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Gene Scheer returned to CU NOW as guest composer—alongside collaborating librettist Bill Van Horn—with “Polly Peachum,” a rollicking romantic musical comedy set in the early 1700s that depicts the intertwining worlds of government intrigue, London criminal life and the world of theatre. The story follows John Gay as he endeavors to bring his masterpiece “The Beggar’s Opera” to the stage. In the process, he crosses paths with Jonathan Wild—the foremost criminal mastermind in London—and his beguiling mistress Polly. As this fiery triangle develops and opening night approaches, Gay and his colleagues risk their lives and reputation for love, the bonds of friendship and to bring an enduring work of art to life.

Composer Fellows’ Initiative (CFI) operas + opera scenes
“The Earthworm Problem”—Holly McMahon
“Heart of the Antarctic”—Alan Mackwell
“Songs of a Soldier”—JC Maynard

Returning to CU NOW was award-winning composer Tom Cipullo whose critically-acclaimed opera, “Glory Denied,” is one of the most frequently performed 21st-century operas. CU NOW workshopped Cipullo’s new two-act opera, “The Calling.” With the inherent drama of near-constant revelations of corruption and hypocrisy, televangelists are an easy target. But the opera is less concerned with scandal than those aspects of contemporary American life that push some people of faith toward these controversial performers. ��

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CU NOW presented guest composer Kamala Sankaram’s “Joan of the City”—a site-specific multimedia opera using augmented reality/mixed reality to tell the story of a modern-day Joan of Arc. The libretto for the piece came��from collaborations with community organizations that serve homeless populations.

With their third CU NOW Workshop, Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer teamed with 2021 MacArthur Fellow Jawole Willa Jo Zollar for their civil war era opera “Intelligence” based on a true story. Zollar’s Urban Bush Women were in residence collaborating with students, guest artists��and the creative team. Commissioning company Houston Grand Opera will premiere��“Intelligence” in October 2023.��

CU NOW hosted award-winning composer Tom Cipullo and his comic opera “Hobson’s��Choice” based on the play written by Harold Brighouse and premiered in New York and London in 1916. In its exploration of gender roles, class��and social mobility, “Hobson’s��Choice” was far ahead of its time.��

Returning to CU NOW was powerhouse team Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer with their opera “If I Were You,” commissioned and premiered by the Merola Opera Program in 2019. In this modern telling of the “Faust” story, the devil makes a bargain with a dispirited young writer.

CU NOW presented Mark Adamo’s “The Gospel of Mary Magdalene” in a revision of his 2011 San Francisco Opera commission. “Leigh Holman and CU NOW—which, I’ve long said, is the best acronym in the business—offered me their sterling singers, their flexible space, their faultless professionalism and their unstinting artistic support when I revised and directed a new version of ‘The Gospel of Mary Magdalene’ in 2017; it utterly transformed the piece, and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity and the experience. Here’s affirming many more years of fruitful operatic work by CU NOW.”

Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer brought “It’s a Wonderful Life” to CU NOW based on the iconic 1946 Frank Capra movie (by permission of Paramount Licensing, Inc.) and on Philip Van Doren Stern’s��“The Greatest Gift.” Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera and Indiana University, it premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2016. The College of Music’s Eklund Opera Program presented a new production in 2019.

CU NOW presented “A Song for Susan Smith” by Zach Redler and Mark Campbell. This chamber opera explores the psychological and sociological factors that drove this woman to commit filicide and how the act affected her community.

CU NOW presented “A Wrinkle in Time” by Libby Larsen based on the novel by Madeleine L’Engle; directed by Leigh Holman with assistance from Libby Larsen.��

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CU NOW presented “Ludlow” by Lori Laitman with libretto by David Mason; directed by Beth Greenberg. The epic story��is based on the 1913-14 coal mining wars of southern Colorado known as the “Ludlow Massacre.”

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CU NOW presented two critically acclaimed composers-in-residence: Kirke Mechem’s��“Pride and Prejudice”; and Herschel Garfein’s “Rosencrantz��and Guildenstern are Dead.”

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The inaugural season of CU NOW premiered Daniel Kellog’s “Autumn Orchard” and excerpts from “Elmer Gantry” by Robert Aldridge with libretto by Herschel Garfein.��

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