Carnegie Mellon University's CO-OPERA at Pittsburgh Opera, April 2017
MY OPERA NEMESIS
WITH MUSIC BY EVAN NEELY
2M, 2W
20-minute Chamber Opera
"I dislike the tenor of your comment."
"I dislike the tenor standing in front of me."
In this short chamber opera, Sean is giving the performance of his life when a cellphone goes off in the audience. When he stops the show to publicly humiliate the culprit, it turns out to be none other than Milo, his Opera Nemesis and former-duet-partner-slash-friend. The two singers argue over what went wrong in their friendship (Sean is bad at returning emails, Milo gossiped about Sean’s vibrato), the jealousy they have for each other (Sean has found success as a singer, Milo has found love), and finally reminisce about the wild summers they spent creating art together. All of this while being constantly interrupted by the Stage Managers who just want to get on with the show. A meditation on success and artistic friendships in the age of cellphones.