Early career: 1988–2000 Moran's first opera,
Jack Benny!, was created in 1988, and composed entirely of snippets of sound from
The Jack Benny Program television series. The piece was staged at New York's
La Mama Experimental Theater Club, where it was presented by performance troupe Ridge Theater, and received strong praise in publications such as
The New York Times. Although the work was considered a benchmark for modern composition at the time, the work itself was reportedly stolen in a Lower East Side apartment robbery, and has not been presented again. There are many unusual anecdotes about Moran's life at this time, including his living "behind the couch" of Philip Glass for several years, after showing up on the older composer's doorstep and announcing himself Glass's protégé. Glass himself confirmed such stories in several interviews (
The Boston Globe, 1997 and
The New York Times, 2000). Although the recording was almost immediately recalled by its parent label for obscene language and content (receiving one of the country's first
Parental Advisory stickers). This is the only recording by Moran to present, which has ever received public release. In another unusual anecdote concerning Moran's early career,
Charles Manson was thought to have taken it upon himself to send a letter to
Wall Street Journal critic Mark Swed who published a negative review of the opera. In 1993, Moran's trilogy opera
Every Day Newt Burman (The Trilogy of Cyclic Existence) debuted at the larger Annex space at
La MaMa in New York City to wide critical acclaim. Owing to the opera, Moran was awarded a
Bessie Award. Moran also received a 1995
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. In 1995 and 1996 his opera
Matthew in The School of Life premiered at
The Kitchen in New York City. The work featured vocals by poet
Allen Ginsberg and a small part voiced by actress
Julia Stiles. As a performer,
The New York Times compared Moran with figures like
Merce Cunningham and
Twyla Tharp, and as a composer he received an
Obie Award. In these later early works by Moran, one can find him expanding into work with theatrical illusions and detailed specifications regarding the works staging. The use of doubled performers, playing the same part were often employed in his scoring of these events, to mimic the effect of cinematic-style editing. At the end of this period, in 1997, his version of
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari premiered at
American Repertory Theater at Harvard. Concerning Caligari,
The Boston Globe described Moran as "a modern day Mozart", but Moran himself expressed an unhappiness with the production, as well as the work's producer
Robert Brustein and its presenting partner Ridge Theater, which apparently resulted in a tense and public split with the group. In a 1998
New York Times article the following year, Moran claimed to have seen his staging and visual ideas appropriated by the group, while being publicly uncredited to him by the group's director Bob McGrath. The article presented other points of view on the subject from the New York theater world of the time, but clearly marked an end to a decade of joint production by the two parties.
2000–2005 In 2000, Moran's opera
Book of The Dead (2nd Avenue) was commissioned by
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and produced by
George Wolfe for The New York Shakespeare Festival /
Public Theater, in New York City and featured actress
Uma Thurman as the work's narrator. The work received less than favorable reviews, however, and in later autobiographical works Moran himself described the production as "one of the most unhappy times of [his] life", owing to "the sheer mechanical hugeness of it all".
Collaboration with Saori Tsukada: 2005–2011 In 2005, Moran began to work exclusively with Japanese-born dancer
Saori Tsukada, who in numerous reviews was described as a performer of unusual precision and stage presence. After seeing Tsukada from a distance on the street one afternoon, the composer knew the two strangers were "meant" to work together, and waited for her to return during a power outage in 2003. This seems to have marked a shift in subject matter for Moran, who then began to appear in his works as himself, internationally, and toured extensively throughout Europe, UK and United States over 2010-11. It was presented at the inaugural Days & Nights Festival produced by Philip Glass in
Carmel, California, in August 2011. Other works by Moran and Tsukada include ''Saori's Birthday!
(2007), commissioned by Performance Space 122 in New York City, and which in addition to Tsukada featured performance artists Joseph Keckler and Katherine Brook, and a somewhat minor work titled Zenith 5!'' which played at
The Spiegeltent in New York in 2006.
