34 May 2 • 2019 jn theater arts&life write opera, ” says Gordon, whose earlier attention had been given to art songs and musical theater. “I sent 16 of my songs to opera com- panies and said I really want to write an opera. It was very fruitful because Houston Grand Opera commissioned my first opera, the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Next was Minnesota Opera and Grapes of Wrath. ” In choosing a lyricist, Gordon approached Korie based on stage achievements. Gordon defines the collaboration effect as “ballad opera” with the use of a chorus for back- ground details. “Steinbeck wrote journalistic chapters in between his story chapters, ” Korie explains. “He would write about agri- business or weather and kind of erect barriers that his characters would run into in the following chapters. “I converted these chapters to dramat- ic music with Ricky [using the chorus] to dramatize and set up the obstacles like the dust itself, the [exploitation at] used car lots and the eviction process. ” NONFICTION OPERAS Both Gordon and Korie share a special interest in nonfiction opera. While Gordon brings a sense of grief expe- rienced through loss of family and a longtime partner, Korie brings a sense of politics and news experienced through a stint in journalism. Both have brought their Jewish sensi- bilities into opera development. Gordon worked on Morning Star, about Jewish immigrants in early 20th-century New York, and 27, about Gertrude Stein. Korie, in writing the opera Kabbalah with Stewart Wallace, traced the history of mystical inter- pretation of the Bible throughout the diaspora after spending months in Israel with Kabbalistic communities. With religion and history in mind, Gordon and Korie are working on an opera about anti-Semitism, a story of the past and an alarm for now. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis adapts the book written by Giorgio Bassani and film directed by Vittorio De Sica tak- ing place in Italy before World War II. In transforming Grapes of Wrath into opera, the team made a change to the storyline. It has to do with the loss of a character. In the book, the character disappears and is assumed dead; in the opera, the death becomes a personal sacrifice to benefit family by removing a burden. Both men, entering their 60s and active in the New York gay com- munity, readily tell about mothers as exemplars of people establishing careers in the arts. Gordon’ s mom, Eve Samberg (stage name Saunders), was a singer-comedian who entertained in the Catskills, where he joined her as accompanist in his teen years. Korie’ s mom, Janet Indick, is a sculptor often working with Jewish themes. Gordon studied at Carnegie- Mellon University and Korie attended Brandeis and New York universities. Gordon’ s visit to Detroit extends earlier professional travels to the state. He has conducted master class- es at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, where he recently delivered a commencement address for graduates of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Although Grapes of Wrath is sung in English, it will have supertitles to give additional clarity to the lyrics. “I like to be involved with the supertitle projections, so they don’ t distract,” Korie says. “I want audi- ences [essentially to experience the opera] through the music and acting. “It’ s up to the librettist and com- poser these days to write dramati- cally sound works, and supertitles force us to be better in that regard. Now that everyone can read it and understand every word, it better be good.” ■ “I like the dawning of awareness, and I feel that people begin by watching a work that they think is historical as it catches up on them that very little has changed.” — MICHAEL KORIE details The Grapes of Wrath runs May-11-19 at the Detroit Opera House. $35-$160. (313) 237-7464. michiganopera.org. A scene from the opera Grapes of Wrath Lyricist Michael Korie JOANNA MORRISEY Composer Ricky Ian Gordon GREG DOWNER KEN HOWARD continued from page 32