FAIRY TALE SUITE
THREE SHORT OPERAS
LIBRETTO BY CHANDRA McCLELLAND
Fairy Tale Suite originated as a one-act opera written for NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Opera Lab in 2011. The assignment? Pair with a new collaborator and create a story in fifteen minutes with a soprano, mezzo, and tenor. “A Visit to Baba Yaga” emerged from a fascination with unusual fairy tales, in this instance the notorious, child-eating Russian witch. It tells the tale of twelve-year-old Elena, who takes an impromptu snow day and happens upon Baba Yaga and her extremely cranky cat.
Following a reading of “Baba Yaga” with performers from NYU Steinhardt, a vision for the Suite as a standalone piece evolved: a trio of short operas that could be performed with the same three voices in different roles for audiences of all ages. “Tin Heart, Tinsel Rose,” the second opera in the Suite, was completed in 2015. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” it follows the one-legged Tin Soldier as he embarks on a quest to win the Dancer’s heart…with some shenanigans from a snarky Goblin.
“A Visit to Baba Yaga” and “Tin Heart, Tinsel Rose” received world premieres with Badlands Opera Project in 2019, a series of mainstage and school performances that sparked momentum to finish the Suite—even with a snowstorm in May. Badlands subsequently commissioned “The Winter Giant,” which premiered with the completed Suite in fall 2023. Based on Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant,” it is the story of a grouchy Giant, singing Tree, and Child who saves both from endless winter.
PRODIGY
book & lyrics by
JENNY STAFFORD
Emily, at age 14, is convinced that she’s a prodigy, just like her two heroes—her dad (a cellist) and Mozart. She just doesn’t know at what. However, when Emily is told that her father is killed in a car crash right before his biggest competition, she is determined to find out what makes her special and make him proud. With the help of her imaginary friend, Mozart, she sets off on a quest to find her skill.
Through non-linear storytelling, we also follow Emily at age 34. Having found her skill as a cellist like her father, she has buried herself in the obsessive world of the cello, and Cello (portrayed by an actor throughout the piece) becomes the only real relationship in her life. However, as she starts to discover the limitations of her isolation, she is challenged to reexamine who her father was, who she is, and how music, mental illness, and art define her and the world she has created for herself.
Prodigy received a full production through CCU, after being presented at New York University’s Collaborative Development Program, Indiana University, the Harrisburg New Works Festival, and the Two Rivers Theatre. Prodigy was also a finalist for the Yale Institute for Musical Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, and the Barrington Stage Mainstage.
#MARS
BOOK & LYICS BY
LAURA KLAINBAUM
#MARS is the competition reality show choosing the first person to walk on Mars! Many will compete--doctors, physicists, a girl from a Minnesota trailer park--but only one will take human kind's next giant leap. Tune in to find out who!