2012–2026 In 2012 Moran unveiled a solo work titled,
Etudes: Amsterdam, a joint production of Mayfest Bristol (England), Spoleto Open (Italy), and Fringe Amsterdam (Netherlands) which toured extensively throughout Europe over subsequent years. The work was premiered at Mayfest Bristol, England in May 2012, and performed frequently throughout European venues since its premiere. The work was described as a co-production of Mayfest (England), Spoleto Open (Italy) and Fringe Amsterdam (Netherlands). It won 'Best of Fringe' at Spoleto Open (Spoleto, Italy) and Amsterdam Fringe (Amsterdam, Netherlands) in 2012. In 2013 Moran completed the trilogy of solo-performances with
Goodbye, Thailand (Portrait of Eye), the third installment being a commission from Battersea Arts Centre (BAC), London England, and Mayfest Bristol, England. As a solo-performer, Moran was described by Venue Magazine (UK) at its premiere; "It is almost disconcerting, the ease with which Moran appears to leave his body, his own personality entirely vanishing to make way for the personality of the character he creates. His body language, the way his facial muscles move, and of course the voice, every aspect of a person is seamlessly brought together in a minutely detailed portrayal of the protagonists of the story." In 2017, his 1990 opera
The Manson Family received a new production in Germany, commissioned by Hellerau Center for European Arts (Dresden) and Schaubühne Lindenfels (Leipzig). In 2019 Moran presented
everyone, a work for 3 dancers and 2 musicians, commissioned by Residenz at Schauspiel Leipzig and Hellerau Center for European Arts (Dresden). In 2024 Moran's first feature-film
Für Joseph (originally titled Die Arie) featuring singer
Joseph Keckler was commissioned by Hellerau Center for European Arts (Dresden), Schaubühne Lindenfels (Leipzig) and Germany's
everyone company. The film won an award for 'Best Composer of the Future' from The San Francisco International Film Awards in 2024. 2025-2026 saw the premiere of a new duet,
The Relevation, presented by Moran and Athens-based performer Vicky Filippa, commissioned by Societaetstheater (Dresden), Schaubühne Lindenfels (Leipzig), Zentralwerk e.V. and produced by Germany's
everyone company.
Critical reception Publications like
The New York Times has referred to Moran as "one of the leading vanguards of American
music-theater", and
The Boston Globe has written, "Moran is a modern-day
Mozart". Moran has been twice commissioned for large-scale works of
musical theater by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York),
List of works His best-known works include
Jack Benny!,
The Manson Family: An Opera,
Every Day Newt Burman (The Trilogy of Cyclic Existence),
Mathew in the School of Life,
Book of the Dead (2nd Avenue) and
John Moran...and his neighbor, Saori. •
The Taming Power of the Great (1986), an album released on cassette, with Kristin Schleif, limited to 100 copies. Features material written in 1985 and 1986, including excerpts from two operas ("Changing of the Season" and "The Idiot") and a short ballad ("By the Sea"). It may have been released only in Lincoln, Nebraska. •
Jack Benny! (1988–89) Music-Theater in 3 Acts •
The Manson Family: An Opera (1990) Music-Theater in 3 Acts / Commissioned by
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts featuring
Iggy Pop. Also released as a CD in 1992. •
The Hospital (1991) Music-Theater Commissioned By "
Meryl Vladimer" for
La MaMa •
The (Haunted) House (1992) Music-Theater Commissioned By "
Meryl Vladimer" for the Club La MaMa •
Every Day Newt Burman (The Trilogy of Cyclic Existence) (1993) Music-Theater in 3 Acts featuring
Julia Stiles •
Meet the Locusts (1993) /
Point Music, Unreleased, featuring
Allen Ginsberg •
Matthew in the School of Life (1995–96) Music-Theater in 4 Acts, featuring
Allen Ginsberg and
Julia Stiles •
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1997) Music-Theater in 2 Acts / Commissioned by A.R.T. at Harvard University •
Book of the Dead (2nd Avenue) (2000) Music-Theater in 3 Acts / Commissioned by
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, featuring
Uma Thurman • John Moran with Eva Müller (2003) - Variety of Performances •
Bonne Nuit (2004) - Commissioned by Agitakt Theater / Paris, France •
A Lake of Tears (For Cabell) (2004) - Orchestra and Computer / Commissioned by Musique Nouvelle en Liberte, Paris •
John Moran and his Neighbor, Saori (2005) - Variety of Performances •
Zenith 5! (2006) • ''Saori's Birthday'' (2007) / Commissioned by
Performance Space 122, New York City •
John Moran and Saori (In Thailand) (2010) / Commissioned by Pumpenhaus, Münster and
The Arches, Glasgow, Scotland •
Etudes: Amsterdam (The Con Artist) (2012) / Commissioned by Fringe Amsterdam, Netherlands, Spoleto Open, Italy and Mayfest Bristol, England. •
John Moran: Goodbye, Thailand (Portrait of Eye) (2013) / Commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre, London, England, and Mayfest Bristol, England. •
everyone (2019) / Commissioned by Schauspiel Leipzig and Hellerau - Center for European Arts (Germany). •
Für Joseph Film (2024) / Commissioned by Schaubühne Lindenfels and Hellerau - Center for European Arts (Germany). •
The Revelation (2026) / Commissioned by Societaetstheater and Schaubühne Lindenfels (Germany). ==References==