Composition Components
Lysistrata
This iconic comedy, unveiled in 411 B.C.E., eyes the women of Athens and Sparta, disgusted by an endless, pointless war, who barricade themselves in the Athenian treasury and swear a sanction on sex until their men make peace.
No. 10: Supreme Virtue
For double SATB choir. Translation by Stephen Mitchell of verses from the Tao te Ching. Commissioned and introduced by The Dale Warland Singers in Minneapolis, MN, June 2000: Dale Warland, Music Director. Recorded by Esoterics in May 2008: Eric Banks, music director.
Little Women
Mark Adamo's first opera written to his own libretto based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868-69 tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War.
Pied Beauty
For unaccompanied SATB choir. Poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Commissioned and introduced by the Paul Hill Chorale in 1996: performed and recorded in November 2009 by Octarium: Krista Lang Blackwood, music director.
The Poet Speaks of Praising
For unaccompanied SATB or TTBB choir. Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke; translated by John L. Mood. Commissioned and introduced by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington in 1996: revised for performance (TTBB) in December 2009 by Empire City Men’s Chorus.
Matewan Music
Three folksongs arranged for soprano or mezzo-soprano solo and SATB choir. Commissioned and introduced by the Congressional Chorus of the United States, Hart Building Atrium Concerts, Michael Patterson, music director.
The Lord of Cries (Librettist)
John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s exciting new work is a juxtaposition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Bacchae by Euripides. The result is a searing account that points to the monster inside ourselves, not society. This world premiere production is led by director James Darrah who has created a dream-like realm that will frighten and excite.
Last Year: Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra
Last Year's four-movement narrative speaks to anxieties surrounding the ever-increasing threats of climate change, while also paying homage to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Co-commissioned by American Composers Orchestra, New Century Chamber Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and ROCO.
Becoming Santa Claus
In this original story, Claus is a prince of an Elven realm in the far north, son of a conflicted Queen sorceress and a King vanished under mysterious circumstances.
The Christmas Life
The enterprising recording company Pentatone, which is firmly committed to new American music, commissioned from me this setting of Wendy Cope’s lovely poem for chorus and chamber orchestra; San Francisco’s chamber choir Volti sang the premiere, which was released on disk that winter.
Aristotle
A three-part chamber music piece for baritone and string quartet based on Billy Collins' original poem. Premiered by Thomas Hampson and the Jupiter Quartet.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
Drawing on the Gnostic gospels, the canonical gospels, and fifty years of New Testament scholarship, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reimagines the New Testament through the eyes of its lone substantial female character.
The Racer’s Widow
A set of five songs for voice, piano and cello, that consider jumper cables, sex, carbohydrates, love, loss, and remembrance; the poets are Linda Pastan, Tennessee Williams, Marge Piercy, Louise Gluck, and Sara Teasdale. The sovereign mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, who introduced my Mary Magdalene to San Francisco, sang the premiere with cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Steven Blier, whose New York Festival of Song introduced the cycle to New York in February 2013: we were all so energized by the experience that we recorded the cycle the next weekend.
Lysistrata
This iconic comedy, unveiled in 411 B.C.E., eyes the women of Athens and Sparta, disgusted by an endless, pointless war, who barricade themselves in the Athenian treasury and swear a sanction on sex until their men make peace.
Little Women
Mark Adamo's first opera written to his own libretto based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868-69 tale of growing up in New England after the American Civil War.