This list
includes essays,
fiction, interviews,
poetry, and reviews
written by Karren LaLonde Alenier.
STORIES
FurnitureforthePeople.com
"The Gourd"
[an excerpt from Shall I Have Pleasure, an unpublished
novel]
Poems published
on various websites:
Praxilla, October 22, 2009
"Red Rant Gone Green ," "Those Dear Ones"
Ocho, #23 April 2009
"Mosaics of Love," "Epiphany Years Later: Jane Bowles Reminisces," "No Accident," "Strokes"
Poetry REpairs, #4 April 2008
"Gift"
Poetry REpairs, #2 February 2008
"Inimical, she said"
The
Innisfree Poetry Journal, #5 September 2007
"Drawing Room Comedy"
urbancode
urbancode magazine is in pdf format. To find the following poems, double click on issue #2 and when the pdf loads, go to the magazine page numbered 40. "Swans," "The Shogun Speaks," "Ofuro"
Ars Poetica
"Stories: On the Nature of Poetry," "Stein Writes It All Down," "Overwrought"
The
Innisfree Poetry Journal, #4 March 2007
"Raconteurs in Tangier," "Incisor," "An Onlooker Gossips," "The Parrrott That Spoke to Jane Bowles," "Flower"
Beltway
Ezine: Washington, DC Issue
"Up Against
the Wall"
Beltway
Ezine: Audio Issue
"Up Against
the Wall"
The
Poet and the Poem Webcast from the Library of Congress
Scroll down
the page, click on the photos, move the slider to middle section
to find Karren's reading. "How His Fiction Began," "Raconteurs
in Tangier," "The Parrott That Spoke to Jane Bowles,"
"Agonizer," "The Relevance of Mint," "Carbon"
The
Innisfree Poetry Journal, #2 March 2006
"Midsummer's
Eve 2005," "Hope," "Stingers," "Carbon"
Convergence
"The Ascension"
The
Washington Post
A group of
five poets read a poem from their work. Following Dana Gioia,
Karren Alenier reads "Something Growing." (click on the photo
of Karren to initiate the reading.)
Moving
Words Award
"Neopolitan
Love Song"
Poets
Against the War
"The War Against
Death "
Beltway
Ezine
"Dialectic
of the Census Takers," "Diana au Courant," "Race," "The Ride,"
and "Tarantella"
Guest
Poet on Hilary Tham's Website
"Bearing Up,"
"Gestapo Rebels," and "Looking for Divine Transportation"
Pedestal
Ezine
"You Can Tell 'Em I'll Be There," "The Electorate Experiences Its Mortality"
Eye
Ezine
"Overwrought"
Poems published
in poetrymagazine.com:
Spring 2004
"Flirting," "Down the Wormhole,"
"Seduction Theory," "Tree Pose," and "Spokes"
Summer
2003
"Neopolitan
Love Song," "Aftershock," "Some Men," "Rocks," and "Canto di Capri"
July/August
2002
"Desperate
Steps" and "Senor Wences"
May
2002
"Song After
Lilith," "Leo on Seesaw," "Desperate Steps," "White," and "Wake"
March
2002
"From the Well,"
"Composition," "Notes on Disarmament," "Song After Lilith," and
"White"
August
1999
"Farewell Concert"
and "A Contemporary Decameron"
ESSAYS
American
Opera
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay/interview
examines what is American opera, what's the difference between
opera and music theatre, and how does a composer create an opera.
The Steiny Road Poet interviews composers Mark Adamo, Deborah
Drattell, Jonathan Holland, Elena Ruehr, and Adam Silverman.
Archibald
MacLeish
Extensive look
at MacLeish's life with a timeline. This essay was published in
Beltway Ezine in a special project devoted to poets who lived
in Washington, DC.
Beijing Opera & singing In China
Part of the Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay discusses the state of Beijing Opera and the popularity of singing in China.
Dramaturgs,
Directors, and Artistist Directors
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
discusses the collaborative partners who help shape an opera libretto.
Four Saints in Three Acts: The Most Influential American Opera?
Karren Alenier explores the field of early American opera and concludes that Virgil Thomson's and Gertrude Stein's first opera remains head and shoulders above all other American operas in its continuing influence.
How to Write a Libretto
The Steiny Road Poet provides a step-by-step look at the creative process involved with writing a libretto.
Live
Theater Turns To Film To Draw New Audience
The discussion juxtaposes Washington National Opera's production of Madama Butterfly with the performance art theater of Squonk Opera's College Park: The Opera.
