Mark Campbell is a New York-based librettist and lyricist whose operas have received both a Pulitzer Prize in Music[1] and a GRAMMY Award.[2] Mark began writing for the stage as a musical theatre lyricist, but turned to libretto-writing after he premiered Volpone, his first full-length opera in 2004 at Wolf Trap Opera Company.[3]
Mark has written 40 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals and text for 6 song cycles and 4 oratorios. His best-known works are Silent Night,[4] The Shining,[5] The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,[6] As One,[7] Later the Same Evening,[8] Stonewall,[9] Elizabeth Cree[10] and the musical Songs from an Unmade Bed.[11] His operas have been produced by most of the prominent opera companies in the U.S., including Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Austin Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Michigan Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera, New Orleans Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Memphis, Opera Parallèle, Opera Philadelphia, Pensacola Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Portland Opera, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Urban Arias, Utah Opera, Virginia Opera, Washington National Opera and West Edge Opera.
As an educator, Mark has established libretto-writing programs at the American Opera Project, Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative, American Lyric Theatre and the University of Colorado's New Opera Workshop. In 2022, he created the Campbell Opera Librettist Prize, the first and only award for opera librettists in the history of the art form (administered by OPERA America). In 2022, he co-created, with his As One collaborators, the True Voice Award to help with the training of transgender and non-binary singers (administered by Washington National Opera's Cafritz Young Artist's Program).
Operas (librettos)
| Title | Description | Composer | Co-Librettist | Producing company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volpone | A Comic Opera in Two Acts Unfaithfully fashioned from the play by Ben Jonson | John Musto | Wolf Trap Opera | |
| Later the Same Evening | An Opera Inspired by Five Paintings of Edward Hopper | John Musto | The University of Maryland School of Music | |
| Bastianello | A Comic Opera Inspired by an Italian Folk Tale | John Musto | New York Festival of Song/Carnegie Hall | |
| Lucrezia | A Comic Opera based on Machiavelli's La Mandragola | William Bolcom | New York Festival of Song/Carnegie Hall | |
| A Letter to East 11th Street | An Opera in Two Parts | Martin Hennessy | The American Opera Project/CUNY Crane School of Music | |
| The Tell-Tale Heart | An Operatic Monologue based on the Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe | Lance Horne | Zipper Theatre | |
| The Girl I Left Behind | An Operatic Monologue based on the Short Story by Dame Muriel Spark | Lance Horne | Zipper Theatre | |
| A Hunger Artist | An Operatic Monologue based on Kafka's The Hunger Artist | Lance Horne | Zipper Theatre | |
| Rappahannock County | A Theatrical Song Cycle about the American Civil War | Ricky Ian Gordon | Virginia Opera/Richmond University/ University of Texas Performing Arts Center | |
| The Inspector | A Comic Opera in Two Acts Based on Gogol's The Government Inspector | John Musto | Wolf Trap Opera/Boston Lyrics Opera | |
| Silent Night | An Opera in Two Acts Adapted from the Film Joyeux Noël (screenplay by Christian Carion) | Kevin Puts | Minnesota Opera | |
| The Manchurian Candidate | An Opera in Two Acts Adapted from the novel by Richard Condon | Kevin Puts | Minnesota Opera | |
| A Song for Susan Smith | An Opera in One Act | Zach Redler | University of Colorado New Opera Workshop | |
| A Dog's Heart | A Short Comic Opera based on Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" | Lembit Beecher | Opera Philadelphia | |
| The Shining | An Opera in Two Acts after the novel by Stephen King | Paul Moravec | Minnesota Opera | |
| Approaching Ali | A Family Opera based on Davis Miller's The Tao of Muhammad Ali | D.J. Sparr | Davis Miller | Washington National Opera |
| As One | An Opera for Two Voices and String Quartet | Laura Kaminsky | Kimberly Reed | The American Opera Project/Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| A Flourish of Green | A Mini-Opera based on a Story in Bocaccio's Decameron | Missy Mizzoli | Opera Philadelphia | |
