Alumni of American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program are changing the landscape of American Opera. Below is a selection of operas written by alumni since their time in the CLDP that have been highlighted in recent operatic seasons across the country, and internationally.
Please note this list is currently in the process of being updated to reflect performances from 2020-2026, which are not yet included here.
( * Denotes CLDP Alumni )
27
Music by RICKY IAN GORDON
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
George Mason University (2025)
Opéra de Montral (2019)
Opera Las Vegas (2018)
Michigan Opera Theater (2018)
MasterVoices (2016)
Pittsburgh Opera (2016)
Opera Theater of St. Louis (2014 World Premiere)
ABRAHAM IN FLAMES
Music by ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV*
Libretto by NILOUFAR TALEBI*
The Z Space (2019 World Premiere)
AFTER THE STORM
Music by DAVID HANLON
Libretto by STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN*
Houston Grand Opera (2016 World Premiere)
ALICE IN THE PANDEMIC
Music by JORGE SOSA*
Libretto by CERISE LIM JACOBS
White Snake Projects (2020 World Premiere)
ALL DECISIONS WILL BE MADE BY CONCENSUS
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by ROB HANDEL*
Here Arts Center (2020 World Premiere)
ALL WOUNDS BLEED
Music by CHRIS CERRONE*
Libretto by TONY ASARO*
Chicago Fringe Opera (2019)
Tulsa Opera (2018)
Brooklyn Opera Works at Brooklyn Music School (2018 World Premiere)
ANGEL’S BONE
Music by DU YUN
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music
English National Opera (2026)
Staatstheater Augsburg (2023)
Oberlin Conservatory (2018)
Prototype Festival (2016 World Premiere)
BREAKING THE WAVES
Music by MISSY MAZZOLI
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Los Angeles Opera (2021)
Houston Grand Opera (2025)
Opera Australia (2024)
Detroit Opera (2024)
Opéra Comique (2023)
Stadttheater Bremerhaven (2023)
Vadstene Akadamien Sweden (2022)
Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen (2021)
Meclenburgisches Staatstheater (2021)
The Edinburgh Festival (2019)
PROTOTYPE Festival (2017)
Opera Philadelphia (2016 World Premiere)
BURIED ALIVE
Music by JEFF MYERS*
Libretto by QUINCY LONG*
North Park University (2023)
Fort Worth Opera (2016)
Fargo Morehead Opera (2014 World Premiere)
THE COPPER QUEEN
Music by CLINT BORZONI*
Libretto by JOHN DE LOS SANTOS
Opera Louisiane (2022)
Arizona Opera (2021 Film Premiere)
DAUGHTERS OF THE BLOODY DUKE
Music by JAKE RUNESTAD
Libretto by DAVID JOHNSTON*
Washington National Opera (2014 World Premiere)
DOG DAYS
Music By DAVID T. LITTLE
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Milwaukee Opera Theater (2019)
Northwestern University (2019)
Theater Bielefeld, Germany (2016)
Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater (2016)
Prototype Festival (2016)
Fort Worth Opera (2015)
Los Angeles Opera (2015)
Peak Performances/BMP (2012 World Premiere)
EMBEDDED
Music by PATRICK SOLURI*
Libretto by DEBORAH BREVOORT*
Charlottesville Opera (2026)
Fort Worth Opera (2016)
Fargo Morehead Opera (2014 World Premiere)
THE HOUSE WITHOUT A CHRISTMAS TREE
Music by RICKY IAN GORDON
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Opera Las Vegas (2021)
Houston Grand Opera (2017 World Premiere)
I AM A DREAMER WHO NO LONGER DREAMS
Music by JORGE SOSA*
Libretto by CERISE LIM JACOBS
Escenia Ensemble (2025)
Syracuse Opera (2023)
Tri-Cities Opera (2023)
Resonance Works (2022)
White Snake Projects (2019 World Premiere)
IN A GROVE
Music by CHRISTOPHER CERRONE*
Libretto by STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN*
Opera Saratoga (2025)
PROTOTYPE Festival (2025)
Northwestern University (2025)
Eastman School of Music (2025)
Pittsburgh Opera (2022 World Premiere)
THE INFINITE ENERGY OF ADA LOVELACE
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by ROB HANDEL*
Mannes School of Music (2025)
Marble City Opera (2023)
New Camerata Opera (2022)
Boston University (2021)
3rd Eye Theater (2021)
Opera Theater of Yale College (2021)
Opera Ithaca (2019 World Premiere)
INVISIBLE CITIES
Music and libretto by CHRISTOPHER CERRONE*
Based on the novel Invisible Cities
by Italo Calvino
Finalist for The Pulitzer Prize in Music
The Industry (2013 World Premiere)
JFK
Music by DAVID T. LITTLE
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Staatstheater Augsburg (2019)
Opéra de Montréal (2018)
Fort Worth Opera (2016 World Premiere)
THE LONG WALK
Music by JEREMY HOWARD BECK*
Libretto by STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN*
Based on the Book “The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows” by Brian Castner
Pittsburgh Opera (2018)
