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Royce Vavrek
Vavrek after the premiere of Proving Up, 2018
Born
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationConcordia University (BFA)
New York University (MFA)
Occupation(s)librettist, bookwriter, lyricist, filmmaker
Years active2002–present
Notable workDog Days, 27, Breaking the Waves, JFK, Angel's Bone

Royce Vavrek is a Canadian-born Brooklyn-based librettist, playwright, dance scenarist, musical theatre writer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with composers David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Mikael Karlsson, Ricky Ian Gordon, Paola Prestini and Du Yun, soprano Lauren Worsham, producers Beth Morrison and Lawrence Edelson, and conductors Steven Osgood, Julian Wachner and Alan Pierson.

He has been called "the indie Hofmannsthal", a "Metastasio of the downtown opera scene", "an exemplary creator of operatic prose", and "one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world".[1][2][3][4]

His opera Angel's Bone with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music.[5]

Life and work

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Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, Vavrek studied piano and musical composition in high school and also sang in a chorus, but was even more drawn to writing for theatre, writing some 17 plays at that time, and filmmaking.[6] But following an undergraduate degree in filmmaking from Concordia University and a master's from New York University in musical theater writing,[7] he enrolled in the American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program which established his career as an opera librettist.[6]

His work has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Norwegian National Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, Tapestry Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Omaha, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Kitchen, Alarm Will Sound, Opera America, American Lyric Theater, Beth Morrison Projects, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, among others. His recent commissions include operas for the Royal Swedish Opera, La Monnaie, The Icelandic Opera, and the Prototype Festival. Vavrek's filmmaking credits include From Sky and Soil, which was created as part of the Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network, through a prize administered by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.

Vavrek is gay.[8]

Artistic influences and comparisons

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Vavrek has suggested that his work is heavily influenced by cinematic auteurs including Neil LaBute, Lars von Trier, Catherine Breillat, Wong Kar-Wai, Mike Leigh, Larry Clark, playwrights Martin McDonagh and Sam Shepard, novelists Richard Ford, Miriam Toews and Larry McMurtry and Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards.[9][10][11][12]

His libretti have been compared to the work of Alban Berg, Maya Angelou and Edward Albee.[13][14][15]

Opera libretti

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Dance scenarios

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  • Crypto (2019, Guillaume Coté choreographer, Mikael Karlsson composer)[39]
  • Evidence of it All (2021, Drew Jacoby choreographer, Mikael Karlsson composer, Rosamund Pike narrator)[40]

Musical theater book and lyrics

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Oratorios, cantatas, and song cycles

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Selected songs and concert works

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  • Hybrid Dreams (Bunny Pony) (2007, Julia Meinwald, composer)[48]
  • Elena (2009, Matt Marks, composer)[49]
  • Red-Thread Smirk (2010, Matt Marks, composer)[50]
  • I [XX] (2011, Matt Marks, composer)[51]
  • A Song for Wade (This is Not That Song) (2011, Matt Marks, composer)[52]
  • 1882 Songs (2011, Mark Baechle, composer)[53]
  • Last Nightfall (2011, David T. Little, composer)[54]
  • Canvas (2012, Matt Mehlan, composer)[42]
  • archaeology (2012, David T. Little, composer)[55]
  • Bluetooth Islands (2012, Matt Marks, composer)[56]
  • A Mural (2012, Aaron Gervais, composer)[57]
  • Alien Summers (2012, Aaron Roche, composer)[58]
  • Monkey Cowboys (2012, Rachel Peters, composer)[59]
  • Violations (2013, Hannah Lash, composer)[60]
  • Strip Mall (2013, Matt Marks, composer)[61]
  • Penance (2013, Mikael Karlsson, composer)[62]
  • The Librettist as a Boy (2013, Marie Incontrera, composer)[62]
  • Brother (2013, Jude Vaclavik, composer)[63]
  • E---- (2014, Jeff Myers, composer)[64]
  • Union (2014, Paola Prestini, composer)[65]
  • Knoxville: Summer of 2015 (2015, Ellen Reid, composer; a musical sequel to Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915)[66]