| The Other Room | A Monologue in One Act | Marisa Michelson | Inner Voices | |
| Memory Boy | A Children's Opera based on the Novel by Will Weaver | Reinaldo Moya | Minnesota Opera | |
| Empty the House | An Opera in One Act | Rene Orth | Curtis School of Music/Opera Philadelphia | |
| The Whole Truth | A Comic Opera based on the Short Story by Stephen McCauley | Robert Paterson | American Modern Ensemble | |
| The Good Friar | A Comic Opera in One Act | Martin Hennessy | ||
| Elizabeth Cree | An Opera Adapted from the novel The Trial of Elizabeth Cree by Peter Ackroyd | Kevin Puts | Opera Philadelphia/Chicago Opera Theatre | |
| Some Light Emerges | A Chamber Opera in One Act about the Rothko Chapel | Laura Kaminsky | Kimberly Reed | Houston Grand Opera/HGOCO |
| Dinner At Eight | An Opera in Two Acts based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber | William Bolcom | Minnesota Opera | |
| The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs | An Opera | Mason Bates | Santa Fe Opera/Seattle Opera/Indiana University Jacobs School of Music/San Francisco Opera | |
| The Nefarious, Immoral But Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare | An Opera in One Act | Julian Grant | Boston Lyric Opera/Music-Theatre Group | |
| The Summer King | An Opera in Two Acts | Daniel Sonenberg | Daniel Nestor | Pittsburgh Opera/American Opera Project |
| Today It Rains | An Opera in One Act | Laura Kaminsky | Kimberly Reed | Opera Parallèle |
| Stonewall | An Opera in One Act | Iain Bell | New York City Opera | |
| Edward Tulane | An Opera in Two Acts after the novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo | Paola Prestini | Minnesota Opera | |
| The Secret River | An Opera based on the Novel by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings | Stella Sung | Opera Orlando | |
| Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World | A Children's Opera based on the Book by Laurence Anholt | Joe Illick | Ft. Worth Opera | |
| Supermax | An Opera in 60 Minutes | Stewart Wallace | Michael Korie | Long Beach Opera |
| again and again. and again. | An Opera based on Corneille's The Comic Illusion | Conrad Cummings | ||
| A Sweet Silence in Cremona | A Comic Opera in One Act | Roberto Scarcella Perino | New York University/Florence Villa la Pietra, Teatro Comunale Ponchielli[12] | |
| Stone Soup | A Children's Opera in One Act | Joe Illick | Ft. Worth Opera | |
| A Thousand Acres | An opera in two acts based on the novel by Jane Smiley[13] | Kristin Kuster | Des Moines Metro Opera | |
| Bernadette's Cozy Book Nook | A Zoom opera in one act | Joe Illick | Ft. Worth Opera | |
| Unruly Sun | An music-theatre work inspired by Derek Jarman[14]'s Modern Nature | Matthew Ricketts | Orchestre classique de Montréal, Brott Opera, 21C Music Festival, |
Musicals (lyrics)
| Title | Description | Composer | Book Writer | Producing company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splendora[15] | Based on the book by Edward Swift | Stephen Hoffman | Peter Webb | Bay Street Theatre and American Place Theatre |
| Songs from an Unmade Bed[16] | A solo theatrical song cycle | 18 different composers | New York Theatre Workshop | |
| The Sweet Revenge of Louisa May | Based on several Gothic tales by Louisa May Alcott | Stephen Hoffman | Burton Cohen | Olney Theatre |
| The Audience | A musical written by many authors and composers | Various | Various | The Transport Group |
| And the Curtain Rises | A Musical about The First Musical | Joseph Thalken | Michael Slade | Signature Theatre (DC) |
| Chang & Eng | A Musical about the Siamese Twins | Stephen Hoffman | Burton Cohen | NYMT |
| The Tenants of 3R | Stephen Hoffman | |||
| Irena | A musical about Irena Sendler[17] | Włodek Pawlik | Mary Skinner/ Piotr Piwowarczyk | Teatr Muzyczny w Poznaniu |
Oratorios (text)
| Title | Description | Composer | Producing company | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary Road | An oratorio inspired by the writings of William Still | Paul Moravec | Oratorio Society of New York | |
| A Nation of Others | An oratorio set on a single day at Ellis Island in 1921 | Paul Moravec | Oratorio Society of New York | |
| All Shall Rise | An oratorio about voters' rights | Paul Moravec | Oratorio Society of New York | |
| Émigré | About the Jewish community in Shanghai | Aaron Zigman | [18] |
Song cycles (lyrics)
- Thoroughfare
Music by Conrad Cummings - Eight Phases of Luna[19]
