{"id":104816,"date":"2024-06-06T15:48:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T19:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=104816"},"modified":"2024-06-07T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T12:00:02","slug":"interview-composer-cecilia-livingston-librettist-michael-albano-talk-new-u-t-opera-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/06\/06\/interview-composer-cecilia-livingston-librettist-michael-albano-talk-new-u-t-opera-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Composer Cecilia Livingston & Librettist Michael Albano Talk About New U Of T Opera Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Composer Cecilia Livingston (Photo: Alexander Denino); Librettist Michael Patrick Albano (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Toronto Faculty of Music has announced the commission of a new opera titled Fall River, the legend of Lizzie Borden. The opera will premiere in November 2026 in a performance by U of T Opera.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Livingston<\/strong> will compose the music, with a libretto by Michael Patrick Albano.<\/strong> Fall River will be only the third opera ever commissioned by U of T Opera.<\/p>\n

Composer-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company since 2022, and formerly composer-in-residence at Glyndebourne (2019-2022), Cecilia specializes in vocal works, which have been praised for their beauty. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a doctorate in composition, and was awarded the Theodoros Mirkopoulos Fellowship in Composition.<\/p>\n

Michael Albano was an Associate Professor in the U of T Opera program, now retired, and served as Resident Stage Director, among other functions. His resume also includes more than 25 works for the stage, including librettos for companies such as the Washington Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Canadian Children\u2019s Opera Company. At U of T, he staged more than 50 opera productions. As a director, he\u2019s worked with companies such as the Manhattan School of Music, New York City Opera, the Opera Festival of New Jersey, among others<\/p>\n

The work will be written for five leading roles, seven secondary roles, a choral ensemble, and chamber orchestra of about 10 to 12 musicians.<\/p>\n

\"L-R:
L-R: Lizzie Borden in 1890 (Public domain); The Borden murder trial\u2014A scene in the court-room before the acquittal –\u00a0Lizzie Borden, the accused, and her counsel,\u00a0Ex-Governor Robinson. Illustration in\u00a0Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper, v. 76 (1893 June 29), p. 411 (B.W. Clinedinst\/CC BY 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lizzie Borden: The Facts<\/h2>\n

First, a look at the facts of Lizzie Borden. Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860, and died on June 1, 1927. It was on August 4, 1892, when Lizzie was 32, that her father and stepmother were brutally murdered with an axe in Fall River Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Borden\u2019s family were wealthy through manufacturing and real estate concerns, although her father, Andrew, was known for his frugality. After Lizzie\u2019s mother died, Andrew remarried Abby Durfee Graysons. Relations with Lizzie were cold, however. She insisted on calling her \u201cMrs. Borden\u201d and not mother, and Lizzie and her sister seldom ate with the couple.<\/p>\n

Strained relations led the sisters to leave the home for an extended vacation in July of 1892. Even after she returned, Lizzie lived in a rooming house for a few days before returning to the family home. It emerged at the trial that Andrew had been generous in gifting land and other things to Abby and her family, causing a great deal of friction.<\/p>\n

On the morning of August 4, Abby was killed first as she did chores that morning. Later, after Andrew returned, he was killed in the same way.<\/p>\n

Testimony from the live-in maid conflicted the evidence, as well as Lizzie\u2019s responses. The police didn\u2019t like her calmness and poise \u2014 and found two axes in the basement. She was charged with murder, but acquitted, and lived the rest of her life in that same house with her sister.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the perfect story, in other words, for an operatic treatment.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Livingston & Michael Albano: The Interview<\/h2>\n

As Michael points out, although U of T commissions have been few and far between, the University\u2019s Opera department was often used to premiere new works as a kind of trying ground for the Canadian Opera Company. \u201cWe got the privilege to do the premieres, without the accolades,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Premieres, and new operas, are essential, despite a great love of 19th century opera, the romantic traditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe form will die, it will become a museum form, unless new pieces are written,\u201d he says. But, he says that current signs of an upswing in opera\u2019s popularity, especially among young people both as creators and audience members, are encouraging. \u201cI think we are living in an interesting time. Opera is hot!\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Lizzie Borden story is an interest of Michael\u2019s. \u201cI’ve been obsessed with this story for quite a while,\u201d he says. That includes visiting Fall River, and her former home, now a B&B. \u201cIt’s the scale of a story,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt’s just so operatic. It’s just like something Euripides would have written.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the decades have passed, public interest in the story hasn\u2019t much diminished, although the focus perhaps has. From law and order, many people are now interested in the psychology underpinning the sensational story.<\/p>\n

