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David Adam Moore steps into role of The Soldier for
Chicago Opera Theater’s 50th Anniversary season opener
Soldier Songs
Chicago Opera Theater announces a casting change for its upcoming 50th Anniversary Season opening concert of David T. Little’s one-man theatrical cantata Soldier Songs. World-renowned baritone David Adam Moore joins the production one week before the performance, filling in for previously announced baritone Nathan Gunn who has withdrawn due to a family emergency. I'll be out to cover this performance for ChiIL Live Shows, so check back soon for my full review.
Moore has sung Soldier Songs with multiple companies across the country. He also sang The Soldier for the 2013 critically acclaimed commercial recording of the work, released by Innova Recordings. Currently working at the Metropolitan Opera at the house premiere production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Moore has obtained special permission from the Met to come to perform in Chicago. He will arrive on October 4, a little over 24 hours before the performance.
“I'm very sorry that Nathan Gunn will be unable to join us next week in Chicago, but grateful that the Metropolitan Opera has released David Adam Moore to step into the role,” said composer David T. Little. “David is among the leading interpreters of my music. His countless performances of Soldier Songs, beginning in 2008, show him to be a singer of remarkable depth, intelligence, and skill. He knows the role better than anyone, and I'm excited for the COT community to hear him bring it to life.”
Edlis Neeson General Director Lawrence Edelson added, “Nathan and his family are in our thoughts at this difficult time. While it is always disappointing when a beloved artist must withdraw from a performance, we are truly fortunate that David Adam Moore is able to join us to help launch COT’s 50th Anniversary Season.”
GRAMMY-nominated Soldier Songs is a haunting, heavy-metal infused work about the psychological impact of war. Serving as both composer and librettist, David T. Little drew on the experiences of veterans of five different wars from his family and circle of friends to craft Soldier Songs. Little’s recorded conversations with these veterans serve not only as a basis for the work’s libretto but are also featured in the electronic components of the score. Presented in three stages of a soldier’s life- Youth, Warrior, and Elder- the result is a bold examination of the trauma of war, the exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty many veterans experience in talking about their service. COT Elizabeth Morse and Genius Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya conducts.
Performance schedule and tickets
Chicago Opera Theater’s Soldier Songs is one night only, Thursday, October 5 at 7:00 PM at Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S Ashland Ave. General admission tickets are $60 and VIP tickets are $175 and are available for purchase at chciagooperatheater.org. VIP tickets include reserved cabaret style seating and exclusive access to a post-show reception with David Adam Moore and David T. Little. The proceeds from VIP ticket sales directly support COT’s mission of presenting new opera. Discounted tickets are available for season subscribers as well as active military personnel. A limited number of free tickets are available to veterans through Vet Tix.
Soldier Songs is a 60-minute production presented without intermission. It is sung in English with English supertitles.
About The Artist
David Adam Moore performs as a leading baritone with major opera houses and orchestras worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Salzburg Festival, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Théâtre du Châtelet, Bunkamura (Tokyo), Grand Théâtre de Genève, Israeli Opera, LA Opera, New York City Opera, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Symphony Orchestra, and many others. His performances have been broadcast on BBC, Arte television, NPR, Radio France, RAI, ORF, and Radio Netherlands, and recorded by Erato, BMG, GPR, and Innova records.
With a repertoire of over 60 principal roles, he is best known for his portrayals of Billy Budd, Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Rossini’s Barbiere, Joseph DeRocher in Dead Man Walking, Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, Prior Walter in Angels in America, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles, Schubert’s Winterreise, Carmina Burana, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and the Soldier in David T. Little’s Soldier Songs, which Moore premiered and recorded. A celebrated interpreter of contemporary music, he has created roles and premiered works for some of today’s most important living composers, including Thomas Adès, Peter Eötvös, David T. Little, Holly Herndon, John Eaton, Ricky Ian Gordon, Conrad Cummings, Martin Hennessey, and Tom Cipullo, while simultaneously garnering critical acclaim for his interpretations of opera, art song, and concert works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras. Moore’s Metropolitan Opera debut performance as Colonel Gomez in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel was broadcast in theaters worldwide and is available on DVD.
About Chicago Opera Theater
Celebrating its 50th Anniversary season in 2023/24, Chicago Opera Theater is a company laser-focused on living its values: expanding the tradition of opera as a living art form, producing high-quality works new to Chicago audiences, identifying top-tier casts and creative talent at the beginning of grand operatic careers, and following through on commitments to equity and access – behind the scenes, on the stage, and in the audience. Since its founding in 1973, COT has grown from a grassroots community-based company to a national leader in an increasingly vibrant, diverse, and forward-looking art form. COT has staged over 155 operas, including 81 Chicago premieres and 47 operas by American composers. COT is led by Yankovskaya and Edelson who began his tenure as General Director in the summer of 2023.
The Vanguard Initiative, founded in 2018 and celebrating its fifth anniversary this Spring, is COT's fully comprehensive program for composers ready to delve into the world of opera. This immersive two-year residency includes participation in all COT productions, sessions with top industry leaders, extensive study of repertoire and vocal writing, and direct insight into administrative and other behind-the-scenes processes, culminating with the development of a full-length opera commissioned by the company. The program is guided and overseen by Elizabeth Morse and Genius Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya, with Composer Advisors Jake Heggie, Kamala Sankaram, and Gene Scheer. The program has renewed funding from the Mellon Foundation for the 2023/24 season. The 2023/24 Vanguard Composers are Gillian Rae Perry (second year) and Carlos R. Carrillo (first year).
Chicago Opera Theater’s season continues with the Chicago Premiere of The Nose December 8 & 10, the Midwest Premiere of Book of Mountains and Seas January 27 & 28, the Vanguard Initiative concert premiere of The Weight of Light April 27, and the World Premiere tour of Before it All Goes Dark with Music of Remembrance May 25 & 26. Ticket subscriptions are on sale now, single tickets go on sale on September 15.
For more information on Chicago Opera Theater productions, visit chicagooperatheater.org/
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