Catherine Malfitano Delivers Master Class For Opera Preservation

"The American Lyric Theater was founded in 2005 to foster the creation of operas by matching composers to librettists and offering them training and workshops to help them develop new works. Last year it also commissioned three operas from participants. Those operas are at the center of the InsightALT festival being presented at the JCC in Manhattan. The festival, where audiences can get a glimpse of the craft that underpins the art of opera, opened on Tuesday with a public master class led by Catherine Malfitano. A venerated soprano, Ms. Malfitano has, over the course of three decades, created roles in nearly a dozen new operas. In recent years she has also built up a portfolio of directing credits. 'The ultimate test of whether a piece is going to last is whether you can make an emotional connection with the audience and make them come back for more,' she told the participating singers, urging them to take the creation of new operas seriously. 'What we are doing is of the utmost importance for the future of this art form. Because at some point people will get sick of the museum.'" Read more at the New York Times Blog by clicking here.

American Lyric Theater Founder Lawrence Edelson Interviewed

Lawrence Edelson talks with composer Jeremy
Howard Beck (Photo: Steven Meyer)

"I asked ALT founder Lawrence Edelson (who was an apprentice with Boston Ballet before going on to work with Ballet West and Ballet Met Columbus) about the differences between the creation of new works Opera as opposed in Dance. 'Choreographers start as dancers, and dancers spend a lot of time focusing on technique. It's from that solid grounding in technique and exposure to different choreographers' work that new choreographers begin to blossom, pushing what is merely technical, to develop their own vocabulary and their own voice. But it starts with technique. Opera composers and librettists need the opportunity to build skills directly related to Opera that they might not get in a University or Conservatory setting.' Since 2005 when he founded ALT, Edelson has created an organization that focuses on identifying gifted emerging operatic writers, providing those writers with unprecedented professional mentorship, commissioning their first major operatic works, and helping place those operas with producing companies across the country. 'There is no clear path to becoming a writer for the opera stage. Aspiring librettists usually come from playwriting or poetry backgrounds, often with wonderful ideas, but a significant lack of experience and exposure in Opera.' The first year of the program, students are focused on the skills and process of creation -- not the end product. They receive over 60 classes and workshops, totaling over 200 hours over a 10 month period. There are group sessions as well as private mentorships." [Source] Learn more about ALT by clicking here.