4 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MARCH 20, 2019 Photo credit: MichaelCrouser unknown, hepickeditupandbroughthome. Gershwin’s George of score the of for instance.UncleSidworkedtheNew York Transit Authority. Oneday, hefoundacopy Sid, Uncle explain to Gordon’show in life. them moments Ask formative the of many so for that force this feel I seems tobeguidingmeinawaythatIcannotresist. where That isthelevelofintensity.” life my in times been have “There questions. of plenty has still he But McDonald. to Audra Upshaw Dawn to Fleming Renee from writes everyone by He sung music generation. his of composers successful most the of one is He therapist. his with would callsuchstatementscrazy. Hedoesn’t care. people some that understands He known. have must he time a of reminiscence the with ring these people, walked these roads. So many shadows flicker with familiarity; so many footsteps RICKYhas beenherebefore—written these notes,readwords,known IANGORDON The doubters may scoff. But to the skeptics, one might ask what other explanation exists explanation other what ask might one skeptics, the to But scoff. may doubters The session a from returned just has He declares. he reincarnation,” in believe completely “I A Life Revisited A Life By BenjaminPomerance icre o te uwy Fr reasons For subway. the on discarded Porgy and Bess 5 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MARCH 20, 2019 CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 CONTINUED ON PAGE But there were decisions to make. First, he had to he had to First, to make. decisions were But there of with a multitude Instead, tempted starve. He didn’t the age of 33, he threw in the one night, at Finally, just knock; it didn’t opportunity And when he did, Gordon remembers. to me,” came of these people “All years later, Two on love. bargained But he hadn’t wasHe desk. writing his and piano his to turned He death brought Gordon The work that honored Jeffrey’s that But nothing was more daunting than the offer of the Dead had Book It was a success. If The Tibetan debt if work as to why Gordon continues is Which and put it all into notes.” notes.” into it all put and or of the past works the great to perform whether choose period, short a For future. the of works great the create recalls “It was boring,” he the former option. he selected to hate it a pianist. “I grew that he found as of the jobs going my mind that I was I made up Finally, so much. even if I do nothing else, for a living and to write music the process.” starved in A he went in the opposite direction. excesses, accessible ensued. No one forgetting mind he wouldn’t that period life was an easy life. said that a reincarnated he sprawled another party, Arriving home from yet towel. His friend Mary asked what on his couch and sobbed. ‘I feel like my whole life has become was wrong. “I said, he remembers. drinks and dinner,’” nothing more than on the following morning, he had Before the sun rose committed to sobriety. Adam the doors at the loft where roared, breaking down the prizewinning composer of The Light in the Guettel, - orga not-for-profit the for fundraiser a holding was Piazza, The fundraiser included Health Crisis. nization Gay Men’s Very works. original performances of some of Gordon’s creations had heard any of Gordon’s few of the attendees Their reaction would transform everything. before. Where have you “They were all asking, ‘Who are you? a few Within me.” began helping some of them And been?’ and Victor with RCA contract weeks, he had a recording with the Rodgers & Hammerstein a publishing contract in 1989,” he publishing house. “All of this happened and the year that states. “That was the year that I got sober changed my life.” Gordon flipped head-over-heels for a man named Jeffrey. Gordon says. he was HIV-positive,” me that he told “Then the most I wanted to do was to make that all “And I realized left together.” out of every moment that we would have ever since Unclegoing to do what he always wanted to do and Bess into his life. He Sid brought that score of Porgy to opera an was opera first “My opera. an write to going was out of this world,” he explains. “It was an opera see Jeffrey Book die. I had read to him from The Tibetan to help Jeffrey togethercommunicating of way a as Dying and Living of for subject first my how is that And life. his of end the about Book of the Dead.” an opera became The Tibetan highly the man who already had grown new life. Suddenly, burgeoninga as recognized was songs art his for respected force in the operatic world, too. Commissions started arriving from increasingly prestigious houses, inspiring him to tackle progressively difficult subject matter. showed up on his doorstep from the Minnesota Opera and the Utah Symphony and Opera: develop an operatic . adaptation of ’s “The story has such a dense, rich, beloved text,” Gordon says. “Making it into an opera was either going to be a success or a disaster.” operatic baptism, The Grapes of Wrath been Gordon’s life, my in time first the “For confirmation. his be to proved to he says of the reaction I had a seat at the table,” I felt like the premiere work’s in 2007. “This was the first time that that time first the was This me. about write to began people He laughs. “Of course, I felt like I was really on my way.” you’re never really on your way.” him kept have His labors daily. him chasing are collectors of his songs. McDonald recorded an album headlines. in the

“Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg — all Alban Berg Aaron Copland, Britten, “Benjamin And it didn’t take much provocation before he left take much provocation And it didn’t So, he ran away from home — 12 years old and off onSo, he ran away from home — 12 years old and off Peter caught the bug, too. The friends started trekking started friends The too. bug, the caught Peter “Mrs. Fox [the piano teacher] could see the look in could see “Mrs. Fox [the piano teacher] And here came Peter, the kid who lived around the kid who lived the And here came Peter, When young Gordon got his hands on that music, he music, on that his hands When young Gordon got

Photo credit: Mitch Carter Photo credit: figured something out about the inner climate of my life so authentic to me,” Gordon states. “It was as if they had they if was as “It Gordon states. me,” to so authentic felt that musically something on hit of these composers studies started to flourish, new sounds took over his ears. opened its gates to him. And once his collegiate music And once his collegiate to him. its gates opened the middle of his senior year. Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon the middle of his senior year. was just holding him back. He left without his diploma in was just holding him back. He left without his diploma could sense was waiting for him, and high school drama school high and him, for waiting was sense could again. He was seeking something lofty, something that he that something lofty, something was seeking He again.

Roberta Peters sing at the Met, snowstorm be damned. America but not until he had fulfilled his mission — seeing An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar Home Fires: book Home Fires: served as the subject for Donald Katz’s back to Long Island again, back to the tumultuous family that course, the vagabond didn’t remain truant for long. He wascourse, the vagabond didn’t his own, pounding the pavement in a horrid blizzard. Of

music I could find. It took over my life.” the Performing Arts, too. I’d take out every piece of opera piece Arts, too. I’d take out every the Performing them. And I started going to Lincoln Center’s Library for And I started going to Lincoln Center’s them. Gordon Franco Corelli, all of recalls. “Joan Sutherland, tickets at the Metropolitan Opera. “We saw all of the stars,” of the saw all Opera. “We at the Metropolitan tickets virtually every Saturday, hoping to score standing room standing score hoping to Saturday, every virtually from their Long Island community into on City York New into Long Island community from their

