I. Instrumental Music (31 Works, 52 Pieces)
II. Choral Music (40 Works, 83 Pieces)
III. Songs For Solo Voice(s) (102 Works, 216 Pieces)
(With Piano Unless Otherwise Specified)
IV. Stage Works:
Operas (10)
Operetta
Revue
Musicals (6)
Incidental Music (8)
Translations (62)
Adaptations (17)
I. Instrumental Music (31 works, 52 pieces)
Suite for Cello & Piano, op. 133 (1997)
for Suzanne Schanzer in memory of Benar & Olga Heifetz
Estimated Timings:
1. A Light in the Darkness (2'15")
2. The Shepherd (3'30")
3. Thanatos (2'00")
4. Eros (3'00")
5. The Definition (2'00")
6. The Moon (4'00")
7. The Painted Veil (5'00")
8. Night (1'00")
9. Thinking of You (2'30")
10. Don't Ask (3'00")
11. One Day (3'00")
12. A Blessing (2'00")
Total Estimated Time: 33'15"
#1-6 and 7-12 may be performed as Suites #1 and 2.
Timings: 16'45" & 16'30"
For oyStEr BAy-EAst norwiCH puBliC liBrAry (2 min.), op. 132
Dedicatory Piano Solo, June 8, 1997
The Longest Stairs (81") (March 1995), op. 117
after poem from Rosten's Songs for Patricia
version for piano alone prem. 5/17/95 Borough Hall, Brooklyn
(broadcast on cable TV)
Beneath the Waning Moon (4 min.) (Summer 1994)
for Violin & Piano, op. 115A
Invention in A-flat minor (1 min.) (June 1993), op. 113
for Piano or Harpsichord
Bells & Birches (1992)(2 1/2 min.), op. 108 #2 [based on song, op. 92]
from Winter Suite for Treble Voices, Recorders & Orff Instruments
Piano Suite "Reinecke Fuchs" (1982) op.64
after incidental music for Goethe (11 min.)
Sonatina for Tuba Alone (1980) op.58
(3 movements, 5 min.)
Prelude: "Bloody Kansas"-- for Orchestra
(1 min.) (1975) op.39
Sonata or Concerto for Violin and Piano
or Violin and Orchestra (1970-75) op.33
(3 movements, 16 min.)
3 Fantasies for 4 Hands of 2 Good Friends
or String Quartet (10 min.) (1970-73) op.31
Piano Trio (4 movements, 6 min.) (1969-70) op.27
Three Studies for Piano (2 min.) (1968) op.20
Chorale Prelude on"Kol Nidre" (1967) op.18
for String Quartet (3 min.)
Sonata for Piano and Tape (1968) op.16 (3 movements, 13 min.)
Duet (2 min.) (1967) op.17
for Flute/Oboe/Bb Clarinet/Alto Sax/Violin
and A clarinet/Bassoon/Horn/Trombone/Viola/Cello
String Trio (4 movements, 11 min.)(1968) op.15
in memory of Martin Luther King
Variations for Piano on "Cold Blows the Wind"
("The Unquiet Grave" Child Ballad #78) (5 min.) Summer 1966 op.10
Sonatina for Oboe Alone (1966-69) op.9 (3 movements, 5 min.)
Addendum (Encore): March for Oboe and Two Left Feet
(1 min.)(1966) op.9A
Chorale for Two Pianos (3 min.) (1966) op.7
Sonata for Flute and Piano (1963-64) op.4
(5 movements, 15 min.)
or [in shortened form]
Sonatina for Flute and Piano
(2 movements, 5 min.)
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1963-82) op.4A
(5 movements, 15 min.)
or [in shortened form]
Concertino for Flute and Orchestra
(2 movements, 5 min.)
