The finals for the 2018 Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize at The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam were live-streamed on September 24, 2016.
Program A featured:
Albert Nobbs by composer Patrick Soluri and librettist Deborah Brevoort
followed by Mayo by composer & librettist Tom Cipullo.
Program B featured:
The Reef by composer Anthony Davis and librettist Joan Ross Sorkin
followed by Uncovered by composer Lori Laitman and librettist Leah Lax.
Many thanks to the brilliant faculty and students at SUNY Purchase, especially conductor and music director of the Crane Opera Ensemble, Kirk Severtson, and pianist Francois Germain.
Thanks to the 2018 Selection Committee: Dramaturg Cori Ellison (Staff dramaturg at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and former dramaturg at New York City Opera from 1997-2010), Librettist Mark Campbell (award-winning opera librettist and winner (along with composer Martin Hennessy) of the 2014 Pellicciotti Prize), Pianist Francois Germain (vocal coach and piano faculty member at The Crane School of Music/vocal coach at University of Miam’s Frost School of Music in Salzburg, Austria), Carleen Graham (former Distinguished Teaching Professor and director of The Crane Opera Ensemble/current Director of HGOco at Houston Grand), Nicole Paiement (Artistic Director of Opera Parallele in SF, principal guest conductor for the Dallas Opera), Conductor Kirk Severtson (professor and music director of The Crane Opera Ensemble), Composer Tim Sullivan (associate professor and chair of the Department of Music Theory, History and Composition at The Crane School of Music) and Darren K. Woods (General Director at Fort Worth Opera).
Most of all, thanks to Dr. Gary Jaquay, who founded this prize in memory of his life partner Domenic J. Pellicciotti, an ardent lover of opera. The prize is awarded every four years and seeks to encourage and acknowledge the creation of new operatic works that explore themes related to tolerance, inclusion or the celebration of diversity within an inclusive community.
Below are the links to access the archival videos.