YOST Inaugural Symposium, May 14-15, 2019: “Indie Opera”

Screening: Dog Days (David T. Little and Royce Vavrek, 2012)

Co-produced by Peak Performances@Montlair State University and Beth Morrison Projects
Directed by Robert Woodruff
Conducted by Alan Pierson
Featuring Newspeak and James Bobick, Marnie Breckendridge, Cherry Duke, John Kelly, Michael Marcotte, Peter Tantsits, and Lauren Worsham
Scenic and projection design by Jim Findlay
Costume design by Vita Tzykun
Lighting design by Chris Kuhl

Panel discussion: Creating Opera Today—Dog Days in Perspective

Chair: Gundula Kreuzer
Panelists: David T. Little, Beth Morrison, Royce Vavrek, Robert Woodruff

Lightning talks and panel discussion I: Elements of Contemporary Opera

Chair: Kamala Schelling
Panelists: David Gutkin, Frances Pollock, Alexander K. Rothe, Camilla Tassi

Camilla Tassi: “The Visual Continuo Beyond a Trend in Opera: Projection Design as a Musical Instrument”
Frances Pollock: “The Challenges of Relevancy: Considering Politics and Opera”
Alexander K. Rothe: “Contemporary Opera, Créolité, and Gesture”
David Gutkin: “The Harlem Opera Society’s New Thing”

Respondent: Marco Ladd

Lightning talks and panel discussion II: “Whence and Wither ‘Indie Opera’?”

Chair: Gundula Kreuzer
Panelists: Axel Englund, Wayne Heisler, Ryan Minor, W. Anthony Sheppard

Axel Englund: “Suffering Performance: Physical Pain in Opera”
Ryan Minor: “Queering the Pitch? Opera, Straightness, and Timbre”
Wayne Heisler: “‘Once it’s happening, do we even care?’: Jukebox-ish Indie Opera”
W. Anthony Sheppard: “Indie Opera: Out of the Pit and Into the Audience”

Respondent: Alessandra Campana

Workshop: Opera Studies and ‘Indie Opera’ Today

Discussion of pre-circulated readings and the potential for future YOST workshops, open to anyone who has done the readings. Please pre-register by emailing gundula.kreuzer@yale.edu.