Two Short Trios (@ 2 min.) (1963-64) op.5
for Flute, Oboe & Clarinet
or Oboe, Violin & Viola
Two Short Piano Pieces (@ 2 min.) (1963-64 ) op.3
1) Ma Meilleur Aufsatz
2) Promenade
II. Choral Music (40 works, 83 pieces)
III. Songs for Solo Voice(s) (102 works, 216 pieces)Midnight Muse (Estela Eaton), op. 176 (3'30") Feb. 4, 2006 PrC for Soprano & Piano
with Piano unless otherwise specified
Seven Wedding Blessings, op. 153 (3'00") in English,
based on adaptation by Betty Lehrman
for tenor and organ
prem. 7/14/02 Charles Osborne & Allan Sever, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
A Dream Deferred, op. 152 (Langston Hughes) for voice and piano (1'30")
prem. 4/14/02 Helene Williams & LJL,
Langston Hughes Centennial Celebration, Queens College
An Australian Odyssey, op. 149
song cycle on Australian poems (42'30")
to Alex Skovron, 2001
1. Love Sonnet #9 (Edith Speers) 1'10"
2. I Remember (Jacob Rosenberg) 2'21"
3. No More Boomerang (Oodgeroo Noonuccal) 2'04"
4. The Golem (Alex Skovron) [see op. 142] 2'42"
5. Fugue (Alison Croggon) 2'05"
6. Credo (Alex Skovron) 1'30"
7. Missing Him (Jordie Albiston) 1'27"
8. After Babel (Peter Goldsworthy) 1'30"
9. Our Love Is So Natural (Judith Wright) 2'19"
10. A Strange Bird (Michael Dransfield) 1'00"
11. Antipodean Heads (John Forbes) 1'55"
12. Europe, Endless (John Forbes) 1'05"
13. Crosstalk (John Tranter) 2'13"
14. Erstwhile (Chris Wallace Crabbe) 2'32"
15. fairytale (Ania Walwicz) 7'59"
16. Portrait (Judith Wright) 1'53"
17. Woman's Song (Judith Wright) 2'20"
18. Equatorial (Ian McBryde) 3'18"
Naked Verses, op. 147 cycle of 5 songs (ea. 1-5 min.) 2/01
1. Why (Lois Ann Horowitz)
2. Fascion (Stephen Van Eck)
3. In the Nude (Gene Peacock, Jr.)
4. What Is A Leer? (Melissa Pinol)
5. Try (Lois Ann Horowitz)
My Thoughts Will Not Rest (Meine Gedanken Wollen Nicht Ruhen), op. 144 for solo voice a cappella c. 3'
German text by "Charles" (Karlheinz Schulze-Michels) in memory of Franz Pindorfer
English text by the composer
The Golem, op. 142 (text: Sonnetina by Alex Skovron) for voice & piano 6/00 (3'00")
incorporated into An Australian Odyssey, op.149
Alphabetical Song, op. 140 (text by composer) (1') for voice & piano
I Am in the Middle Of the World, op. 139 (Grace Herman) (3') for soprano & piano 12/98
prem. by Helene Williams & composer, Mar. 14, 2004, Great Neck House
Faith, op. 138 (James Baldwin) (3') for solo voice or chorus & piano
choral prem. Malverne Community Presbyterian Church, 11/15/98; solo prem. Hofstra 1/17/99
Emily Dickinson Song Cyclette, op. 137 (3 x 2') for voice & piano, May 1998 prem. 2/99 LICA
1) I Felt a Cleaving (#937) 2) I'm Nobody (#288) 3) Wild Nights (#249)
may i feel, op. 136 (e.e. cummings) (3') duet for male & female voices
prem. Eastover, Lenox, Mass. June 24, 1998; Bryant Library Nov. 1, 1998
The Progressive, op. 134 (3') poem by Julia Cooney
in honor of Theodore Roosevelt (P.D.)
Three Norman Rosten Songs (4 min.)(1996), op. 131
1. The First Smile
2. Kiss
3. Swing
Echo (Christina Rossetti)(3 min.)(1996), op. 128 for 2 voices a cappella
The Vision of Chief Seathl (7 min.)(1996), op. 127
A Harvard Hero For Our Time (words by composer) (3 min.) (1996)
[aka Pissed at the Pops] op. 126
The Double Image (poem by George Cornwell, 1975)(3 min.)(1995), op.124
Sonnetina #9: Bill Kunstler on Corliss Lamont (3 min.)(Oct.1995), op. 123
Two Jewish Folk Pieces, op. 121
1. Kererte A Ti (Ladino Folk Text) (2 1/2 min.) soprano & piano 9/95
in Ladino or English translation by the composer
2. Yedid Nefesh arr. for voice, clarinet & piano of traditional Hebrew prayer
in Hebrew or English translation by the composer
words & melody by R. Eliezer Azikri (16th century)
arr. commissioned by Marion Capriotti (6 min.) Fall 1994
Four Completions of Songs Begun by Marc Blitzstein, op. 120
1. Expatriate (2 1/2 min.) 3/95 completion of musical sketch
begun by Marc Blitzstein to his lyrics from
No For An Answer Act II Scene 5
2. War Song (Dorothy Parker) (2 min.) 7/95
completion of musical sketch begun by Marc Blitzstein, 1945
3. Smoking Glasses (text by Marc Blitzstein) (3 min.) 7/95
completion of musical sketch begun by Marc Blitzstein, 1938
4. Lovely To Get Back To Love (2 min.) 4/02
completion of musical sketch begun by Marc Blitzstein, 1945
Canonic Duet for Adam and Eve (2 min.), op. 118
originally for puppet show version of Chester Cycle play (2 min.)