Lust
in the Arts
Pushing against
the line of good taste versus vulgarity, Alenier looks at John
Doyl's new production of Sweeney Todd, a new music theatre
piece based on Edgar Allan Poe entiteld Nevermore, the
InSeries (Washington, DC) Marriage of Figaro: Las Vegas Version,
and art exhibition of work by Egon Schiele.
Opera
Commissions
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
discusses opera commissions within the context of American opera
companies that grant them.
Opera
in the 21st Century
Karren Alenier interviews Nancy Rhodes of Encompass New Opera Theatre, an opera company that keeps it finger on new American opera in the mode set by Virgil Thomson.
Poets Are Troublemakers
Alenier talks about her book The Steiny Road to Operadom: The Making of American Operas. Learn how much trouble poets cause in the field of opera. This essay appears with her poem "Inimical, she said" on Poetry REpairs.
Sills: A Tribute to Beverly Sills
The emphasis of this tribute concerns Sills in the role of Baby Doe and her cutting edge work as General Director of New York City Opera. Included is a time line of her life.
Stein's 1934 Lecture Tour
Noted art scholar Wanda Corn speaks about Gertrude Stein's 1934 lecture tour.
Stein's The Making of Americans--How to Read The Long Book
The Steiny Road Poet offers strategies for how to read the very first Modernist novel.
Stein
and Medieval Literature
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
discusses Gertrude Stein's so called children's book To Do: A book of Alphabets and Birthdays with medievalist Martha Dana Rust.
Stein & Toklas: Ted Sod & Karren Alenier talk about Bringing Gertrude & Alice
to Stage
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
talks about the developing musical 27 rue de Fleurus, Paris, and Alenier's book The Steiny Road to Operadom: The Making of American Operas.
Stein
on Stage
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
discusses dramas about Gertrude Stein's life and musicialized
plays set to Stein's text.
Stein
versus Disney
The Steiny Road Poet explores Beauty And The Beast, the musical, in relation to Gertrude Stein's Doctor Faustus Lights The Lights.
View from the Bridge: Anatomy of a Listener
The accrued opera experiences that brought appreciation to William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge.
VOX: NYC Opera's New Opera Showcase
Interview of VOX program director Yuval Sharon and the history of this unique program that showcases annually a dozen new work-in-progress operas.
VOX 2011: NYC Opera's New Opera Showcase
Preview of work-in-progress opera excerpts by such composers and librettists as Donna Di Novelli, Paolo Prestini, David Little, Allan Jaffe, Deborah Atherton, Yoav Gal.
Weininger, Otto: Gertrude Stein's Miscreant
The Steiny Road Poet explores why Gertrude Stein was influenced by Otto Weininger, a misogynist and anti-Semite.
2005
World Premiere Operas
What is the
state of new opera in the 2005-2006 season versus last season
and what's coming up in the future.
INTERVIEWS
Anthony Davis
The Steiny Road Poet interviewed composer Anthony Davis who is working on an opera about Cuba with Robert Wilson and others.
Charles Downey
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed musicologist and Ionarts blogger Dr. Charles Downey about the world of new opera.
Placido
Domingo
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed opera impresario Placido Domingo.
Eve Gigliotti
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed soprano Eve Gigliotti, who created the role of Gertrude Stein in Gertrude Stein Invents A Jump Early On.
Libby
Larsen
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed composer Libby Larsen.
J.D.
McClatchy
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed poet and librettist J.D. McClatchy.
Anchee Min
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed novelist Anchee Min.
Tim
Page
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed music critic and author Tim Page.
Nancy
Rhodes
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed Encompass New Opera Theatre artistic
director Nancy Rhodes.
Ned
Rorem
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed composer Ned Rorem.
Michael
Scarola
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed opera director Michael Scarola.
Renate
Stendhal
Part of the
Steiny Road to Operadom series published on Scene4.com, this essay
about building interest in the women's community for the Stein
Opera is also an interview with Renate Stendhal, author of Gertrude
Stein In Words And Pictures.
Anthony
Tommasini
For
Scene4.com, Karren Alenier interviewed senior music critic for
the New York Times Anthony Tommasini.
Scott
Wheeler
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed composer Scott Wheeler whose new opera
Democracy will premiere with Washington National Opera.
John
Yaffe
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier interviewed Encompass New Opera Theatre music director
John Yaffe.
Francesca
Zambello
For Scene4.com,
Karren Alenier covered a press conference led by director Francesca
Zambello.
