Published 100 years ago, Ole Rolvaag’s novel Giants in the Earth was the quintessential American immigrant story. Douglas Moore’s operatic setting won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951 but has remained largely unknown and never recorded.
On March 11, join us for a program that surveys the rediscovery of this important American opera, including excerpts from the opera sung by the two protagonists. The presentation is led by South Dakota Symphony Orchestra music director Delta David Gier, veteran stage directors Jay Lesenger and Bob Neu.
Performers
Meredith Lustig, soprano
Michael Kelly, baritone
Jeremy Chan, piano
Delta David Gier, speaker
Jay Lesenger, speaker
Bob Neu, speaker
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
JAY LESENGER, Stage Director, Acting Masterclasses for Singers
General/Artistic Director Emeritus, Chautauqua Opera Company 1995-2015
During Jay Lesenger’s 50-year career as stage director, administrator and teacher, Mr. Lesenger has produced and directed almost 250 opera productions for the New York City Opera, Chautauqua Opera Company, Atlanta, Hawaii, Milwaukee, New Orleans (the world premiere of Thea Musgrave’s “Pontalba”), Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Pacific, Palm Beach, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Virginia and many others. His European debut was with Opera Nordfjord, Norway, and he has directed for Volkstheater Rostock in Germany. His recent Glimmerglass Opera production of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles was subsequently seen at the Royal Opera House at Versailles. From 1994 to 2015, Jay was the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, the longest serving general director in the company’s history. As a nationally recognized teacher of acting for singers, he has taught on the School of Music opera faculties at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. Jay has also staged productions for the Bard School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes/The New School, Julliard, Indiana University, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. Jay is a frequent adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Opera Index and other vocal competitions. He holds a Masters degree from Indiana University and a Bachelors of Music & Theater from Hofstra University.
ROBERT NEU
Known for his “distinctive staging style” and for being “the most inventive opera director in town” (St Paul Pioneer Press), Robert Neu is challenging the norms by becoming a pioneer in the field of semi-staged operas with symphony orchestras. Sought after for his highly theatrical and musically sensitive work, Neu has directed more than ninety productions of opera, musical theater, and plays throughout the country. Last season, Robert returned to Opera Idaho to direct Il barbiere di Siviglia and Shreveport Opera for La Traviata. This season, he returns to Opera Idaho to direct their production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Recent engagements include St. John’s Passion with Shreveport Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Lyric Opera of the North; The Merry Widow for Opera Idaho; both Amahl and the Night Visitors andEugene Onegin for Skylark Opera; La Traviata and Otello for Pacific Symphony; Le nozze di Figaro with Inland Northwest Opera and Orlando Opera; La bohéme and The Barber of Seville with Opera Orlando; As One and Cosí fan tutte with Skylark Opera Theatre; West Side Story with Central City Opera in collaboration with the Boulder Philharmonic; Don Giovanni for Steamboat Springs Opera; and L’enfant et les sortileges and The Magic Flute with Pacific Symphony.
DELTA DAVID GIER
Delta David Gier is nationally recognized for his championship of living composers and his ability to deepen an orchestra’s impact in its community. Gier is the 2022 recipient of Columbia University’s Ditson Conductor’s Award, which called him “the model of an engaged conductor,” a sentiment echoed by writer Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker, “…his group is the model of an engaged orchestra,” adding that “the South Dakota Symphony is bolder and savvier in its programming than all but a handful of American ensembles.” Maestro Gier has been Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) since 2004. Under his direction, the orchestra has been lauded for its programming (including seven ASCAP awards). His series based on the Pulitzer Prize was called “an unprecedented programming innovation” by the Wall Street Journal and has included residencies with composers Jennifer Higdon, John Corigliano, Steven Stucky, Zhou Long, John Luther Adams, and Paul Moravec. During his tenure the SDSO has expanded its offerings with a complete cycle of Mahler symphonies, numerous world premieres, and semi-staged operas. For 15 seasons, Delta David Gier served as an Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He studied at the University of Michigan under the renowned conducting teacher Gustav Meier, as well as at the Tanglewood Music Center and Aspen Music Festival. He was a Fulbright scholar in Eastern Europe from 1988-90. As an educator, Mr. Gier has served as guest faculty at the Curtis Institute, Yale School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, and SUNY Stony Brook. He has chaired the music jury of the Pulitzer Prize and has served as a frequent panelist for the League of American Orchestras.