revised for use as Serpent-Eve duet in new (original) one-act play
Adam and Lilith and Eve (1993) based on
Manya Pruzhanskya Lackow's "The Eternal Struggle" & other Biblical legends
The Longest Stairs (81") (March 1995), op. 117
poem from Rosten's Songs for Patricia prem. 4/4/95 BargeMusic, Brooklyn
The Rabbi & the Rich Man (a.k.a.The Parable of the Mirror)(2 min.)(1995)
op.116, based on Hassidic legend,
used by Ansky in The Dybbuk and Malamud in Suppose A Wedding
incorporated into opera, op.125
The Journey of Life (text: William Cullen Bryant)(4 min.)(1994), op.115
Love Song Cycle on Seven Poems by Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1939)
for Soprano & Piano (10 min.)(July 1993), op. 112
commissioned by Corliss Lamont
1. If I can step within
2. To My Jewish Friend in Pittsburgh
3. The beauty of love
4. I lock my heart against you
5. Won't you unlock
6. To Carlo [Tresca], South Beach (After 14 Years)
7. On "Equality"
The Definition of Love (text: Andrew Marvell) (May 1993) (2 min.), op. 111
Be Gentle (3 min.) (March 1993), op. 110
for Voice (or SATB) & Piano/Organ
(text: Rev. Richard S. Gilbert)
An Edith Segal Love Song Cycle (1992) (6 1/2 min.), op. 107
(on 7 poems from For Dreamers Who Dare (1975))
1. Remembrance
2. Severance
3. The Two
4. Loneliness
5. Scars
6. Your Hand
7. Waiting
Kalinin Bridge (4 min.) (1992) op. 106
(Text: Joel Shatzky, in memory of Ilya Krichevsky) (4')
commissioned by Prof. Edgar H. Lehrman Memorial Foundation;
text publ. by Shalom (magazine of The Jewish Peace Fellowship)
I'd Like To Go Away Alone (1 1/2 min.) (Feb. 1991), op. 105
(Text: Alena Synkova, translation by Jeanne Nemcova)
for Voice & Piano/Organ; prem. 6/23/91 Merkin Hall - Helene Williams
Crimes (Text: Edith Segal, 1989) 10/90 (2 1/2 min.), op. 104
prem. 6/3/91 at Merkin Hall by Helene Williams
Ma Adam (What Is Man?), op. 103 in Hebrew or in English, for tenor
(text from Psalms, translation by composer) for Cantor Charles Osborne 9/89
Sisters, 3 monologues based on first-person stories of Biblical women
for Female Voice and Piano or 9 instruments (1989), op. 100
1. Lot's Wife (6 3/4 min.)
2. Miriam (6 min.)
3. Zelophehad's Daughters (4-5 min.)
last movement also arr. for 2 Sopranos, Mezzo, and 2 Altos
for Helene Williams and Womansong
We Are Innocent, cantata on letters of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg (1988)
(12 movements, 48 min.) op.94
for soprano, baritenor, opt. chorus, pno/orch.
Conscience (Lewis Allan) (1987) (3 min.) op.93
for soprano (or Chorus) with optional Piano/Organ/Orch
A Letter to Louise (Bryant) (2 min.) (1987) op.92
(John Reed's Last Poem) Soprano & Piano
Instead of Mellowness (I MISS YOU) (1987) op.91
(text: Helene Williams)
Soprano Solo (or SATB) & Piano (2 min.)
