New interview about the One Voice Project Opera Festival with Meg Wilhoite at Sound Meets Sound

Meg Wilhoite of Sound Meets Sound interviewed composer Lisa Neher and me about our upcoming premieres of FIVE operas! Check out our discussion here and the performances here. We talk about the collaborative creative process, how I became a librettist, how Lisa became interested in writing music for solo voice, and what we want these operas to communicate.

Full details from the press release:

Every day from March 22-26, a new 5-minute unaccompanied opera written by Neher & Leonard will be released on YouTube. 

The operas feature acclaimed opera singers from across the United States, including tenor Hugo Vera (Metropolitan Opera), mezzo Margaret O’Connell (Center for Contemporary Opera), soprano Audrey Yoder (Pacific Opera Project), tenor Zach Finkelstein (New York City Opera), and mezzo Lisa Neher herself (Third Angle New Music). 

The festival channels the artistic brilliance of opera singers who have frequently found themselves without work and artistic outlets during the pandemic. Each opera is a self-contained story, with plots that address women in sport, the life of musicians during the pandemic, and resilience in the face of obstacles. Several were composed in collaboration with the singers, with plots drawn from their experiences over the last year. The operas promote unaccompanied repertoire for singers as a genre equal to that of unaccompanied instrumental repertoire, a cause Neher regularly champions through her One Voice Project call for scores & concert series. Tickets are Pay as You Can in order to make opera accessible to all. 

Following the final release on Friday March 26, audiences are invited to a Talkback and Q&A Reception with the artists, hosted by Gina Morgano of the Practice Parlour Podcast.