REVIEWS--Book,
Concerts, Dance, Opera,
Theater
Books:
But a Passage in Wilderness
by
Margo Berdeshevsky
Chinese Writers on Writing
edited by
Arthur Sze
Madame
Butterfly: Japonisme, Puccini, and the Search for the Real Cho-Cho-San
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
by
Alex Ross
Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice
by
Janet Malcolm
Vivaldi's Virgins by
Barbara Quick
Concerts: (alphabetic by composer)
Four Angels, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra
by
Mark Adamo
Symphony No. 1
by
Steven Gerber
Life: A Journey Through Time
by
Philip Glass
The Weary Blues
by
Langston Hughes and Charles MIngus as adapted by Charley Gerard
Le Noir de L'Étoile
by
Gérard Grisey
Autodreamographical Tales
by
Terry Riley
The Cusp of Magic
by
Terry Riley
Evidence of Things Not Seen
by
Ned Rorem
The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits
by
Maurice Saylor
Ghost Opera
by
Tan Dun and performed by the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man
The Map: Concerto for Violoncello, Video, and Orchestra
by
Tan Dun
Dance:
Parsons
Dance Company with the Ahn Trio
Opera:
Acis
et Galatee
by
Jean-Baptiste Lully
An
American Tragedy (Review on CultureVulture)
by
composer Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer
An
American Tragedy (Feature on Scene4)
by
composer Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer
Andrea
Chenier
by
composer Umberto Giordano and librettist Luigi Illica
Ariadne auf Naxos
by
Richard Strauss with libretto by Hugo van Hofmannsthal
Attila
by
Giuseppe Verdi with libretto by Temistocle Solera
Armide
by
Willibald Gluck with libretto by Philippe Quinault
The Beggar's Opera
by
Benjamin Britten
Billy
Budd
by
Benjamin Britten
Carmen
by
Georges Bizet
La
Cenerentola
by
Rossini
Clara
new
in 2004 by librettist Kathleen Cahill and composer Robert Convery
La
Clemenza di Tito
by Mozart
David and Jonathas
by
Marc-Antoine Charpentier with libretto by Père François Bretonneau
Dead
Man Walking
by
librettist Terrence McNally and composer Jake Heggie, a feature
that includes Lysistrata Or The Nude Goddess
Democracy:
An American Comedy
new
in 2005 by librettist Romulus Linney and composer Scott Wheeler
Le Déserteur
by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
Dialogues
of the Carmelites
by Poulenc
Dido and Aeneas
by Henry Purcell
Doctor
Atomic (Review on Ionarts)
by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellars
Doctor
Atomic (Feature on Scene4)
by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellars
Don Giovanni
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
Duke Bluebeard's Castle
by Bela Bartok
Eugene
Onegin
by Tchaikovsky
Falstaff
by Giuseppe Verdi with libretto by Arrigo Boito based on William Shakespeare’s plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV
La Fille du Regiment
by Gaetano Donizetti with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Sant-George, Jean-Francois-Alfred Bayard
The First Emperor
by Tan Dun with libretto co-written by Tan Dun and Ha Jin
Hansel and Gretel
by Engelbert Humperdinck with libretto by Adelheid Wette
Hydrogen Jukebox
by Philip Glass with libretto by Allen Ginsberg
Later the Same Evening
new in 2007 by John Musto with libretto by Mark Campbell
L'Italiana
in Algerie
by Rossini, a feature article that includes Miss Lonelyhearts
Jenufa
by Leos Janacek
Kaspar Hauser: A Foundling's Opera
by Elizabeth Swados with libretto by Swados and Erin Courtney
Little Women
by Mark Adamo
Love's Comedy
by composer Kim D. Sherman and librettist Rick Davis based on Henrik Ibesen's play and adapted by Leon Katz
Lucrezia Borgia
by
Gaetano Donizetti
Luisa
Fernanda
by
Federico Moreno Torroba
Lysistrata
Or The Nude Goddess (Review on CultureVulture)
by
Mark Adamo
Lysistrata
Or The Nude Goddess (Feature on Scene4)
by
Mark Adamo, a feature that includes Dead Man Walking
The
Maid of Orleans
by
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
The
Making of Americans
by
Anthony Gatto & Jay Scheib
Manon
Lescaut
by
Giacomo Puccini
Margaret
Garner
by
Richard Danielpout with libretto by Toni Morrison
Mazeppa
by
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Miss
Lonelyhearts
