Opera Wars: Inside the World of Opera and the Battles for Its Future

Join us for a conversation with Caitlin Vincent to celebrate her new book, a powerful up close look at the opera industry, its roots, its resistance to change, and why it remains a beloved and evocative art form. She will be in conversation with Michael Korie, followed by a signing.

PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

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Drawing on interviews with dozens of opera insiders—as well as her own experience as an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator—Caitlin Vincent deftly unravels clichés and presumptions, exposing such debates as how much fidelity is owed to long-dead opera composers whose plots often stir racial and gender sensitivities, whether there's any cure for typecasting that leaves talented performers out of work and other performers chained to the same roles, and what explains the bizarre kowtowing of opera companies to the demands of traditionalist patrons.

Vincent never shrinks from depicting the industry's top-to-bottom messiness and its stubborn resistance to change. Yet, like a lover who can't quite break away, she always comes back to her veneration for the artform and in these pages stirringly evokes those moments on stage that can be counted on to make ardent fans of the most skeptical.

Caitlin Vincent is an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator. Her librettos have won all three of America’s top opera prizes and her vocal work is featured on the Grammy Award–nominated album 40@40. Vincent was the artistic director of The Figaro Project from 2009 to 2014. She writes frequently on the arts for such outlets as The Conversation and Limelight, and her perspective on opera has been featured in The New York Times. She holds a PhD from Deakin University (Australia), an MM from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins, and a BA from Harvard. She was born in the US but currently makes her home in Melbourne, Australia.

Michael Korie received The Marc Blitzstein Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his work in both musical theater and opera. Korie wrote the lyrics to composer Scott Frankel’s music for the Broadway productions of War Paint and Grey Gardens, books by Doug Wright, and the Off- Broadway productions of Far From Heaven with book by Richard Greenberg, and Happiness with book by John Weidman. His collaboration with Tom Kitt and James Lapine, Flying Over Sunset, premiered at Lincoln Center Theater with a Tony-nominated score. Korie and Frankel’s scores have been nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards, received The Outer Critics Circle Award, and have been produced nationally and abroad. The London premiere of Grey Gardens won the Offie Award for Best Musical of the year.

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