Thomas Pasatieri
Encyclopedia
Thomas Pasatieri is an American opera composer.
He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger
. He entered the Juilliard School
at age 16 and eventually became the school's first recipient of a doctoral degree.
Pasatieri has taught composition at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music
, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. From 1980 through 1984, he held the post of Artistic Director at Atlanta Opera.
He has composed 22 operas, the best known of which is The Seagull
, composed in 1972. Two of his operas were premiered in 2007: Frau Margot
by the Fort Worth Opera
and The Hotel Casablanca in San Francisco. Other popular operas include La Divina and Signor Deluso.
In 1984, Pasatieri moved to Los Angeles, California
, where he formed his film music production company, Topaz Productions. His film orchestrations can be heard in Road to Perdition
, American Beauty
, The Little Mermaid
, The Shawshank Redemption
, Fried Green Tomatoes
, Legends of the Fall
, Thomas Newman
's Angels in America
and Scent of a Woman
, among many others. In 2003, Pasatieri returned to New York to continue his concert and opera career.
http://www.operacompetition.hu/english.asp?id=162
He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
. He entered the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
at age 16 and eventually became the school's first recipient of a doctoral degree.
Pasatieri has taught composition at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. From 1980 through 1984, he held the post of Artistic Director at Atlanta Opera.
He has composed 22 operas, the best known of which is The Seagull
The Seagull (opera)
The Seagull is an opera in 3 acts by Thomas Pasatieri to an English libretto by Kenward Elmslie. The plot is based on Anton Chekhov's 1896 play, The Seagull.-Performance History:...
, composed in 1972. Two of his operas were premiered in 2007: Frau Margot
Frau Margot
Frau Margot is an opera in 3 acts by composer Thomas Pasatieri. The work uses an English language libretto by Frank Corsaro which is based on Corsaro's play Lyric Suite. The opera's premiere was presented by the Fort Worth Opera on June 2, 2007. Corsaro directed the production which used sets by...
by the Fort Worth Opera
Fort Worth Opera
According to the company, Fort Worth Opera is the oldest, continually performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed to a "festival" format in 2007...
and The Hotel Casablanca in San Francisco. Other popular operas include La Divina and Signor Deluso.
In 1984, Pasatieri moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where he formed his film music production company, Topaz Productions. His film orchestrations can be heard in Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig...
, American Beauty
American Beauty (film)
American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
, The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
, The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
, Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a 1987 novel by Fannie Flagg. It was adapted into the film Fried Green Tomatoes, which was released in 1991.-Plot:...
, Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall is a 1994 epic drama film based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison. It was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn. The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction , and Best...
, Thomas Newman
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades.Newman has received a total of ten...
's Angels in America
Angels in America
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...
and Scent of a Woman
Scent of a Woman
This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer...
, among many others. In 2003, Pasatieri returned to New York to continue his concert and opera career.
Operas
- The Trysting Place, opera in one act; libretto by the composer (1964, unperformed)
- Flowers of Ice, opera in one act; libretto by the composer (1964, unperformed)
- The Women, opera in one act; libretto by the composer (20 August 1965; Aspen, CO)
- La Divina, opera in one act; libretto by the composer (16 March 1966; New York)
- Padrevia, opera in one act; libretto by the composer after Boccaccio (18 November 1967; Brooklyn, NY)
- Calvary, opera in one act; setting of the play by W. B. Yeats (April 1971; Bellevue, WA)
- The Trial of Mary Lincoln, opera in three acts; libretto by A. H. Bailey (14 Feb. 1972; National Education Television)
- Black WidowBlack Widow (opera)Black Widow is an opera in three acts by Thomas Pasatieri with an English libretto also by the composer. The libretto is based on Miguel de Unamuno's Dos madres. The opera premiered on March 2, 1972 with Seattle Opera. Other notable productions include Lake George Opera in 1972 and the Atlanta...
, opera in three acts; libretto by the composer after Dos madres by M. de * Unamuno (2 March 1972; Seattle OperaSeattle OperaThe Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
) - The SeagullThe Seagull (opera)The Seagull is an opera in 3 acts by Thomas Pasatieri to an English libretto by Kenward Elmslie. The plot is based on Anton Chekhov's 1896 play, The Seagull.-Performance History:...
, opera in three acts; libretto by K. Elmslie after the story by Anton Chekov (5 March 1974; Houston Grand OperaHouston Grand OperaHouston 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...