Films

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  • Sacrifice (2003)
  • Good Woman (2004)
  • From Sky and Soil (2005)
  • I Will Not Be Sad Anymore (2005)
  • Pig and Bear (2008)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result
2017 Music Critics Association of North America Award[67] Best New Opera Breaking the Waves Won
2019 Music Critics Association of North America Award[68] Best New Opera Proving Up Runner-up
2020 Dora Mavor Moore Awards[69] Outstanding New Opera Jacqueline Nominated
2023 American Academy of Arts and Letters[70] Marc Blitzstein Memorial Award Won

The Coterie

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With soprano Lauren Worsham, Vavrek is the co-founder and co-artistic director of downtown opera-theater company The Coterie. Through a series of concerts that often function as incubators for larger projects, the company has presented world premieres by many young operatic and musical theater composers including Rachel Peters, Jeff Myers, Kyle Jarrow, Paola Prestini, Cristian Amigo, Matt Marks, Mark Baechle, Christine Donkin, Joshua Schmidt, Julia Meinwald and Andrew Gerle. In December 2012, the company will premiere new works by Aaron Roche, Mel Marvin, Zach Redler, Aaron Gervais and Conrad Winslow alongside new projects from many returning contributors.[71] Among the many performers to lend their talents to the company are Tony Award-winner Chuck Cooper, Tony nominee Barbara Walsh, actress-singers Theresa McCarthy and Morgan James and actor-singers Greg Hildreth and Zachary James.[72][73]