He also credits Tyler Greenleaf, the Director, Advancement of the Faculty of Music, as a driving force behind the project.<\/p>\n

When it came to composers, Albano says he knew who he wanted. \u201cI was on tenterhooks until we heard from Cecilia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not say no,\u201d Cecilia laughs. \u201cI was fascinated by the story idea. I too am interested in […] how do we get to those places where we commit these acts?\u201d she says. \u201cWe continue to think of how she might have gotten there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cecilia had taken Michael\u2019s introduction to opera composition class as a student. \u201cLook what he unleashed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve followed Cecilia’s career,\u201d Michael adds.<\/p>\n

\"Composer
Composer Cecilia Livingston (Photo: Alexander Denino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adapting The Story For Opera<\/h3>\n

In adapting the story, as he describes it, you begin with the historical facts like the dates, her age, the facts of her living in a repressive household with an abusive father.<\/p>\n

\u201c[She had] a very, very fractious relationship with her step mother,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Michael got hold of a transcript of the actual trial while he was in Massachusetts. Where the transcript leaves off, the artistry begins. \u201cThen you imagine the links between those facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

It builds a series of little narrative bridges that turn the facts into a cohesive story. \u201cIt’s such a strong, strong, narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to the music, for a story that\u2019s situated in the past, there is a choice to be made. \u201cWhat is the musical style of the time, and do we sit in those spaces? I’ve made that choice many times,\u201d Cecilia says. \u201cI like a mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her works tend to use techniques that suit the drama and atmosphere of the moment. \u201cI think I’ll write it in my own language,\u201d she says. \u201cIt lets me have a really wide tool kit.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes dissonance as well as intensely lyrical passages, as the narrative dictates.<\/p>\n

The story makes a few jumps in time. \u201cThe hardest part of writing the libretto,\u201d Michael says, \u201conce the very brutal murder of her parents occur, where do you go after that?\u201d<\/p>\n

The story builds during the first act. \u201cI thought that we would […] jump right into the turmoil of that household,\u201d he says. The first act ends with Lizzie clearly contemplating violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s going to be a fantastic moment,\u201d Cecilia adds. \u201cI think that’s going to be a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second act begins after the crimes to chronicle the aftermath, but then doubles back, at the very end, to finally depict Lizzie wielding the axe against her father and step-mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons that I was so keen to undertake this with Michael was that I could see the care he’d taken with the structure,\u201d Cecilia says. It creates a dramatic story arc, and her work is to match the match the pacing to the music. \u201cFor me, that’s the delightful challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

To avoid turning a chamber opera into a courtroom just for one scene, the trial plays as flashbacks in Lizzie\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love those spaces for ambiguity,\u201d Cecilia says. \u201cI am particularly excited for this story. We think we know her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe interest in this story is phenomenal,\u201d Michael adds. \u201cMusic is such a great medium of storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael describes his approach to writing. \u201cA libretto by its nature needs to be minimal,\u201d he says. He appreciated Cecilia\u2019s few suggestions here and there for tightening the text to make more room for the music. \u201cThere always has to be room for music,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt’s never worked that I know of, of someone simply taking a play and setting it to music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long Live Opera<\/h2>\n

While there aren\u2019t any stats to document it, it\u2019s true that those who work in the field have noticed an increased interest, and more importantly, a presence, by younger generations in the opera world. It\u2019s having a moment that will hopefully not only endure but grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are many and complex reasons for that,\u201d Cecilia says. \u201cIt’s terrifically exciting to be a composer as part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s indie opera scene is a busy one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that’s something deliciously enormous about opera,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s about huge emotions. It’s about complex questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a way of collectively thinking about and sharing questions of human experience. Part of its new popularity is due to the way opera has also reached beyond the confines of a traditional opera house to embrace audiences looking for different experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe creators of any art form don’t necessarily end up owning it,\u201d Michael says of any naysayers.<\/p>\n

Cecilia mentions, \u201cthe power of the singing voice, unmediated by speakers\u201d as a defining feature of the opera, an inherently multidisciplinary art.<\/p>\n

As Michael points out, great singers always find an emotional heart to the story, no matter what the subject. It can bring difficult characters like Lizzie to vivid life on stage.<\/p>\n

The University of Toronto Opera commission is facilitated by financial support from individual donors, including Denton Creighton and Kristine Vikmanis, currently a director on the board of the COC.<\/p>\n

The November 2026 premiere will be conducted by Sandra Holst, Head of the U of T Opera division.<\/p>\n

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