SMTD OperaLab

SMTD OperaLab

Grant:
Faculty Development Fund (FDF)
Academic Year:
2023 - 2024 (June 1, 2023 through May 31, 2024)
Funding Requested:
$17,500.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
lynchc
ogren
Overview of the Project:
SMTD OperaLab will serve as an incubator for new work, establishing a collaborative learning environment for singers, instrumentalists, composers and librettists.  OperaLab will bring renowned artists to U-M to workshop projects ahead of their professional premiere, giving students the opportunity to participate in the creative process. Committed to works with social and political relevance, OperaLab will engage the broader U-M and Southeast Michigan communities in their development and presentation.

OperaLab will be led by Assistant Professor of Voice Caitlin Lynch and Assistant Professor of Conducting Jayce Ogren, with significant support from Voice Department Professors Scott Piper (Chair), Kirk Severtson and Mo Zhou. Conducting, Composition, Creative Writing, and Engagement and Outreach will also benefit, and will be involved in its implementation. 

In winter 2024, OperaLab will launch with The Pigeon Keeper, a heartfelt and socially-conscious piece commissioned by Santa Fe Opera. The complete artistic team—including composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann—will come to campus for a 7 day residency, culminating in a workshop presentation in Stamps Auditorium.  The project will include 17 voice students and 8 players from the Contemporary Directions Ensemble, providing natural opportunities for mentorship with the visiting professionals. 
 
OperaLab’s second edition will include 21 student singers and the full University Philharmonia Orchestra in an adaptation of Sandra Cisneros’s beloved novella The House on Mango Street, presented at Hill Auditorium in October 2024.  In preparation, Cisneros (also the librettist) and composer Derek Bermel (a U-M alum) will work with students in masterclasses and rehearsals. 
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

The objective of SMTD OperaLab is to give singers and instrumentalists the opportunity to rehearse and perform new works in collaboration with world-class professional artists.  Concurrently, its aim is to help the composer, librettist and opera company workshop the piece ahead of its professional premiere.  

Project Achievements:

Through "The Pigeon Keeper" (winter 2024) and "The House on Mango Street" (fall 2024), OperaLab involved over 120 students, including members of the University Philharmonia Orchestra, Contemporary Directions Ensemble,  and Vocal Performance majors.  We offered a public workshop presentation of each work, with an estimated 1200 audience members reached.  Both projects included successful outreach visits to Southeast Michigan middle and high schools, providing important dialogue around each work.  

The Chicago Tribune wrote a major article about our workshop of "Mango Street," including several photos of our student performers.

OperaLab has successfully opened channels of communication between the Conducting and Voice departments.  It has given confidence to faculty as well as students that ambitious, demanding contemporary opera can be successful at SMTD, and we are already fielding requests from professional opera companies and festivals to collaborate on future projects.

Continuation:
OperaLab is continuing this winter with a workshop of "Siddahartha" by Christopher Theofanidis. We are in conversation with other composers, librettist and presenters about new works we could workshop at U-M ahead of their professional premiere. We hope that U-M SMTD will develop a fine reputation--among students and in the professional world--as an incubator for new opera.
Dissemination:
Both "The Pigeon Keeper" and "The House on Mango Street" received public workshop presentations, with many colleagues in attendance. Each project included a masterclass in which our student singers worked with the creative team, and many faculty members attended these sessions. An excerpt from "Mango Street" was performed on SMTD's Look to Michigan fundraising campaign event, which reached SMTD leadership, faculty, donors and friends. Our promotional videos--shared on social media and YouTube--have reached hundreds of folks who were not able to experience these works in person.
Advice to your Colleagues:
I would advise colleagues to consult the Director of DEI in advance of announcing the project to students. Having an objective, expert, fresh set of eyes on the details of a project and how it should be best communicated to students can have an overwhelming positive impact on its reception.

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