Mark Adamo
Encyclopedia
Mark Adamo is an Italian American
composer and librettist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. While he has composed the symphonic cantata "Late Victorians, "Four Angels: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra," and six substantial choral works, the composer’s principal work has been for the opera house: the composer and librettist of the highly-regarded Little Women
, he has served as composer-in-residence for New York City Opera
from 2001 to 2006,, and the company gave the East Coast premiere of his new opera, Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess
, in March–April 2006. Lysistrata, hailed as “a sumptuous love story, poised between comedy and heartbreak” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker
, was David Gockley
’s last commission for the Houston Grand Opera
, which gave the world premiere in 4 March 2005. Since its 1998 premiere by Houston Grand Opera, "Little Women" has been heard in over sixty-five international engagements, including a telecast over the PBS series "Great Performances" in August 2001. The opera was given its Asian premiere in May 2005, when New York City Opera's production of the piece was chosen as the U.S. exhibit for the World Expo in Tokyo and Nagoya; State Opera of South Australia gave the Australian premiere at the Adelaide Festival in May 2007, the International Vocal Arts Institute gave the Israeli premiere in Tel Aviv in July 2008, and Calgary Opera has announced the Canadian premiere for January 2010.
A native of Willingboro Township, New Jersey
, Adamo attended Holy Cross High School. He attended New York University
, where he received the Paulette Goddard Remarque Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate achievement in playwriting. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Music Degree cum laude in composition in 1990 from The Catholic University of America
in Washington, D.C.
, where he was awarded the Theodore Presser prize for outstanding undergraduate achievement in composition. At New York City Opera, he curated the contemporary opera workshop series VOX: Showcasing American Composers. Adamo served as master artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts
in May 2003. He has directed productions of his Little Women in Cleveland and Milwaukee, both of which were cited as among the best classical-music events of the year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, respectively; and he has annotated programs for Stagebill, the Freer Gallery of Art, and most recently for BMG Classics. His criticism and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post
, Stagebill, Opera News, the Star-Ledger, and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; and the journal on his self-titled website was named among the Best Music Blogs by Arts Journal in January 2008.
Adamo, who is openly gay, has lived with his partner
, composer John Corigliano
in New York City; the two were legally married in California by the conductor Marin Alsop
in August 2008. In January 2009, San Francisco Opera announced it had commissioned Adamo to compose both score and libretto for an opera entitled "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene," which, in the composers' words, "will draw on the Canonical Gospels, the Gnostic Gospels, and fifty years of scholarship to reimagine the New Testament through the eyes of its lone substantial female character." San Francisco Opera plans a premiere in June 2013.
"The Racer's Widow," a cycle of five songs for mezzo-soprano, piano and cello (2009: 15 minutes)
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
composer and librettist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. While he has composed the symphonic cantata "Late Victorians, "Four Angels: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra," and six substantial choral works, the composer’s principal work has been for the opera house: the composer and librettist of the highly-regarded Little Women
Little Women (opera)
Little Women is the first opera composed by American composer Mark Adamo to his own libretto after Louisa May Alcott's tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War, Little Women. The opera also includes text by John Bunyan , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Little Women (1998) is the...
, he has served as composer-in-residence for New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
from 2001 to 2006,, and the company gave the East Coast premiere of his new opera, Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess
Lysistrata (opera)
Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess is an opera in two acts by composer Mark Adamo. The work is based on Aristophanes's fifth century play Lysistrata. The opera had its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera on March 4, 2005. It was subsequently produced in March 2006 at the New York City...
, in March–April 2006. Lysistrata, hailed as “a sumptuous love story, poised between comedy and heartbreak” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, was David Gockley
David Gockley
David Gockley is an American opera company administrator. He served as general director of Houston Grand Opera from 1972 to 2005 and has been general director of San Francisco Opera since 2006.-Biography:...