References

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  1. ^ Osnos, Evan (January 2016). "Fully Committed". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  2. ^ Midgette, Anne. "At an opera festival, tales of drug cartels. At opera houses, same old song". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Tommasini, Anthony; Woolfe, Zachary; Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da; Smith, Steve; Oestreich, James R.; Schweitzer, Vivien (January 3, 2014). "Critics Weigh In on Standout Operas of Recent Decades". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Far from the farm, Albertan carves out opera niche in New York City".
  5. ^ "Du Yun". pulitzer.org. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "So Many Juicy, Amazing Words: A Conversation with Royce Vavrek" by Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox, published: January 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Kaleidoscopic World of Royce Vavrek" by Heidi Waleson, Opera News, April 2015
  8. ^ "Librettist rides the 'waves' in Opera Philadelphia's world premiere". Philadelphia Gay News, September 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "Royce Vavrek: So Many Juicy, Amazing Words". January 2016.
  10. ^ ""Kendrick, wanna write an opera with me??": An Interview with Royce Vavrek". November 5, 2016.
  11. ^ "Interview: Royce Vavrek on Writing the Libretti for the Operas Dog Days and Angel's Bone". StageBuddy.com. January 14, 2016.
  12. ^ "3rd Annual Napomo 30/30/30 :: Day 12 :: Royce Vavrek on Kathleen Edwards – The Operating System and Liminal Lab".
  13. ^ "Opera Philadelphia's presents Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves (first review)". Broad Street Review.
  14. ^ Chris King. "Opera Theatre St. Louis stages flawless commissioned portrait of Gertrude Stein". The St. Louis American.
  15. ^ Steve Smith (October 4, 2012). "Fighting for Survival, Like Animals". The New York Times.
  16. ^ "David T. Little – Vinkensport or, The Finch Opera". boosey.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  17. ^ Smith, Steve (February 26, 2012). "Song From The Uproar at the Kitchen". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  18. ^ James Jorden (January 14, 2016). "High Notes: Raw, Powerful New Operas Tackle Human Trafficking, Sexual Deviancy". The New York Observer. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  19. ^ Waleson, Heidi (June 23, 2014). "Opera Review: Gertrude Stein in St. Louis". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  20. ^ Waleson, Heidi (September 28, 2015). "O Columbia and Sweeney Todd Reviews". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  21. ^ Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna da (January 7, 2016). "In Angels Bone Terrified Seraphim at the Mercy of Mortals". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  22. ^ Lee, Wayne (April 25, 2016). "Hallucination, Assassination and Orchestration: JFK the Opera Comes to Fort Worth". Dallas Observer. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  23. ^ "Philadelphia Will Mount Breaking The Waves Adaptation". The New York Times. February 16, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  24. ^ "Lincoln Center's American Songbook" (PDF). americansongbook.org. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  25. ^ Mertes, Micah (April 11, 2016). "To mark 60th birthday, Opera Omaha will launch spring festival in 2018 | GO – Arts & entertainment". Omaha.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  26. ^ "Silent Light | Banff Centre".
  27. ^ "The Wild Beast of the Bungalow". August 27, 2019.
  28. ^ "Jacqueline". December 7, 2019.
  29. ^ "Coming out in the 20th century". March 22, 2021.
  30. ^ "The Listeners".
  31. ^ "Interview with the artistic team of The Listeners".
  32. ^ Agarwala, Sudeep (February 7, 2023). "Steampunk Met Multiverse".
  33. ^ "Krokig väg till musikalisk framgång". August 12, 2020.
  34. ^ "THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA | ASU Gammage". asugammage.com.
  35. ^ "Adoration – Beth Morrison Projects".
  36. ^ "Fanny och Alexander".
  37. ^ "Indians on Vacation – Against the Grain Theatre".
  38. ^ Cooper, Michael (September 23, 2018). "The Met is Creating New Operas (Including Its First by Women)". The New York Times.
  39. ^ "Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur | Accueil".
  40. ^ "Evidence of it All".
  41. ^ "Midwestern Gothic — Signature Theatre". Sigtheatre.org. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  42. ^ a b Smith, Steve (March 26, 2012). "Brooklyn Philharmonic and Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Roulette". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  43. ^ "Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival 2013 at Symphony Space". Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  44. ^ "MasterVoices to Open 75th Season with New York Premiere of 27 This Fall". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  45. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (May 10, 2016). "Celebrate Brooklyn Summer Line-up". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  46. ^ "Mass Reimaginings". Trinity Church. August 31, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  47. ^ "So we will vanish | Örebro Konserthus". Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  48. ^ Julia Meinwald (March 24, 2008). "Hybrid Dreams". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2018 – via YouTube.
  49. ^ "Cooper, McCarthy, James and Moore Will Sing for the Coterie at Joe's Pub – Playbill". Playbill. September 10, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  50. ^ "Red-Thread Smirk". November 16, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  51. ^ Schweitzer, Vivien; Woolfe, Zachary; Smith, Steve (April 8, 2011). "Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall and More". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  52. ^ "Mizzou New Music Summer Festival: Wrap". July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  53. ^ "Lehman College: School of Arts and Humanities – Music Department: Faculty". lehman.edu. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  54. ^ "Last Nightfall". David T. Little. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  55. ^ "Archaeology, CD #2, track #3". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  56. ^ "The Brooklyn Philharmonic At The Winter Garden – New Sounds – Hand-picked music, genre free". Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  57. ^ Gervais, Aaron (October 30, 2013). "A Mural – Aaron Gervais, composer". Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  58. ^ "An Evening with the Coterie Features 13 Premieres by 13 Composers Tonight". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  59. ^ "Monkey Cowboys". Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  60. ^ "PSNY: Hannah Lash – Violations". eamdc.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  61. ^ "Strip Mall (world premiere, LA Phil co-commission) [This piece uses adult language.]". laphil.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  62. ^ a b "Marc Kudisch Joins Katie Thompson and More in The Coterie: Downtown/Uptown, 9/9". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  63. ^ "The Operating System". theoperatingsystem.org. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  64. ^ "Jeff Myers – Music". Archived from the original on November 29, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  65. ^ "Paola Prestini – Union, song for voice and piano". classicalarchives.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  66. ^ "Symphony to Present Academic Premiere of Knoxville: Summer of 2015". tntoday.utk.edu. September 16, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  67. ^ "New Opera Award Goes To Mazzoli, Vavrek For Waves". June 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  68. ^ "MCANA Announces Winner of Third Annual Award for Best New Opera". July 24, 2019.
  69. ^ "Sondra Radvanovsky, Tapestry Opera, Tamara Wilson Headline 2020 Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominees". June 8, 2020.
  70. ^ "2023 Ives Opera Prize and Blitzstein Award Winners Announced – American Academy of Arts and Letters". artsandletters.org.
  71. ^ "An Evening with the Coterie". brownpapertickets.com.
  72. ^ BWW News Desk. "The Coterie Un/Plugged, Volume One: Lauren Worsham and Friends Premieres at the Canal Room, 2/22". BroadwayWorld.com.
  73. ^ "Cooper, McCarthy, James and Moore Will Sing for the Coterie at Joe's Pub". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012.
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