{"id":321,"date":"2017-08-18T13:55:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-18T17:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/?p=321"},"modified":"2017-08-18T16:05:35","modified_gmt":"2017-08-18T20:05:35","slug":"houston-grand-operas-hgoco-song-of-houston-initiative-commissions-nell-shaw-cohen-to-write-chamber-opera-for-premiere-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/houston-grand-operas-hgoco-song-of-houston-initiative-commissions-nell-shaw-cohen-to-write-chamber-opera-for-premiere-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Grand Opera’s\u00a0HGOco “Song of Houston” Initiative Commissions Nell Shaw Cohen to Write Chamber Opera for Premiere in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n“The Barrel Racer<\/a>” by Eric Ward is licensed under\u00a0CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, dreams do come true.<\/p>\n

These past few years, I’ve focused increasingly\u00a0on vocal music and opera, and I’ve been fortunate to have access to\u00a0workshops, residencies, and fellowships that have\u00a0moved me\u00a0towards becoming a better artist and building a\u00a0career as\u00a0an opera creator. I completed my first dramatic work, monodrama\u00a0The Coming of Spring<\/em>, in 2014, and finished my first full chamber opera,\u00a0Mabel’s Call<\/em>, this past summer.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0big question, of course, has remained: How could I make that leap from writing “on spec” and workshopping operas-in-development\u00a0to securing\u00a0a premiere production by a professional company? Or, for that matter, having an opera\u00a0commissioned<\/em>?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then, one day,\u00a0HGOco<\/a>, the\u00a0community collaboration and education arm of Houston Grand Opera, loved the proposal I wrote with my collaborator to create a “feminist rodeo opera” (more on that below!)\u00a0for their award-winning\u00a0Song of Houston<\/em>\u00a0initiative, which has been commissioning new works\u00a0based on stories that define the unique character of Houston since 2007. Their open call for proposals opened\u00a0a big door for me.<\/p>\n

HGOco has awarded me a commission to compose\u00a0a 60-80 minute one act opera, which will receive a full production in March 2021 with five soloists and an eight-piece chamber ensemble.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dream. Come. True.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Megan Cohen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As if that weren’t wonderful enough, I get to write this opera with the brilliant\u00a0Megan Cohen<\/a>, one of the most-produced playwrights under 35 and an emerging opera librettist, recently commissioned by Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. She also happens to be my sister.<\/p>\n

(As far as I know, Megan and I might be\u00a0the\u00a0first ever professional composer-librettist team of sisters!)<\/p>\n

HGOco\u00a0commissions works that reflect the Houston\u00a0experience. Our original story, which will be informed by interviews with contemporary Texans, offers a feminist perspective on rodeo culture:\u00a0“Small-town barrel racing champion Shayla Taylor and her sponsor, powerful businesswoman Jamie Mendoza, aim for a big win at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. When a bronc rider with a tragic past threatens Shayla’s career-defining race, the women discover each other’s strength in adversity with the help of a spirited rodeo queen.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the next few years, Megan and I will be making frequent trips to Houston for dramaturgical research and workshops as we develop the libretto and score.<\/p>\n

I am BEYOND thrilled and honored for the opportunity to create work for HGOco.\u00a0I can’t wait to bring this\u00a0opera to life and share it with an audience!<\/p>\n

For more information about HGOco’s commissions, which also include an exciting project from composer Nkeiru Okoye and librettist Anita Gonzalez, check out the\u00a0press release on BroadwayWorld.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The Barrel Racer” by Eric Ward is licensed under\u00a0CC BY-SA 2.0 Sometimes, dreams do come true. These past few years, I’ve focused increasingly\u00a0on vocal music and opera, and I’ve been fortunate to have access to\u00a0workshops, residencies, and fellowships that have\u00a0moved me\u00a0towards becoming a better artist and building a\u00a0career as\u00a0an opera creator. I completed my first … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Houston Grand Opera’s\u00a0HGOco “Song of Houston” Initiative Commissions Nell Shaw Cohen to Write Chamber Opera for Premiere in 2021″<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,87],"tags":[89,88,78],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards","category-rodeo-opera","tag-commissions","tag-houston-grand-opera","tag-opera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nellshawcohen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}