Every Boy Should Have a Jewish Mother
(Joshua Vogel & composer) (3 min.) 12/86 op.90
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (1986) op.89
(text: Christopher Marlowe) (4 min.)
arr. as Duet for Soprano & Tenor with Piano, op.89A
The SDI Waltz (text: composer) (4 min.) (1986) op.87 [+op.95#5]
Winter Morning (3 min.) (1986) op.86#2
(Russian text: Alexander Pushkin
or in English by composer)
Heart, Dear Heart (2 min.) (1986) op.86#1
(German text: Heinrich Heine
or in English by composer)
Three Minute Songs (@ 1 min.) (1986) op.85
Titian (Anon.) - The Freud of Sex
(text: composer) - Love (Anon.)
The Anchor of My Heart (1-2 min.) (1985) op.81
Me & Russia (3 min.) (1985) op.80
(Russian text: Velemir Khlebnikov
or in English by composer)
Cantata: Jewish Voices in Germany
[Juedische Stimmen in Deutschland](1986) op.79
(in English or German, 14 mvts) (30 min.)
Baritenor & Soprano (or Mixed Chorus)
with Piano or Orchestra
My Marriage (4 min.)
(text: Karen Ruoff Kramer & composer)
Russia - America - ? (2 min.)
Where Do I Belong? (3 min.)
If I Can't Dance (4 min.)
Emma (3 min.)
(texts: composer) (1985-86) (all from:
E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman) op.78
Love Song (Liebeslied) (2 min.) (1985) op.77
(German text: Mascha Kaleko
or in English by composer)
Erotic Song (3 min.) (1984) op.76
(text: Anon.) with Piano or Organ
Four-Power City (text: composer)(2 min.) (1984) op.74#1
A Light in the Darkness [Licht im Dunkel], song cycle for
Tenor or Soprano or both in alternation
with Piano or Orchestra (22 min.) (1984) op.73
(German text: Andy Orieli
or in English by composer)
1. White-Sailed Boat Upon the Ocean (2'15")
2. Ne plus ultra (3'45")
3. Take Note (Speech into the Mirror) (2'15")
4. Bitter Complaint (2'45")
5. Legacy and Perpetual Reminder
(Mauthausen)(3'30")
6. A Brown Wolf (Arturo Ui) (6'45")
A Wanderer Through DEUTSCHLAND
Based on Heine's Wintermaerchen
[Ein Wanderer durch DEUTSCHLAND
nach Heines Wintermaerchen (1984) op.72
song cycle for Tenor (or Baritenor)
or Tenor & Soprano in alternation
with Piano or Orchestra (30-34 min.)
1. At the Border
2. Cologne
3. Eastward
4. The Wolves
5. The Sun
6. The Mighty Fort
7. At the Inn
8. At Mother's
9. We Jews
10. The Goddess
(11. The Promise)
11 or 12. What She Revealed
The Night is Darkening Round Me (1983)
(text: Emily Bronte) (2 min.) op.70
Solo Alto or Baritone (or TTBB)
with Piano and/or Suspended Cymbal
A March for Ben & Mary Beth (1984) op.69
(text: Mary Beth Armes, first publ. in
College Music Society Symposium)
Voice & Guitar (1 min.)
Ode to the City of Cologne (1982) op.67
(text: Samuel Coleridge) (2-3 min.)
Sonnetina #7: (4 min.) (1982) op.66
Remember Me When I Am Gone Away
(text: Christina Rossetti)
Soprano (or Mezzo or Tenor or Baritone)
Solo or Soprano-Tenor Duet with Piano
or with Flute and Guitar (&Cello obbligato)
Sonnetina #6 (5 min.) (1982) op.65
Next to of course god (text: e.e. cummings)
for Male Voice and Guitar or Piano
A Secular Kaddish (3 min.) (1982) op.63
(English adapted from Union Prayer Book)
for Voice a cappella or with A Clarinet/Viola/Cello/Marimba
In der Fremd (2 min.) (1981) op.62
(Yiddish text: Leyb Naydus
or in English by composer)
for Voice with Harp or Piano
arr. as Duet for Soprano & Tenor with Harp/Piano, op.62A
Sehnsucht (3 min.) (1981)
(German text: Guenter Loscher)
(from Let's Change the Woild, op.61)
Gesanglos war ich (1-2 min.) (1981) op.60
(German text: Heinrich Heine)
Soprano-Bass Duet
or for Soprano and Clarinet [op.60A]
or for Voice and Marimba [op.60B]
The Subway Beggar (2 min.) (1981) op.59#2
(text: Eve Merriam's Upper West Side Story)
(from I Love New York)
Dawn in New York (2-4 min.) (1981) op.59#1
(text: English tr. of Federico Garcia Lorca)
Solo Soprano/Mezzo (+opt.) Chorus
(from I Love New York)
Deutschland (6 min.) (1980) op.57
(German text: Bertolt Brecht (1920))
Baritone or Bass and Piano
Spiele (2 min.) (1980) op.56
(German text: Peter Maiwald)
Soprano or Tenor with
Piano or Clarinet or Marimba or Guitar
The Cautious Struggle (2 min.) (1980) op.55
(text: Anon. (1789)) Soprano and Piano
So Low (2 min.) (1979) op.54#2
(text: Barbara Tumarkin Dunham)
(from Growing Up Woman, op.54)
Adoration: May the Time Not Be Distant
for Solo Soprano (+opt. SATB) (1979) op.53#2 [+op.129]
with Piano or Organ (4 min.)
