Competition Finals Announced for 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize

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SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music will present the competition finals for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize on Sept. 23 and 24.

POTSDAM, NY (08/31/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music is preparing to host the competition finals for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize.

The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra will present commissioned scenes from each of the four finalists in a public performance. One winner will be awarded a $25,000 commission to complete their work, which will premiere in full in November 2018.

The Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize was founded by Dr. Gary C. Jaquay '67 to honor his life partner, Domenic J. Pellicciotti, an ardent fan of opera. The award seeks to encourage and acknowledge the creation of new opera works that explore themes related to tolerance, inclusion or the celebration of diversity.

On Friday, Sept. 23, there will be a public panel discussion with the composers, librettists and dramaturg Cori Ellison, at 4 p.m. in the Ralph Wakefield Recital Hall. The panel will be moderated by selection panel members Mark Campbell and Darren Woods.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, Crane students and faculty will present scenes from each of the four finalist operas, including introductions by the composer and librettist teams. Program A will be presented at 1 p.m., and will include excerpts from "Albert Nobbs" and "Mayo." Program B will begin at 5 p.m., including scenes from "The Reef" and "Uncovered." All performances will be offered the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

All events are free, and the public is invited to attend.

The finalists include "Albert Nobbs," a gender-bending story based on the novella by George Moore, about a butler in a 19th century Irish hotel who hides a secret: "he" is really a "she." Patrick Soluri is the composer and Deborah Brevoort is the librettist for "Albert Nobbs."

Based on a true story, "Mayo" tells of America's tragic infatuation with eugenics in the early 20th century. Though Mayo Buckner was committed to the Iowa Home for Feeble-Minded Children at the age of eight, and lived there for 60 years, he forged a life of quiet dignity and meaning. "Mayo" was composed by Tom Cipullo, who also wrote the libretto.

Adapted from Edith Wharton's novel and reset in Martinique in 1911, "The Reef" is a tragic opera in which the strict conventions of plantation society breed intolerance, based on race and class, and doom love between an American widow and a diplomat because of his prior affair with a mixed-race nursemaid. Anthony Davis is the composer and Joan Ross Sorkin is the librettist for "The Reef."

"Uncovered," by composer Lori Laitman, is the deeply moving story of a woman in a society that dictates every aspect of her existence so that she hides her real self. The opera is based on librettist Leah Lax's memoir, "Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home."

The selection panel for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize includes:

• Mark Campbell, award-winning opera librettist and winner (along with composer Martin Hennessey) of the 2014 Pellicciotti Prize for "A Letter to East 11th Street";
• Dr. François Germain, vocal coach and piano faculty member at The Crane School of Music/vocal coach at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music in Salzburg, Austria;
• Dr. Carleen Graham, former SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and director of the Crane Opera Ensemble/current director of HGOco at Houston Grand Opera;
• Nicole Paiement, conductor, founder and artistic director of Opera Parallèle and principal guest conductor for the Dallas Opera;
• Dr. Kirk Severtson, professor and music director of the Crane Opera Ensemble;
• Dr. Timothy Sullivan, associate professor and chair of the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition at The Crane School of Music, and
• Darren Keith Woods, general director of Fort Worth Opera.

Noted American dramaturg Cori Ellison has been working with the composers and librettists chosen as finalists, and will continue to collaborate with the 2018 prize winners, to develop their opera projects. A leading creative figure in the opera world, she is currently staff dramaturg at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and was dramaturg at New York City Opera from 1997 to 2010. Active in developing new opera, Ellison teaches opera dramaturgy for the American Lyric Theater Composer Librettist Development Program and serves as a freelance dramaturg for companies including Opera Philadelphia, Canadian Opera and Beth Morrison Projects.

All events will be broadcast live on the SUNY Potsdam website and the Crane School of Music YouTube channel. To view the livestream for the panel discussion and the performances, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

North Country Public Radio is the media sponsor for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize competition finals.

To learn more about the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/events/pellicciotti.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

About the Crane Opera Ensemble:

The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble is a significant source for opera and music theatre in the North Country region of New York State. The ensemble provides exciting opportunities for students to experience all facets of opera performance and production, through rehearsals, coaching and classes related to performance practices and production techniques. The ensemble's productions have garnered awards from the National Opera Association (2015, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2003), The American Prize (2011), and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (2010).

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

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