The first season in 2003 presented a workshop of '''Korczak's Orphans''' by Adam Silverman and Susan Gubernat based on the life of the famous Polish children's doctor, orphanage director and Holocaust martyr,
Janusz Korczak. It was performed at the
Lebanon Opera House in New Hampshire and in May 2004 was presented at
New York City Opera as part of VOX 2004: Showcasing American Composers. It continues to have workshopped performances at
Opera Theatre of Brooklyn.
Hawaiian Tan Ratface with words and music by
John Trubee was premiered in February, 2004, at San Francisco's
Studio Z, accompanied by the Ugly Janitors of America with choreography by
Carl Franzoni.
Feynman is a new opera by composer
Jack Vees, Operations Director of the
Yale Center for Studies in Music Technology, and librettist
Paul Schick. Its subject is the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and cult figure
Richard Feynman. A percussion quartet provides the orchestra backing a solo Dr. Feynman onstage. The premiere was performed at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, CT, in June 2005, and subsequent tour of New England was performed by SO Percussion and baritone Michael Cavalieri. In December 2005, Feynman was restaged in New York City at the
Knitting Factory, with lighting and video design by Barry Steele and scenery design by Damen Mroczek. Future performances are in planning.
Leave me Alone! was written by
Dan Plonsey to a new libretto by
Harvey Pekar who is perhaps best known for his series of autobiographical comic books and the subsequent movie:
American Splendor. It premiered January 31, 2009 at
Oberlin College. RTO premiered four
Pop-Up Operas in their 2012–2013 season, all designed by Cleveland artist Don Harvey, filmed and edited by Ted Sikora for online presentation. The first,
Double Figure, is a translation of a Paul Celan poem by Paul Schick, performed outside
Cleveland Public Theater in November 2012, starring Phil Wong (tenor) and Elaine Daiber (soprano).
Frozen Community premiered on Main Street
Oberlin,
Ohio in May 2013 composed by
Randy Woolf with text by Robin Stranahan, music by The Bits, and dance/choreography by Ladia Yates.
Silent Chorus by David Mahler was performed in
Pittsburgh,
PA in June 2013 by Stephen Ng (tenor)
Paradox is an
American Sign Language opera composed by
Larry Polansky to a text by
Patrick Graybill, performed by Monique Holt with interpretation by Tim Chamberlain, music performed by Daniel Goode, Randall Chaves-Camacho and Dan King in August 2013.
NOVA is composed by
Lewis Nielson to a libretto by Paul Schick, directed by Jonathon Field and premiered during
Cleveland Public Theater’s Big Box series 2014. ==Additional Works and Commissions==