May the Words (2 min.) (1979) op.52A
Soprano Solo (+opt. TTBB) and Piano/Organ
(from Hannah Act I)
There Is a Lady Sweet and Kind (2 min.)( 1977) op.50
(text: Anon.) for Solo Tenor/Soprano
a cappella + SATB or
Oboe/Eng.Hn./Clarinet/Violin/Viol
Two Leigh Hunt Songs, op.49:
1. Jenny Kissed Me (1 min.) (1977)
Baritone or Bass or Mezzo-Soprano
with String Trio or Piano or
Guitar, Cello and Flute obbligato
2. Abou Ben Adhem (3 min.) (1979)
Answer to a Child's Question (2 min.) (1978) op.48
(text: Samuel Coleridge) Coloratura Soprano
with Woodwind Quintet or Piano
A Red, Red Rose (Robert Burns) for Voice a cappella (2') 5/78 op.47
Sonnetina #5 (3-4 min.) (1978) op.45
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?
(Shakespeare's Sonnet #18)
Tenor or Soprano with
Viola/Clarinet/Harp/Guitar/Marimba
Little Alice from Amherst, Ohio (1978) op.44
(text: Polly Joan) (4 min.)
for Female Voice and Piano
Benediction for Alto a cappella (1977) op.43
(Russian text: Alexander Blok
or in English by composer) (1-2 min.)
Songs of Birds, song cycle (@ 4 min.) (1977) op.42
(Russian texts or in English by composer)
1. Greeting (Afanasy Fet)
with English Horn or A Clarinet or Marimba
2. Quartet (Ivan Krylov) with Piano,
or Clarinet and Piano
or Oboe, Horn, Viola and Harpsichord
+ optional Flute
3. Nightingale in a Dream (Gavril Derzhavin)
a cappella
A Songlet on an English Love Note (1977) op.41
(text from Percy Bysshe Shelley's To Night)
Soprano & Piano/Vibraphone (1-2 min.)
Two Songs of a Madman (5 min.) (1973) op.36
(texts from Hebrew Melodies by
George Gordon, Lord Byron)
1. My Soul is Dark for Female Voice with
Piano/Vibraphone/Winds
2. They Say That Hope Is Happiness
for Female Voice with Piano/Winds
Simple Songs, op.35
1. Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover? (1973)
(text: John Suckling) (2 min.)
with Harpsichord/Piano
2. Advice to Virgins (Gather Ye Rosebuds) (1978)
(text: Robert Herrick) (3 min.)
with Harp or Harpsichord or Piano
or Mandolin and Continuo
Two Shelley Songs op.32
1. Sonnetina #4 (4 min.) (1971)
(text: Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet "On Political Greatness")
Soprano, Mezzo or Tenor with Piano
also arranged for Bass under title
Man Who Man Would Be, op.84
2. Love's Philosophy (2-3 min.) (1979)
(text: Percy Bysshe Shelley)
Soprano or Tenor or
Soprano-Tenor Duet with Piano
The Circus Sideshow, (3 min.) Fall 1970 pop song op.29
for use in original adaptation of
Elie Siegmeister's & Edward Mabley's The Mermaid in Lock #7;
prem. 7/13/89 Belezy, France
The Bourgeois Poet song cycle for
Tenor or Soprano with Piano
or with Strings & Piano (30 min.) (1970) op.28
(texts: poems by Karl Shapiro)