’s last commission for the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, which gave the world premiere in 4 March 2005. Since its 1998 premiere by Houston Grand Opera, "Little Women" has been heard in over sixty-five international engagements, including a telecast over the PBS series "Great Performances" in August 2001. The opera was given its Asian premiere in May 2005, when New York City Opera's production of the piece was chosen as the U.S. exhibit for the World Expo in Tokyo and Nagoya; State Opera of South Australia gave the Australian premiere at the Adelaide Festival in May 2007, the International Vocal Arts Institute gave the Israeli premiere in Tel Aviv in July 2008, and Calgary Opera has announced the Canadian premiere for January 2010.
A native of Willingboro Township, New Jersey
Willingboro Township, New Jersey
Willingboro is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 31,629....
, Adamo attended Holy Cross High School. He attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where he received the Paulette Goddard Remarque Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate achievement in playwriting. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Music Degree cum laude in composition in 1990 from The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he was awarded the Theodore Presser prize for outstanding undergraduate achievement in composition. At New York City Opera, he curated the contemporary opera workshop series VOX: Showcasing American Composers. Adamo served as master artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts
Atlantic Center for the Arts
Atlantic Center for the Arts is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary artists’ community and arts education facility dedicated to promoting artistic excellence by providing talented artists an opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world’s most distinguished contemporary artists in the...
in May 2003. He has directed productions of his Little Women in Cleveland and Milwaukee, both of which were cited as among the best classical-music events of the year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, respectively; and he has annotated programs for Stagebill, the Freer Gallery of Art, and most recently for BMG Classics. His criticism and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Stagebill, Opera News, the Star-Ledger, and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; and the journal on his self-titled website was named among the Best Music Blogs by Arts Journal in January 2008.
Adamo, who is openly gay, has lived with his partner
Life partner
A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
, composer John Corigliano
John Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
in New York City; the two were legally married in California by the conductor Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
in August 2008. In January 2009, San Francisco Opera announced it had commissioned Adamo to compose both score and libretto for an opera entitled "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene," which, in the composers' words, "will draw on the Canonical Gospels, the Gnostic Gospels, and fifty years of scholarship to reimagine the New Testament through the eyes of its lone substantial female character." San Francisco Opera plans a premiere in June 2013.
Opera
- Little WomenLittle Women (opera)Little Women is the first opera composed by American composer Mark Adamo to his own libretto after Louisa May Alcott's tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War, Little Women. The opera also includes text by John Bunyan , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Little Women (1998) is the...
(1998) - Avow, a 10-minute chamber opera (1999)
- Lysistrata, or The Nude GoddessLysistrata (opera)Lysistrata, or The Nude Goddess is an opera in two acts by composer Mark Adamo. The work is based on Aristophanes's fifth century play Lysistrata. The opera had its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera on March 4, 2005. It was subsequently produced in March 2006 at the New York City...
(2005)
Selected other works
- Late Victorians" for singer, speaker, and chamber orchestra (1994, rev. 2007: 25 minutes)
- Four Angels: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra (2006: 25 minutes)
- Alcott Music (from the opera Little Women, for strings and percussion (1999, revised 2007;18 minutes)
- Regina Coeli, for harp and strings (2007; 8 minutes)
- "Overture to Lysistrata," for orchestra (2006: 4 minutes)
- Garland for SSAA choir and piano or piano and chamber ensemble (2006; 15 minutes)
- "Cantate Domino: Etude on Psalm 97" for double SATB choir and piano with soprano soloist (1999, rev. 2009: 12 minutes)
- Matewan Music: three folk songs for SATB choir a capella with soprano soloist (1995, rev. 2009; 13 minutes)
- The Poet Speaks of Praising for SATB or TTBB choir a capella (1995, rev. 2009: 6 minutes)
- "Supreme Virtue," for double SATB choir a capella (1997, rev. 2009: 6 minutes)
- "Pied Beauty" for SATB choir a capella (1995, rev. 2009; 4 minutes)
- "God's Grandeur," or SATB choir a capella (1995, rev. 2009; 4 minutes)
"The Racer's Widow," a cycle of five songs for mezzo-soprano, piano and cello (2009: 15 minutes)
External links
- Mark Adamo at G. SchirmerG. SchirmerG. Schirmer Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. It publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-known European music publishers in North America, such as the Italian Ricordi, Music Sales Affiliates ChesterNovello,...