Contemporary Opera on Stage: Institutions & Visions
a conference in conjunction with the premiere of
John Adams'Antony and Cleopatra
September 23 & 24
University of California, Berkeley
Morrison Hall
Featuring John Adams, director Elkhanah Pulitzer, and members of the San Francisco Opera
SCHEDULE
(updated regularly)
Friday, Sept. 23
10am
Coffee & Meet
Morrison 101
10:30am
Welcoming Remarks
Morrison 125
11am
Paper Session 1
Session chair Heather Hadlock
Ryan Ebright
When Art Worlds Collide: Meredith Monk's Atlas and the Institutional Limits of Operatic Experimentation
Morrison 125
Megan
Steigerwald Ille
12:30pm
Replication, Circulation, Experimentation: U.S. Institutional Frameworks and the Limits of Operatic Reception
Lunch Break
2pm
Robert Wilson's Globality and the Posthistorical Imagination
Morrison 125
Paper Session 2
Session chair Parkorn Wangpaiboonkit
David Gutkin
Micaela
Baranello
Singing Opera's Museum: New American Opera's Diegetic Arias
3:30pm
Break
Morrison 101
4pm
John Adams on
Antony and Cleopatra
Morrison 125
In conversation with Mary Ann Smart
5pm
Reception
Morrison 101 & Breezeway
Saturday, Sept. 24
10am
Coffee & Meet
Morrison 101
11am
Morrison 125
Paper Session 3
Session chair Ian Duncan
Alice
Miller Cotter
Fraught Syntax: On the Challenges of Writing About Recent Opera
Emily
Richmond Pollock
“What the hell is wrong with the weather?”: Doctor Atomic at the Santa Fe Opera
12:30pm
Lunch Break
2pm
Morrison 125
Panel Session
Staging New Opera and Antony and Cleopatra
Session chairs Mara Lane and Collin Ziegler
Director Elkhanah Pulitzer
Dramaturg Lucia Scheckner
Managing Director: Production Jennifer Good
Production Manager Ryan O'Steen
Scene Shop Foreman John Del Bono
Lighting Designer David Finn
SF Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman
SFO dramaturg emeritus Kip Cranna
4pm
Reception
Morrison 101 & Breezeway
4:30pm
Closing Discussion
Morrison 101
San Francisco, 1906: Grand Opera House after the earthquake and fires
Contemporary Opera on Stage: Institutions & Visions
About
Co-convenors Mara Lane & Collin Ziegler
This conference interrogates the institutional histories and creative possibilities of contemporary opera, particularly opera staged within the opera house. Recent experiments by groups such as The Industry and Heartbeat Opera have prompted exciting research on site specificity, nonlinear storylines, improvisation, and the revision of canonical works. Complimenting this work, we ask: what social and aesthetic work can be done within the opera house? Crucially, in posing this question, this conference bridges the gap between scholarly considerations and the perspectives of artists, crew members, and audiences.
Mara Lane and Collin Ziegler are PhD students in musicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Though their research leads in different directions, they both share an interest in contemporary American opera and the future of the art form. They are grateful to the presenters and members of the SFO team for joining them. They want especially to thank Mary Ann Smart for guiding them through this process from the very beginning.
Opera Studies & Praxis
An essential sponsor of the conference, Opera Studies & Praxis is a registered student organization at UC Berkeley, created by musicology students, that brings together opera scholars, theater practitioners, musicians, and composers to explore the challenges and opportunities facing opera performance today. We organize conferences and facilitate discussions on contemporary opera practices; we also stage small-scale operas and similar works in scholarly-informed ways.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Attending
Address
Rooms 101 & 125
Morrison Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
Accessibility & Parking
Open to the public and free to attend!
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Morrison Hall is located near the corner of Bancroft Way & College Ave and accessible along bus lines 51B, 79, and 604.
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Limited parking is available at the Bancroft Parking Structure and Lower Sproul Garage due to the Cal football game on Saturday.
Contact Us
Co-conveners:
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Covid-19 Safety:
Per the policies of UC- Berkeley, masks are highly encouraged indoors