and needed to be included on this album.

I’m so proud everything on this album. Everything was hand-chosen, not by committee, and there is an extraordinary amount of talent on this. I wanted to make something that was special, from the heart and to the heart. So that’s why Victoria Livengood is the number two track because at that point people are ready for something special.

VL: I think “Pie Jesu” is the piece that has gotten the most attention and the reason you selected it out of the whole requiem to put on this new album is because of the melody. This melody, it’s a tune that you will listen to and hum even after you hear it, which is hard to find in modern music.

OW: You talk about “putting a personal stamp on” the requiem by including a “gay perspective” and incorporating your Jewish heritage. Is this something you strive for in all your music? In “That Star in the Picture?”

JA: My instinct is to write for singers first, and then for music to be sung for audiences to tap hearts. To me the story is told even if people don’t understand what the lyrics mean, they’re feeling the meaning of the piece, and the message of the piece, and the heart of the piece from the melody.

OW: How do you as a singer put a personal stamp on your work?

VL: In my opinion when composers like James write to showcase the mezzo voice, it’s much easier to connect with the piece, it’s more relatable. I can dig into those low, rich notes without having to fight something that’s uncomfortable to sing. I love it when composers feel and understand the “earth mother” sound and the color that we bring to the table.