FT. WORTH, TX. March 7, 2019. Five innovative composer/librettist teams are the winners of this year’s Frontiers competition at Ft. Worth Opera. Selections from their operas will be presented at the Ft. Worth Botanic Garden Auditorium on May 8 and 9, 2019.

Frontiers has established itself as one of the premiere showcases in North America for vibrant new work from some of the most unique and thrilling new voices in 21st century opera.

THE OPERAS

ALBERT NOBBS.
An adaptation of the classic novella by George Moore, composer Patrick Soluri (Embedded, 2016 Festival) and librettist Deborah Brevoort’s Albert Nobbs is a gender-bending story about a butler in a 19th century Irish hotel who hides a secret: he is really a she. When her identity is discovered by another woman posing as a man, Albert begins a desperate search for love and identity that leads to despair and ultimately her death. This riveting story was also adapted into a critically acclaimed film starring Glenn Close and Janet McTeer, which was nominated for three Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards.

THE HATFIELD MCCOY TRIPTYCHS
Set deep in the Appalachian Mountains, on the border between good and evil, composer and librettist Steven Aldredge’s The Hatfield-McCoy Triptychs recounts the epic American story of betrayal, love, and the destructive force of revenge as it scorches a trail of unspeakable violence across generations.

BEHOLD THE MAN
In August 2012, during the depths of the Global Recession an elderly woman in the village of Borja, Spain, attempts to restore a little-known and long-ignored fresco of Jesus in her local church. Discovered before she’s finished, her botched image goes viral, ascending to the cult status of “Internet Sensation.” Composer Paul Fowler and librettist Andrew Flack’s Behold the Man explores how artist Cecilia Gimenez’s efforts helped revitalize the economy of a struggling town. Was it a miracle? Great outsider art? A selfless act of faith? Or just another internet meme?

DEATH OF A PLAYBOY
Composer and librettist Brian Rosen’s Death of a Playboy takes place at the graveside funeral of the original cad, Hugh Hefner. A former playmate, whose charitable foundation depends on the financial support of the recently deceased, prepares to give a eulogy. The only challenge is that she hates his guts. As she debates with her husband, she is confronted with a dilemma as to whether it is wiser to speak her truth or to play nice?

TRIANGLE
Based on a play by the mysterious playwright Jane Martin, composer and librettist Tony Solitro’s Triangle, follows Joyce, a woman who finds herself in a love triangle. She isn’t concerned. She knows exactly how to handle the situation. When she learns the “other woman” is a goddess, she begins to unravel. How can she compete with that?

Tickets for the showcases are $10, and can be ordered by calling Fort Worth Opera’s Customer Service team at 877.396.7372 or 817.731.0726.