It was January 2020, on the Brooklyn waterfront. A bone-chilling wind funneled through old buildings, slamming the streets. Inside, “Ellen West” would have its premiere. But my mind wasn’t on opera; that very day, I learned my brother had cancer. As I arrived, a cluster of people stood on the steps. Ricky Ian Gordon was in the aisle, easy to {…}
Last month Bright Shiny Things released the world premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon and Frank Bidart’s new opera “Ellen West.” The recording was captured from the Prototype Festival in New York in January 2020, with soprano Jennifer Zetlan and baritone Nathan Gunn, the Aeolus Quartet, double bassist Evan Premo, pianist Djordje Nesic, and conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya. The new opera offers a portrait of {…}
(Credit: Opéra de Montréal official website / American Lyric Theater official website) The New York City Opera has announced a spring 2021 season featuring works by the two prominent American composers. The NYCO will first stage the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis,” which is a co-production with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Famed {…}
Bright Shiny Things has announced that it will be releasing the premiere recording of Ricky Ian Gordon and Frank Bidart’s “Ellen West” this fall. The album, which will be released on Sept. 25, 2020, stars Jennifer Zetlan, Nathan Gunn, the Aeolus Quartet, Evan Premo, Djordje Nesic, and conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya. The recording was captured this past January at the Prototype {…}
This past summer, OperaWire published an interview with “Ellen West” headliner Jennifer Zetlan. When asked what she wanted audiences to take away from her experience with the opera, Zetlan’s replied that, to her, an extremely successful evening of live theater or opera was one in which the audience leaves feeling their soul touched, adding “… I hope our audiences will find themselves deeply moved {…}
Jennifer Zetlan is set to take on the title role in the New York City premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Frank Bidart’s “Ellen West” at the Prototype Festival on Jan. 14-19, 2020. Zetlan interpreted the role in the world premiere of the opera during the summer of 2019 at Saratoga Springs. “Ellen West is the pseudonym of a real {…}
Beth Morrison Projects has announced its 2019-20 season, which will include 64 performances on four continents. James Darrah will direct Ellen Reid’s “Prism.” The production will star mezzo-soprano Rebecca Jo Loeb as Lumee and soprano Anna Schubert as her ill daughter, Bibi. Performances will be held at Teatro Municipal in São Paulo (in its South American premiere) and at the {…}
(Photo: Arielle Doneson) Soprano Jennifer Zetlan is a singer known for her enthusiasm for contemporary opera. She has been featured in at least nine premieres of American operas, and created roles in two world premieres, the Messenger in Matthew Aucoin’s “Crossing,” and Fanny in Ricky Ian Gordon’s “Morning Star.” Alongside Zetlan’s passion for new opera, her vocal agility enables her {…}