EarRelevant Staff | 20 OCT 2021
ATLANTA, GA— As the business day came to a close on Tuesday, The Atlanta Opera unveiled its new 96-Hour Opera Project, a composition competition in which teams of composers and librettists have four days to write, cast, direct and stage completely new and compelling 10-minute operas.
The winning team will be awarded a commission to write an opera for The Atlanta Opera to premiere and $10,000 in cash.
The competition is designed explicitly for composers and librettists from historically underrepresented communities, so it is open only to those who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, Arab-American, Latin-American, or other communities of color.
The company will host the competition in partnership with the Morehouse College School of Music. The competition finals will be open to the public, held at the Ray Charles Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, June 20, 2022. The event will include a special commemorative performance honoring the Juneteenth holiday.
Morris Robinson (TAO)
Internationally renowned bass and Atlanta native Morris Robinson will serve as the artistic advisor for this year’s competition, working with creative teams throughout the four-day process and serving as one of the judges.
“Projects like this one are necessary in order to move the needle for composers and librettists of color,” says Robinson. “I’m proud to be part of a company that is doing this work.”
The 96-Hour Opera Project will be open for applications on December 1, 2021. The competition runs from June 17 to June 20, 2022. Every participant will be guaranteed an honorarium, travel, and lodging support. There is no application fee. Interested composers and librettists can find more information on the process and application timeline at atlantaopera.org/competition.
“The diversity of Atlanta—racial, ethnic, cultural—is the reason for the vibrancy and richness of this city. We want diversity to be a vital part of every aspect of our company and reflect the city we call home,” says Tomer Zvulun, general and artistic director of The Atlanta Opera. “This new initiative will achieve two major goals: sharing inspirational stories that reflect the multicultural history of Atlanta and amplifying the voices of diverse artists.”
Each creative team will be assigned a story drawn from Georgia’s past and present based on materials provided by this year’s “Stories that Resonate” partners, representative nonprofit organizations with storytelling at their core.
The Atlanta Opera will provide singing talent, a pianist, and a director to assist with staging, plus a treasure trove of background information from the Stories that Resonate partner organizations to spark the imagination.
In partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, The Atlanta Opera Film Studio will produce a mini-series using filmed portions of the competition and supplemental interviews for broadcast on GPB stations across the state and online. ■
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