new
in 2006 by Lowell Liebermann with libretto by J.D. McClatchy,
a feature article that includes L'Italiana in Algerie
The
Mother of Us All
by
Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson
Otello
by
Giuseppe Verdi
Les Pécheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers)
by
Georges Bizet
Porgy
and Bess
by
George Gershwin
Queen of Spades
by
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky
Salome
by
Richard Strauss
Satyagraha
by
Philip Glass
A Scandal in Bohemia
by
Thomas Whitman with libretto by Nathalie Anderson
A Shadowboxer
by
Frank Proto with libretto by John Chenault
Sophie's Choice
by
Nicholas Maw
A
Streetcar Named Desire
by Andre Previn
Sweeney Todd
by Stephen Sondheim as directed by John Doyle
Transformations
by Conrad Susa with libretto by Anne Sexton
Turandot
by Giacomo Puccini with libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni is based on an invented fairy tale by Venetian magician Carlo Gozzi
Turn of the Screw
by Benjamin Britten with libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on a novella by Henry James
Vanqui
by Leslie Savoy Burrs with libretto by John A. Williams
A View from the Bridge
by William Bolcom with libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Arthur Miller
I Vespri Siciliani
by Giuseppe Verdi
Volpone
new in 2004 by composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell
Volpone
by composer John Musto and librettist Mark Campbell (second production)
Die Walkure
by Richard Wagner
Theater:
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Rachel Sheinkin
500 Clown Macbeth
by
500 Clown
500 Clown Makes an Elephant Deal
by
500 Clown
Anna
in the Tropics
by
Nilo Cruz
Assassins
by
Stephen Sondheim
Avenue Q
Robert Lopez (original conception, music & lyrics), Jeff Marx (original conception, music & lyrics) and Jeff Whitty (book)
Between Trains
by
Juanita Rockwell
Crave
by
Sarah Kane
Crowns
by
Regina Taylor
Fallen
From Proust
by
Regina Taylor
Frankie and John in the Claire de Lune
by
Terrence McNally
The Green Bird
by
Carlo Gozzi
Grey Gardens
with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie
Hallelujah,
Baby
by
Regina Taylor
The
Highest Yellow
by
Michael John LaChuisa
Horizon
by
Rinde Eckert
I La Galigo
by
Robert Wilson
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
by
Joe DiPeitro (book and lyrics) and Jimmy Roberts (music)
In Circles
by
Al Carmines
In the Next Room Or the Vibrator Play
by
Sarah Ruhl
Into the Woods
by
Stephen Sondheim
Journey to the End of NIght
adapted by Jason Lindnerfrom Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s novel
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by Terrence McNally
The Light In The Piazza
by
Adam Guettel
Mad Breed
by
Jacqueline Lawton
The
Maids
by
Jean Genet
A
Man's A Man
by
Bertolt Brecht
M.
Butterfly
by
Bertolt Brecht
Merrily We Roll Along
by
Stephen Sondheim
The
Music Teacher
by
Wallace & Allen Shawn
Nest
by
Bathesheba Doran
Nevermore
by
Matt Connor with book by Grace Barnes
No Exit
by
Jean-Paul Sartre with translation by Paul Bowles
"O"
a Cirque du Soleil production by
Benoit Jutras
One
Red Flower
by
Paris Barclay
Pacific
Overtures
by
Stephen Sondheim
Passion
Play
by
Sarah Ruhl
Peter
& Wendy
from the novel by J.M. Barrie, adapted by Liza Lorwin with original music by Johnny Cunningham
The Piano Lesson
by
August Wilson
The Plague
adapted by
Otho Eskin from Albert Camus' novel
Saving Aimee
book and lyrics by Kathie Lee Gifford and
music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman
Senor
Discretion Himself
by
Frank Loesser
Shintoku-Maru
by
Shuji Terayama and adapted by Rio Kishida
Slide
by
Rinde Eckert, Steven Mackey, and eighth blackbird
Songs of the Dragons Flying Up to Heaven
by
Young Jean Lee
Spamalot
written by Eric Idle (book, lyrics) and John Du Pres & Eric Idle (music)
Spring Forward, Fall Back
by
Robert Brustein
Tamburlaine
by
Christopher Marlowe
Ten
Unknowns
by
Jon Robin Baitz
Witches of Eastwick
Book and lyrics by John Dempsey;
Music by Dana P. Rowe
The Word Begins
by
Steve Connell and Sekou (Tha Misfit)
Yemaya's
Belly
by
Qu’ara Alegria Hudes
The
York Realist
by
Peter Gill
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