became absolutely obsessed with opera.” the book. I would read it every chance I could get. And I the book. I would read it every chance I could get. my eyes,” Gordon remembers. “She told me I could keep plot summaries for more than a hundred operatic works. plot summaries for more than a hundred , offering , offering Book of Operas cover in his hands: The Victor it and pulled a book from the shelf. He stared down at the down at stared He shelf. the from book a pulled and it bookcase. Then, almost mechanically, he walked over to he walked Then, almost mechanically, bookcase. Gordon watched his friend, his eyes wandered to a nearby nearby a to wandered his eyes his friend, Gordon watched invited Gordon to come to one of his piano lessons. As Gordon to come to one of his piano lessons. invited Peter In an act of camaraderie, Peter. old, he befriended decided, when he would create music like that for himself. that music like when he would create decided, When Gordon was 8 years block, a walking messenger. cal theatre, a new universe opened. A time would come, he would come, time A opened. new universe a theatre, cal dove into this marriage of opera and ragtime and musi- and ragtime of opera dove into this marriage , once he , once Bess and of Porgy those pages discovered he gifted singer. He had played since the age of 5. But once of 5. But age the since He had played singer. gifted skilled enough on the piano to accompany his mother, a mother, his accompany to piano the on enough skilled He was already an artist by this point, let it go. wouldn’t 6 LAKE CHAMPLAIN WEEKLY • MARCH 20, 2019 Donations can bedropped o†at Elmore SPCA orby calling Carol at 534-3484 Please consider helpingourcommunity animals. Elmore SPCA isalways inneedofdonations. and spay/neutering. for medicines,vet services PO box 686, Peru 12972 payable to Elmore SPCA Monetary donations are GREATLY NEEDED • mediumsized wire crates, andnewspapers w/o inserts • Advantage flea deterrent for cats • helaundry detergent, isolation gowns &nitrilegloves • bleach, disinfectant spray ,bleach wipes,papertowels, • non-clumpinglitter ad ‘r yu *** idn m? Of me? kidding course, I’ll doit.’” f***** you ‘Are said, month, thejob washis.” him about [Stein] and write the libretto in a if he could read 15 books that I would give faded friendship faded.’ And I told him that Gertrude friendship of flowers the ‘before was Stein from line favorite my that him told “I recalls. Gordon sing,” to paintings the wanted I that him told “I Hades. from Vavrek with an offer that sounded like a gift stage practicallyleaptontothepage. operatic the onto Stein putting of notion the to commission write an opera a for soprano , received Gordon when So, before. known had he that world a were this if as again, sensation familiar that felt he page, each On improved. condition ical multi-hued existence. Charmed Circle reading: was roommate his that book a up convalescence. During that time, he picked long a to leading sick, extremely became too, rests an instance Here, of fate. In college, Paris. Gordon in Fleurus de Rue 27 at hosted they that salons the and Toklas,B. the relationship of and Alice the Centaur Theatre, a chamber opera about at month this present will Opera Montreal and 1860s; the from letters and entries diary on based County, intrigue; suburban of tale a New Side; East York’s on Lower immigrants Jewish operas the-century of number — emerged stunning A history. venue’s venerated the in fora composer living program Songbook American first Lincoln Center invitedhimtoprovidethe CONTINUED FROMPAGE 5 voice.” exalting another I’m excitedabout pencil topaper, in. EachtimeIset the timeswelive speaking about voice inthechaos them toliveasa my kids.Iwant works ofmusicare of myown.These “I don’thavekids h cmoe luh. Ad Royce “And laughs. composer The Royce librettist presented he Then phys- his while thing entire the read He aot turn-of- about Morning Star, , focusing on Stein and her and Stein on focusing , , the work that the that work the 27, Sycamore Trees, Rappahannock Photo credit: Gregory Downer or visit operademontreal.com. and more information, call514-985-2258 on 453St.Francois XavierSt.Fortickets March 31atthe CentaurTheatre located Ian Gordon’s "27"betweenMarch 23and The Montreal Operawill present Ricky toward a destination waiting to be found. uncertain road a down way his pawingmaking Island Long of pages those on through kid that like much before, way this happened already had it if as familiar,almost sounds voice about that when Even excited voice.” another exalting I’m paper, to pencil set I time Each in. live we times the about speaking chaos the in voice a as live to themwant I kids. my are music of works ues. “I don’t have kids of my own. These own listlikethat.” myhave to wanted I then, “Even recalls. Benjamin by cover,”back the on Britten composerthe works other of list huge this with composition Britten Benjamin dream ofwhathewouldsomedaybecome. tainous piles of sheet music, the boy would moun- the at Looking factory. publishing music Hawkes & Boosey the to go would because he pictured it this way. As a kid, he the Goodman Theatre inChicago. for creation novel a on Nelson Richard on a new opera. He’s working with author on partner writing his Korie, Michael librettist with orating Center Theater.Lincoln and He’s collab- commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera workLynna playwright on with Nottage forces joining He’stoday. life Gordon’s He stops. “I’m gay,” he finally contin- a of score a seeing remember “I to, has It this. like be to has it But occupies play of pace similar A The GrapesofWrath, Porgy andBess,