麻豆影院

This summer, Eklund Opera鈥檚 trailblazing new works program鈥擟U New Opera Workshop, or CU NOW鈥攑ulls out all the proverbial stops in its latest quest to bring what鈥檚 fresh and exciting about opera to the campus of CU 麻豆影院.

Since CU NOW鈥檚 founding in 2010, the likes of Herschel Garfein (who returned to Eklund Opera to direct 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� in March), CU Department of Theatre & Dance alumnus Mark Campbell and opera titans Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer have called this three-week workshop home.

This year is no different. Continuing the momentum of 2016鈥檚 workshopping of Heggie and Scheer鈥檚 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life,鈥� CU NOW 2017 will host composer Mark Adamo for a retooling of his opera 鈥淭he Gospel of Mary Magdalene.鈥� Adamo describes the work鈥攚hich was met with controversy at its premiere in San Francisco鈥攁s a reimagining of the story of Jesus Christ 鈥渢hrough the eyes of its most substantial female character.鈥�

Adamo will be in 麻豆影院 next month to breathe fresh life into the opera.

鈥淐U NOW allows the composer to not just workshop a piece but also rework it,鈥� says Jeremy Reger, CU NOW music director. 鈥淏ecause Mark has such strong feelings for this piece, he鈥檚 reworking it using CU NOW as his forum.鈥�

Ron Mueller, Eklund Opera technical director, says CU NOW鈥檚 mission has always been to expose students and audiences to the cutting edge of an art form so defined by its history.

鈥淲e also want to create an avenue to give composers a place to try out works in progress. Our slogan from the first year was, 鈥楤ringing opera from score to floor.鈥欌��

The other arm of CU NOW, the Composer Fellows鈥� Initiative, ventures into new territory for 2017 as well. CFI connects composition students with singers and opera professionals to perfect scenes they鈥檝e written. This year, for the first time, CFI partners with the CU Film Studies department to develop film footage to accompany the scenes.

鈥淧rojection use in opera production is a brand new field that is enjoying lots of innovation and experimentation,鈥� says Daniel Kellogg, associate professor of composition. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all excited to see what [these filmmakers] come up with.鈥�

Exploration and innovation don鈥檛 just define CU NOW. They鈥檙e also ideas that run through the fabric of Eklund Opera Program.

Says Reger, 鈥淢any colleges and opera companies are just jumping on this exciting bandwagon of new opera, but [Eklund Opera director] Leigh Holman鈥檚 insight into this progressive movement established 麻豆影院 as a forefront for new opera.鈥�

Performances of Mark Adamo鈥檚 鈥淭he Gospel of Mary Magdalene鈥� are Friday, June 16 and Sunday, June 18 in the Music Theatre at Imig Music Building. The Composer Fellows鈥� Initiative鈥檚 showcase is Saturday, June 17 in the ATLAS Black Box Experimental Studio. All CU NOW events are free and open to the public. For more information, .