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Greetings all! As you see here, I have taken a break from blogging for a few years but I am still alive and well and still working hard. Well, truth be told, I have retired from UCLA and given myself permission to slow down my frantic pace of composing after a life of it. I […]
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After the premiere of my first opera, LA PALOMA Y EL RUISEÑOR, Opera Director Peter Kazaras suggested I follow in the tradition of composers of yore and make an orchestral suite from the opera. I did just that and wrote it and dedicated it to ORQUESTA SINALOA DE LAS ARTES (OSSLA) and the Director, Gordon […]
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I was approached by Parma Recordings about participating in a musical project involving eight composers going to Cuba and working with Cuban musicians in having their works performed and recorded. I initially was disinclined but my guardian angel and spouse Daniel Shiplacoff convinced me to go for it. I was to work with Wilmia Verrier […]
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I’m doing homework for Mitchell Morris’ and my new opera, FRIDA AND THE SMOKING MIRROR. The seven characters are Frida Kahlo, Tezcatlipoca [pictured above] Diego Rivera, Isamu Noguchi, Josephine Baker, Leo Eloesser (Frida’s doctor) and Leon Trotsky. I have made a rough decision on who is what range, but I wanted to see what I […]
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La Paloma y el Ruiseñor (Spanish subtitles) La Paloma y el Ruiseñor (English subtitles) Premiere performance of LA PALOMA Y EL RUISENOR (2014) Music by Roger Bourland, Libretto by Mitchell Morris, Spanish adaptation by Placido Domingo Jr, and additional orchestrations and adjustment to the Spanish setting by Scott Dunn. Composer: Roger Bourland Libretto: Mitchell Morris […]
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Raúl Rico coordinated several press conferences for the opera. I was delighted to learn later that the premiere was widely publicized throughout Mexico. Scott Dunn and I had one interview with Raúl Rico as our faithful translator. (This has inspired me to become fluent in Spanish so that I don’t ever have to rely on […]
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My spouse kept telling people that my opera was a “meta opera” and by that, he meant: • this is an opera about an opera singer (Angela Peralta) • an opera that takes place in Mazatlán and that will be premiered in Mazatlán And there was another one. Act 1 involves a ship ride from […]
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[The next group of posts were written after the premiere of the opera.] Opera director and friend Peter Kazaras insisted that I meet with the singers as early as possible. As our performance was a combination of students and faculty it is especially important to have that early meeting. Peter explained that singers internalize their […]
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I have been blessed in my recent collaboration with pianist, conductor Scott Dunn who will be conducting the world premiere of my opera, La Paloma y el Ruiseñor at the Teatro Angela Peralta in Mazatlán, Mexico on November 14 and 15, 2014. Having scored several feature films, I have learned the value of “cutting”——this happens […]
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“Pick a little, talk a little” from Music Man by Meredith Willson. “Not getting married” from COMPANY by Stephen Sondheim. Both of these are inspirations for my patter song in LA PALOMA Y EL RUISEÑOR where Julián nervously reintroduces himself to Ãngela as she returns to Mexico from Europe.
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