) - Signor Deluso, opera in one act; libretto by the composer after Sganarelle by Moliére (27 July 1974; Vienna, VA)
- The Penitentes, opera in three acts; libretto by A. H. Bailey (3 August 1974; Aspen, CO)
- Inés de Castro, opera in three acts; libretto by B. Stambler (1 April 1976; Baltimore, Baltimore Opera)
- Washington Square, opera in two acts; libretto by K. Elmslie after Henry James (1 October 1976, Detroit, Michigan Opera TheatreMichigan Opera TheatreMichigan Opera Theatre is Michigan's principal opera company. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Each year it presents an opera and dance season. The company usually presents five operas in their original language with English supertitles and hosts five...
) - Before Breakfast, opera in one act; libretto by Frank Corsaro, based on the play by Eugene O’Neill, Revised 2006. (9 October 1980, New York City OperaNew York City OperaThe 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...
) - The Goose Girl, a children's opera in one act; libretto by the composer, based on a story by J.L. and W.C. Grimm (15 February 1981, Fort Worth, Texas)
- Maria Elena, an opera in one act; libretto by the composer based on a true story (6 April 1983, University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
) - Three Sisters, opera in 2 acts; libretto by Kenward Elmslie based on Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's play, Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
(13 March 1986, Columbus, Opera Columbus) - Frau Margot, opera in three acts; libretto by Frank CorsaroFrank CorsaroFrank Corsaro is one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana ....
, based on his original play Lyric Suite (2 June 2007, Fort Worth, Fort Worth OperaFort Worth OperaAccording to the company, Fort Worth Opera is the oldest, continually performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed to a "festival" format in 2007...
) - The Hotel Casablanca, opera in two acts; original libretto by the composer based on George Feydeau's play, A Flea in Her EarA Flea in Her EarA Flea in Her Ear is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque.-Plot:...
. (3 August 2007, San Francisco, San Francisco Opera Merola ProgramSan Francisco OperaSan Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
)
Orchestral
- Invocation (1968)
- Serenade for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (also an alternate version for Violin and Piano) (1992)
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1993)
- Concerto for Two Pianos and Strings (1994)
Solo Instrumental and Chamber Music
- Piano Sonata No. 1 (1966)
- Piano Sonata No. 2 (1969)
- Cameos for Solo Piano (1969)
- Theatrepieces for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1987)
- Quartet for Flute and Strings (1995)
- Sonata for Viola and Piano (1995)
- Sonata for Flute and Piano (1997)
- Piano Sonata No. 3 (1999)
- Rhapsody for Double Bass & Piano (2006)
- Concerto for Harspichord (2007)
Choral
- Permit Me Voyage (James Agee) (1976)
- Mass (1983)
- A Joyful Noise (1985) (The Bible)
- Three Mysteries(Walt Whitman, G. Meredith, P. Sidney) (1991)
- The Harvest Frost (Carl Sandburg) (1993)
- Bang the Drum Loudly (Thomas Pasatieri) (1994)
- Canticle of Praise (1995)
- Mornings Innocent (May Swenson, Bill Wright, Adrienne Rich) (1995)
Voice and Chamber Ensemble
- Heloïse And Abelard (Louis Phillips) (1973)
- Far From Love (Emily Dickinson) (1976)
- Canciones del barrio (Voice and string quartet, 1993)
- Letter to Warsaw (Pola Braun) (2003)
Voice and Orchestra
- Rites Of Passage (Louis Phillips) (1974)
- Voice and chamber orchestra or string quartet
- Sieben Lehmannlieder (Lotte Lehmann) (1988)
- Alleluia (1991)
Voice and piano
- Day of Love (Kirstin van Cleave) (1983)
- Three Sonnets from the Portuguese (Elizabeth Barrett Browning) (1984)
- Sieben Lehmannlieder (Lotte Lehmann) (1988)
- Windsongs (1989)
- Three Poems of Theodore Ramsay
-
- 1.Love
- 2.Remembering
- 3.On Parting
- Three California Songs (Robert H. Deutsch)
- 1.Brother
- 2.Song
- 3.The Middle-Aged Shepherd
- Windsong (Richard Nickson)
- Alleluia (Lotte Lehmann) (1991)
- Three Poems of Oscar Wilde (1998)
- A Rustling of Angels (2003)
- Letter to Warsaw (Pola Braun) (2003)
- The Daughter of Capulet (monodrama) (2007)
- Lady Macbeth (monodrama) (2007)
- The Last Invocation (Walt Whitman)
- Orpheus (William Shakespeare)
- Dream Land (Christina Rossetti)
- Three Poems of James Agee
- Ophelia’s Lament (William Shakespeare)
- I Just Love My Voice (Gerald Walker)
- Overweight, Overwrought Over You (Sheila Nadler)
- Divas of a Certain Age (Thomas Pasatieri)
External links
http://www.operacompetition.hu/english.asp?id=162