SKETCHBOOK FOR OLLIE | Music and Libretto by Rachel J. Peters
Eight-point-five-year-old Ollie questions the meaning of life after the death of his grandmother. He is frustrated with grownups avoiding his tough but important questions. The only answer that satisfies him comes from his Aunt Leeza, a composer, who shows him that life is like her music sketchbook. She shows him a wide variety of methods to make and share the ongoing compositions of our lives, whether professionally or through altruistic interactions. With these new tools, Ollie creates his own song involving the whole family and audience. Aunt Leeza gives Ollie his own blank sketchbook for the hard questions yet to come. This opera is designed to tour to elementary schools for grades 3-5. Adapted from the story Life Is a Jar of Paint by Bill Folman.
CAST: Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Bass-Baritone
INSTRUMENTATION: Piano/Vocal
DURATION: 35 minutes
WORLD PREMIERE: Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Fall 2022.
ROOTABAGA COUNTRY | Music and Libretto by Rachel J. Peters
Gimme the Ax takes his two children, Please Gimme and Ax Me No Questions, to the whimsical-but-not-magical Rootabaga Country to learn more about the mother they never knew. In the process, they learn that families come in all shapes and sizes. Adapted from the book Rootabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg.
CAST: 1 adult tenor, 1 adult bass-baritone, and a large children’s ensemble playing 17 other roles and chorus
INSTRUMENTATION: 1.0.1.1/0.1.1.0/pft-harp (doubling gtr.)-perc (1)/1.0.1.1.1 (Revisions to full score and parts are currently in progress.)
DURATION: 1 hour 10 minutes
WORLD PREMIERE: Sarasota Youth Opera, Fall 2017.