1. Introductory
2. The Bourgeois Poet
3. Deep-Thinking Machine
4. When Suffering is Everywhere
5. How Do I Love You? (4 min.)
(Sonnetina#3) also arr. for Bass & Piano op.82
under title: Faulty Communication
(see also under CHORAL )
6. The First Time (10 min.)
7. The World is My Dream (3 min.)
8. A'men
My University (5 min.) (1970) op.25
(Russian text: Vladimir Mayakovsky
or in English by composer) Bass & Piano
Sonnetina #2 (5 min.) (1967-68) op.14
(text: Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet
Lift Not the Painted Veil)
Bass, Piano & Page-Turner (inside piano)
Sonnetina #1 (4 min.) (1966-69) op.12
(text: Marilyn Siegel (Smith))
for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
or for Soprano or Tenor with
Flute, Guitar and Cello obbligato [op.12A];
also arranged for Bass and Piano (1986) op.83
under title: If I Could
Song (7 min.) (1966-67) op.11
(text from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet )
High Soprano, Violin and Piano
Song Cycle(tte):
Three Girls' Love Songs (10 min.) (1964-65) op.6
1. Love's Secret (William Blake)
Alto/Mezzo/Baritone & Piano (2'30")
2. When I am Dead, My Dearest
(Christina Rossetti)
Soprano/Mezzo with Piano
or with 2 Guitars (3 min.)
3. Sweet and Low (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
SSAA Quartet or Chorus (4 min.)
IV. STAGE WORKS
OPERAS (10)
Tales of Malamud, two one-acts based on
stories by Bernard Malamud (1914-1986):
Idiots First (55 min.), op.37, a Jewish Everyman
story of the aging Mendel, his retarded
son Itzak, and Ginzberg the Angel of Death
--1973 completion of last work begun (1963)
by Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964)
3bar, bass, 2-3 ten, sop, actors; Orch.: 21+
"his best work"--Ned Rorem & N.Y.Times
Winner, 1978 Off-Broadway Opera Award
"most important event of season"
excpts: 1. How I Met My New Grandfather
2. Who Will Close the Door
3. Under the Sky
#1 performed by Joe Ferrer, Leonard Bernstein
& the NY Philharmonic 4/19/64;
#1 & 2 recorded on Premier CD "A Blitzstein Cabaret"
#3 recorded on Original Cast Recording CD "A Marc Blitzstein Songbook"
#1 & 3 published by Boosey & Hawkes' Marc Blitzstein Songbook, v. 1 & 2
Karla (40 min.), 1974, op.38, comedy of suburban
seduction based on Malamud's
Notes from a Lady at a Dinner Party
(from Rembrandt's Hat collection)
libretto by composer; SMATBarB; Orch.: 21+
Both produced at Cornell '74, Indiana '76,
Bel Canto Opera (N.Y.City) '78 with 2 pnos;
orchestral premiere March '92 Center for Contemporary Opera, NYU
Publisher: Theodore Presser
Sima (90 min.), 1976, op.40, 2-act 1905 Russian story
of adoption of Jewish girl orphaned by
pogroms; libretto by composer based on
The Krasovitsky Couple by David Aizman
(1869-1922), tr. Edgar H. Lehrman
2 Sopranos, Mezzo, Baritone, Girl,
opt. Children's Chorus; Orch.: 8
Produced by Ithaca Opera Assn '76,
Jewish Music Theatre of Berlin '84
Videotaped & telecast, shown in 5 states
and 5 countries in Europe incl. the USSR
Publisher: Carl Fischer tr. into German & (partially) into French
Hannah (150 min.), 1980, op.52, 3-act Chanukah
legend of Judah Maccabee's sister whose
protest against violence and the treatment
of women as property ignited the first
rebellion against religious oppression in
168 B.C.E.; 2-3S,2-3M,2T,Bar,Bass-Bar,Chor
libretto by composer and Orel Odinov
Performed 1980 concertante by soloists &
7th U.S.Army Soldiers' Chorus, Heidelberg
The Family Man (44 min.), 1984, op.71 monodrama
on Cossack family's destruction in 1920's
Russia, based on composer's tr. of 1925 story
by Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-84)
