How do you go from playing in a rock band to writing opera?
We here at the Indie Opera Podcast had a fantastic time chatting with composer Stewart Copeland, legendary drummer from The Police. We heard about his childhood in Cairo and Beirut, his training as a percussionist and composer, performing with orchestras across the country, and the upcoming premiere of his new opera, The Invention of Morel at Chicago Opera Theatre this coming February.
Show Notes
- Nashiville Opera – Three Way by Rob Patterson & Dave Cote
- The Human Requiem by Brahms at White Lights Festival
- Rossini – William Tell and Otello at the Metropolitan Opera, Bryan Hymel – tenor (lead role)
- Juan Diego Florez
- Barry Banks
- Opera South West – Tancredi and Stabat Mater by Rossini
- “27” Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek, produced by MasterVoices Chorale
- An opera about Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas
- Stephanie Blythe
- Male ensemble played characters representing: Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Met Opera “Guillaume Tell”
- Mathis der Maler by Hindemith
- Falstaff – Finale Fugue
- The Inner Circle an opera by Daniel Felsenfeld & Kate Gale
- Connection Lost: L’Opere de Tinder (or Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera)
- Composer and Tenor – Scott Joyner, Filmmaker and Writer – Adam Taylor
- The Rainy Park Opera Company
- Something Blue: L’Opere del Bacheleur
- The Halloween Tree produced by American Lyric Theatre based on a Ray Bradbury short story
- Harriet Tubman – Harriet: The Woman Called Moses by composer Thea’ Musgrave in 1984
- Becoming Santa Claus by Mark Adamo, DVD to be released mid November
- Tenor – Jonathan Blalock (will be our guest next month)
- Three new pieces about Donald Trump
- “The Drumf” opera by Matti Kovler, Directed by Doug Fitch
- 15 minute parody of the 15 hour Ring Cycle
- Produce at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works and at The Blue Building
- Libretto reading composer by Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal
- Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins andStephen Baldwin
- Trump: A Theatrical Concerto by composer Gene Pritsker
- At Le Poisson Rouge on 11/8/16
- A 45 minute Violin Concerto
- “The Drumf” opera by Matti Kovler, Directed by Doug Fitch
- Documentary film – Alive Inside
- Music Therapy with Alzheimers Patients
- Oliver Sacks
- Documentray film – The Act of Killing, about death squads in Bali
- “Becoming Santa Clause” DVD release, by Mark Adamo at Dallas Opera, more information coming November 15
- Stewart Copeland, world reknowned composer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Some film scores: Rumblefish, Wall Street, Talk Radio
- The Casque of Amontillado selections presented as part of Opera America New Works Forum
- Barbados Festival commissioned and premiered The Casque of Amontillado
- The Invention of Morel, world premiere arriving at Chicago Opera Theater, February 2017
- A sci-fi romantic black comedy period piece
- Based on the novella by Adolfo Bloy Casares
- Director and Librettist, Jonathan Moore, Conducted by Andreas Mitisek
- The Clash song – Police and Thieves
- Bad Brains, a DC punk band
- Tippy Hedron
- Tyrant’s Crush an orchestral work performed by San Antonio Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Stravinsky, The Rites of Spring
- Off the Score – a hand selected classical ensemble prepared to inprovise live in concert
- Pianist, Jon Kimura Parker – Violinist, Yun Kwan (1st Violin at Met Opera) – Judd Miller & Marlin Martinez
- Works by Ravel, Stravinsky and Prokofiev
- Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring
- New recording of The Rites of Spring by the jazz trio The Bad Plus
- World famous drummers – Neal Peart, Jon Bonham, Ringo Starr,
- Shiny Time Station, a children’s TV show
- Nationa Opera Center Producer’s Symposium
