Spotlight Sunday Feature - Tony Solitro
Hello HOTOpera fans! We cannot believe that our 9th annual New in November Festival is only 1 week away! We hope you've purchased your tickets and are ready to join us on Sunday, November 18 at 7:00pm at Christ Church Cathedral's Cathedral House in downtown Hartford. Today, we are thrilled to present our last composer feature of NIN9: Tony Solitro. You may remember Tony's opera "She's Fabulous" from last year's New in November 8. Tony's opera "Triangle" based on a play by the mysterious Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Jane Martin. We hope you enjoy learning about Tony and what Opera for the 22nd Century means to him.
Tony Solitro composes concert and stage music that is “fraught with tension” and “amusingly intricate” (The Theatre Times). Politics, history, literature, drama, and visual art inspire his compositions. “Delightfully executed with sidesplitting hilarity,” his mythology-infused comedy Triangle will be presented during the National Opera Association’s 2019 Conference in Salt Lake City as one of three finalists for the Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition. Awarded the Grand Prize in the David Walter Composition Competition (International Society of Bassists), Tony’s string quintet Shadow Confrontations was composed for bassist Joseph Conyers (Assistant Principal, Philadelphia Orchestra) and recorded with the Daedalus Quartet. He earned his Ph.D. as a recipient of the George Crumb Music Fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.M. from the Longy School of Music on a Nadia and Lili Boulanger Scholarship. To hear recordings, see videos, and explore his composition catalogue, visit www.tonysolitro.com.
Here is what Tony had to say about Opera for the 22nd Century:
My taste in opera is as varied as my taste in movies. Sure, sometimes I’m in the mood for an old classic…but most of the time I’m eager for a contemporary drama or a witty comedy. It would be tragic if cinemas started saying, “the world has enough great films—we’ll make more money if we play familiar titles over and over again.” It sounds ridiculous in that context, but that’s how many opera companies program their seasons.
My dream for 22nd century opera is focused on cultivating an audience hungry for new content. David Devan, Opera Philadelphia’s General Director, said it best: "Attention spans aren't the problem. Boring people to death is the problem."
Heading into the future, I’m hoping the opera world will welcome more diverse voices and foster the creation of new work. I’m also hoping the next generation of audiences will have greater access to live performances in addition to video and audio recordings.
Thank you so much for tuning in to our Opera for the 22nd Century blog. We hope to see you next weekend for our FREE Composer Event on Saturday, November 17 from 10am-12pm and for the performance of four spectacular operas/opera excepts on Sunday, November 18 at 7:00pm. See you there!