Utah Opera (2017)
Opera Saratoga (World Premiere 2015)
LOOKING AT YOU
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by ROB HANDEL*
Carnegie Mellon University (2019)
HERE Arts Center (2019 World Premiere)
MARGOT ALONE IN THE LIGHT
Music by CLINT BORZONI*
Libretto by EMILY CONBERE*
operamission (2010 World Premiere)
MILEVA
Music by ALEKSANDRA VREBALOV*
Libretto by VIDA OGNJENOVIC
Croatian National Theater (2012)
Armel Opera Festival, Hungary (2012)
BEMUS Festival Belgrade, Serbia (2011)
Serbian National Theater (2011 World Premiere)
MONKEY AND FRANCINE IN THE CITY OF TIGERS
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by DAVID JOHNSTON*
Tulsa Opera (2025)
Seattle Opera (2024)
William Paterson University (2023)
Vanderbuilt University (2022)
Binghamtom University (2021)
Tri-Cities Opera (2020 Virtual)
Seagle Festival (2019)
Houston Grand Opera/HGO2GO (2018 World Premiere)
MURASAKI’S MOON
Music by MICHI WIANCKO
Libretto by DEBORAH BREVOORT*
Hub City Opera (2024)
Metropolitan Museum of Art / OnSite Opera (2019 World Premiere)
O COLUMBIA
Music by GREGORY SPEARS
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Houston Grand Opera (2015 World Premiere)
THE PARKSVILLE MURDERS
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by JERRE DYE
Opera on Tap (2017 VR World Premiere)
THE PROPERTY
Music by WLAD MARHULETS
Libretto by STEPHANIE FLEISCHMANN*
Based on the graphic novel by Rutu Modan
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (2015)
Lyric Opera of Chicago/Lyric Unlimited (2015 World Premiere)
PROVING UP
Music by MISSY MAZZOLI
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Painted Sky Opera (2025)
Northwestern University (2025)
The Juilliard School (2023)
Aspen Music Festival (2019)
Oberlin Conservatory (2019)
Opera Omaha (2018)
Miller Theater at Columbia University (2018)
Washington National Opera (2018 World Premiere)
SCALIA / GINSBURG
Music and libretto by DERRICK WANG*
Fort Worth Opera (2026)
Kentucky Opera (2026)
Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater (2026)
Charlottesville Opera (2025)
Fargo-Moorhead Opera (2025)
Florentine Opera (2025)
Anchorage Opera (2024)
Opera Company of Middlebury (2024)
Opera Ithaca (2023)
Pacific Opera Project (2023)
The Princeton Festival (2022)
Painted Sky Opera (2022)
Opera in the Heights (2022)
Chautauqua Opera (2021)
Opera Memphis (2021)
Solo Opera California (2021)
Opera Las Vegas (2021)
Opera Naples (2020, 2026)
Virginia Opera (2020)
Opera Grand Rapids (2020)
Opera Carolina (2020)
Opera Delaware (2019)
Opera North (2018)
Glimmerglass Festival (2017)
Castleton Festival (2015 World Premiere)
THE SELFISH GIANT
Music by CLARICE ASSAD*
Libretto by LILA PALMER*
Opera Saratoga (2023 World Premiere)
SILENT LIGHT
Music by PAOLA PRESTINI
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Based on the film Stellet Licht
by Carlos Reygadas.
National Sawdust/Banff Centre (2019 World Premiere)
SONG FROM THE UPROAR
Music by MISSY MAZZOLI
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Verdigris Ensemble (2025)
Vancouver City Opera (2024)
Opera Ithaca (2017)
Cincinnati Opera (2017)
Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater (2016)
Milwaukee Opera Theater (2016)
Chicago Fringe Opera (2016)
Los Angeles Opera (2016)
Chautauqua Opera (2016)
NOW Ensemble (2015)
Beth Morrison Projects (2012 World Premiere)
STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME
Music by GERALD COHEN*
Libretto by DEBORAH BREVOORT*
Opera Colorado (2018 World Premiere)
TAKING UP SERPENTS
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by JERRE DYE
Baldwin Wallace Conservatory (2024)
Glimmerglass Fesitval (2022)
Chicago Opera Theater (2021)
Rice University (2019)
Washington National Opera (2019 World Premiere)
THUMBPRINT
Music by KAMALA SANKARAM*
Libretto by SUSAN YANKOWITZ
Prototype Festival (2014 World Premiere)
TOWN HALL
Music by THEO POPOV*
Libretto by E. M. LEWIS*
Willamette University (2019)
Maryland Opera Studio (2018 World Premiere)
VINKENSPORT, OR THE FINCH OPERA
Music by DAVID T. LITTLE
Libretto by ROYCE VAVREK*
Mannes School of Music (2025)
Houston Grand Opera (2020 Digital Release)
Opera Saratoga (2018)
Bard College Conservatory of Music (2010 World Premiere)
WHEN ADONIS CALLS
Music by CLINT BORZONI*
Libretto by JOHN DE LOS SANTOS
Northwestern University (2025)
Thompson Street Opera (2020 Digital Release)
Asheville Lyric Opera (2017 World Premiere)
WHY IS EARTHA KITT TRYING TO KILL ME?: A LOVE STORY
Music by JEFFREY DENNIS SMITH*
Libretto by DAVID JOHNSTON*
URBAN ARIAS (2018 World Premiere)
WOMAN OF LETTERS
Music by LILIYA UGAY*
Libretto by SOKUNTHARY SVAY
Washington National Opera
(2020 World Premiere)