John Adams, Joyce DiDonato, Isabel Leonard, Kevin Puts Anthony Roth Costanzo, & Thomas Hampson Among Artists Who Pledge Support to Washington National Opera

Following the departure of the Washington National Opera’s decision to leave the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, more than 60 artists have signed an open letter pledging support to the company. The letter, which is an ongoing effort organized by Pulitzer and Grammy-award winning librettist Mark Campbell, states “We, the undersigned, support the recent decision between Washington {…}

Dec 17, 2025

Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library Hosts Book Reading With Ricky Ian Gordon

The Stonewall National Museum, Archives, and Library is set to host “An Evening with Ricky Ian Gordon.” At the event Gordon will read from his memoir, “Seeing Through: a Chronicle of Sex, Drugs, and Opera.” In his book, Gordon shares his journeys through youth, addictions, abuse, and the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He also recounts his artistic collaborations including {…}

May 31, 2025

Interview: Ricky Ian Gordon Opens Every Door in His Latest Opera, ‘This House’

In March 2020, as the lights dim on his Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater commissioned opera, “Intimate Apparel,” and rise on what will be a lengthy global pandemic, Ricky Ian Gordon reaches for his phone. His first call is to James Robinson, his friend, and the artistic director of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) at the time (he is {…}

Nov 21, 2024

Works & Process Unveils Spring 2025 Season

(Photo credit: Boston Lyric Opera) Works & Process announces its 40th anniversary season taking place in spring 2025. For the purposes of this article only opera events are included. Fortieth Works & Process at the Guggenheim Series – Performance Highlights and Discussions Excerpts from Sarah Ruhl and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s reimagining of Vivaldi “The Seasons” are performed prior to its {…}

Aug 22, 2024

Seeing Through – Composer Ricky Ian Gordon on His Memoir

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 {…}

Apr 16, 2024

Q & A: Ricky Ian Gordon Revisits ‘The Grapes of Wrath’

(Credit: Fay Fox) Few works of American literature have had quite the impact of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” Published in 1939, the seminal Pulitzer Prize-winning novel focuses on a poor family of tenant farmers, the Joads, as they are driven from their homes and forces to face the difficult world of the Great Depression. The film received an {…}

Mar 23, 2024

Ricky Ian Gordon to Release Memoir ‘Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs, and Opera’

Composer Ricky Ian Gordon is set to release his memoir “Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs, and Opera” on July 23. In “Seeing Through,” Gordon writes with humor, insight, and candor about his life and work. He describes his tumultuous youth on Long Island, his artistic collaborations and obsessions, and the creation of “The Grapes of Wrath,” “27,” “Orpheus {…}

Aug 26, 2022

PBS to Broadcast Ricky Ian Gordon & Lynn Nottage’s ‘Intimate Apparel’

PBS has announced that it will start broadcasting Ricky Ian Gordon’s “Intimate Apparel” as part of its Great Performances series. The showcase, which premiered on Sept. 23, 2022 on PBS will also be viewable on the PBS Video App and the company’s official website. The opera, which is set in Manhattan in 1905, follows the story of an African American {…}

Feb 10, 2022

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene & New York City Opera 2022 Review – ‘The Garden of the Finzi-Continis’

Photo: Alan Chin Authoritarian governments don’t pop up overnight, they grow day by day, sometimes imperceptibly. Little things snowball, and soon, certain “undesirable” communities become targets of opprobrium, violence, and extermination. Hatred is equal opportunity, sparing neither the rich, the poor. It is on this canvas that composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie paint their adaptation of Giorgio {…}

Jan 31, 2022

Q & A: Mezzo-Soprano Krysty Swann On Her Role Debut As Mayme in Ricky Ian Gordon & Lynn Nottage’s ‘Intimate Apparel’

Photographer credit: Dario Acosta Mezzo-soprano Krysty Swann is currently performing the role of Mayme in “Intimate Apparel” at Lincoln Center Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. The opera is one of Ricky Ian Gordon’s latest works and features a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage that is based on her play. The production officially opens on January 31st, after a two-year pause {…}

Dec 22, 2021

Jacob Burns Film Center to Host Q & A With Composer & Librettist for ‘The Garden of the Finzi-Continis’

(Credit: Fay Fox) On Jan. 6, 2022, the Jacob Burns Film Center is set to present a screening of the 1970 film “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis” as well as a unique Q & A with composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie. The screening of the Vittoria de Sica classic is aimed at spreading the word on the {…}

ricky ian gordon