Music by Kamala Sankaram - Dear Mayor
Music by Mark Baechle - And Another Song Comes On
Music by Ben Moore - Six Christmas Traditions
Music by Jake Heggie - Some Favored Nook
Music by Eric Nathan - The Nothing Lamp Music by Joseph N. Rubinstein
- A Year to the DayA dramatic song cycle for tenor, violin, cello and piano Lembit Beecher The Violin Channel
Awards and nominations
- 2019 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs)
- 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Silent Night
- Dominic J. Peliciotti Opera Award, A Letter to East 11th Street
- New York State Council on the Arts Award, Today It Rains
- Hewlett Foundation Award, Today It Rains
- First recipient of the Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist
- 2007 GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Opera Recording for Volpone
- Three Drama Desk Award nominations
- Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award
- New York Foundation for the Arts Playwriting Fellowship
- Two Richard Rodgers Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund Grant
- Sundance Institute Theatre Lab Alumnus, Sundance Institute at Ucross Writer's Retreat, MacDowell Colony Fellow, Hermitage Artists Retreat Fellow
Libretto mentorship programs
Mark Campbell has created or helped create opera libretto-writing programs with the following organizations
- The American Opera Project Composers & The Voice
American Lyric Theatre The American Opera Initiative University of Colorado New Opera Workshop Opera Philadelphia's Composer in Residence Program The John Duffy Institute for New Opera
Recordings
- Volpone
Wolf Trap Recordings - Music Awake! Choral Music of Paul Moravec
Bach Festival of Winter Park Recordings - The Inspector
Wolf Trap Recordings - Later the Same Evening
Albany Records - Bastianello/Lucrezia
Bridge Records - Songs from an Unmade Bed
Ghostlight Records/Sh-k-boom Records - Rappahannock County
Naxos - The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
Pentatone - As One
Bright Shiny Things - Sanctuary Road
Naxos - Silent Night Naxos
- New Words (Andrea Marcovicci)
Cabaret Records - Greenwich Time (Rebecca Luker)
PS Classics - Kiss Me While We Have the Chance (Steve Marzullo)
Yellow Sound - In Celebration of Life
Abrams Gentile - Broadway Bound (Sarah Jessica Parker/Matthew Broderick)
Varèse Sarabande
References
- ^ "Pulitzer Prize for Music Winners". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "'The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs' Wins The Grammy – Opera Wire". operawire.com. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "Opera | Wolf Trap". www.wolftrap.org. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ Tommasini, Anthony (2013-02-11). "Tenors Amid the Turmoil of War in the Trenches". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "Even Scarier Than The Book Or Movie: 'The Shining' Is Now An Opera". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "Sing Different: Steve Jobs' Life Becomes An Opera". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "As One". AOP. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ Schweitzer, Vivien (2008-12-15). "Edward Hopper's Paintings Spring to Operatic Life at Manhattan School of Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ Barone, Joshua (2019-06-23). "Review: A 'Stonewall' Opera Reflects the Diversity of Queer History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ Philadelphia, Opera. "Elizabeth Cree". Opera Philadelphia. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "NYTW / Songs from an Unmade Bed". NYTW. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli of Cremona: history, events, initiatives". Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
- ^ "Jane Smiley", Wikipedia, 2022-12-16, retrieved 2023-01-22
- ^ "Derek Jarman", Wikipedia, 2023-01-19, retrieved 2023-01-22
- ^ "She's a He: Musical Splendora Gets Revised NYC Revival Feb. 8". Playbill. 2000-01-17. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
- ^ Dale, Michael. "Songs From An Unmade Bed: Comfy and Playful". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
- ^ "Irena Sendler", Wikipedia, 2022-10-20, retrieved 2023-01-22
- ^ "Aaron Zigman's 'Émigré' oratorio, about Jews who fled Nazi Germany for Shanghai, has US premiere". AP News. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "EIGHT PHASES OF LUNA". Kamala Sankaram. Retrieved 2019-12-30.