sung by George Shirley, Berlin 1/85
Ronald Edwards, Dresden State Opera 7/96, NYU 9/27/99
staged by Golden Fleece, N.Y. City 6/85
"a masterpiece"--Backstage, July 10,'85
for dramatic tenor w/ piano/orchestra of 10-12
The Birthday of The Bank (50 min.), 1988, op.97, 1-act
on composer's tr. of Chekhov's 1891 farce "Jubilee,"
commissioned by OPERAmerica for Lake George Opera Festival,
workshopped there by Rosalind Elias, Aug. 3, 1988
semi-staged premiere by LICA, ACF 6/98 Adelphi, NYU
staged premiere at Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island 9/6/99, Queens College 9/30/99
for soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, bass, w/pno/orch
New World: An Opera About What Columbus Did to the "Indians"
(100 min.), 1991, op. 102, 55 numbers
in one or two acts; commissioned by the Puffin Foundation in honor of
the 50th anniversary of American Music Center & Columbian Quincentennial
libretto by composer & Joel Shatzky
SSTTBarBarB, 2 Rappers, Piano, Percussion, 3 Synthesizers,
opt. Chorus, Ballet, Trumpet, Trombone
Separable numbers: #1 Kaytawari's Monologue #2 Crew #3 Columbus
#6 Nudity Chorus #9 Prayer #11 Rodrigo #16 Isabella #17 Quartet (Act I)
#26 Guarionéx #27 Yuisa #29 Kaytawari's Vision #30 George
#32 Columbus-Isabella Duet #34 Quartet (Act II) #37 De Torres
#44 Rap Number #46 Tainos' Mourning Chorus + Choral Suite (5 min.)
#16 Golden Fleece Ltd. program @Theater 22, NYC 3/31/90
#1, 3 Union Theological Seminary 7/22/90, & WBAI 10/12/90
#2, 6 chorus preview: Belezy, France 7/90
#16 Belezy, France 7/92 and at
Haus der Kirche, Berlin 9/1/92
& Dresden Center for Contemporary Music 9/5/92
#3, 16, 37, 32 LICA concert, Heckscher Park, Huntington 8/6/91
All of the above previewed on WQXR "The Listening Room" 10/12/91 10pm
Suite of excerpts broadcast on WBAI 10/14/91
#11 sung by Ivan Thomas, broadcast on WBAI Arts Magazine 2/8/93
full concert prem. by After Dinner Opera Co. (& Meet The Composer)
@ Lincoln Center Library 10/12/91
staged premiere @Heckscher Park, Huntington 8/11/92
N.Y. City staged premiere @Donnell Library 2/9/93
Suppose A Wedding (53 min.), 1996, op. 125 1-act opera after eponymous
Scene from a Play by Bernard Malamud, 4/96
concert prem. 9/2/96 Int'l Jewish Arts Festival of L.I., Commack
staged prem. 6/1/97 Hebrew Union College-Jewish Inst of Religion, NYC
soprano,mezzo,character tenor,high baritone,male one-liner, pno/orch
publ.: Theodore Presser
intermezzo between opp. 37 & 38 or independent work
includes
a. "The Rabbi & the Rich Man" or "The Parable of the Mirror,"
(op. 116) based on a fable in the public domain (2'15")
b. Leon's Arietta (2'30")
Sacco and Vanzetti (2 hr. 45 min.), op. 148
3-act opera begun but left unfinished by Marc Blitzstein (1959-1963)
commissioned by Ford Foundation, optioned by Metropolitan Opera
completed 1978-Feb. 2001; publisher: Theodore Presser;
Musicals (6)
bk: Sydney Ross Singer, lyrics: Singer & composer
for 2 men, 2 women, piano
based on "A Little Breast Play" by Singer & Soma Grismaijer
Dec.'00-Jan.'01 (still in progress)
Barbie Blues - Baby Breasts - The Boobs Blues - Silicone Sal - Breast Play -
Quartet - The Test - Working It Out - Stuffed Bras (Off Our Chests) ea. 3-5'
prem. (of all but Quartet) Golden Fleece Ltd., Theater 22, May 13, 2001
broadcast on Manhattan Neighborhood Network Ch. 34 2/22/02 2:10-2:30pm, 2/26/02 7:40-8pm
prem. (incl. Quartet) Eastern Naturist Gathering, Eastover, Lenox, Mass. Aug. 23, 2001
Operetta
Revue
CabaretThe Jewish Woman in Song
Incidental Music (8)on commission for works by
Translations (62)The Days of the Commune (Brecht-Eisler) [see op.30A]
Adaptations (17)
