Official site of composer Andrea Clearfield. Biography, list of works with audio, score samples, reviews and program notes, photographs, upcoming performances.
Andrea Clearfield’s first opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer, with libretto by Jean Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, was premiered in a semi-staged production at the acclaimed Prototype Festival in January, 2019 at Gerald Lynch Theater in NYC. Praised by the press as “mystical and dramatically compelling”, “deeply moving and successful premiere”, “highly recommended”, “colorful, expressive score”, “lush and rich”, “a sonic exultation with lasting power”, “successfully delivers its redemptive message”, “the most accomplished and mature of this year’s compositions”, the opera was commissioned by Gene Kaufman and Terry Eder. Read the feature stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Tricycle Magazine below. The opera is on the life of the great Tibetan sage, Milarepa, who transformed from mass murderer into Tibet’s most venerated teacher. Watch the trailer.
Opera on the life of the Tibetan yogi, Milarepa. Libretto by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden. Prototype Festival, NYC, January 2019. Commissioned by Gene Kaufman and Terry Eder. Click on title for cast.
Review by Adrian Dimanlig, MILA, Great Sorcerer: A Fabulous Surprise, January 19, 2019
MILA, Great Sorcerer – Opera in 2 Acts
Andrea Clearfield, composer
Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, librettists
Completed: November, 2018
Duration: Entire work: 2 hours
coring: 9 leads, chorus, chamber orchestra
Commissioners: Terry Eder and Gene Kaufman
Recording: Prototype Festival, Gerald Lynch Theater, NYC, 1/13/2019
Director: Kevin Newbury
Cast: Aaron Blake (Mila), Lauren Flanigan (Mother), Eve Gigliotti (Aunt), Will Liverman (Sorcerer), Matthew Gamble (Uncle) Tobias Greenhalgh (Father), Susannah Biller (Damema), Musa Ngqungwana (Marpa), Jonathan Blalock (Young Man)
Chorus: New York Virtuoso Singers
Orchestra: The Knights
Conductor: Manoj Kamps
Wearable and projected art: Tsherin Sherpa
Folk hero, singer, and spiritual teacher, Milarepa has been venerated for one thousand years. But as a child, at his mother’s behest, he wields black magic against the relatives that stole his inheritance and destroys his entire village. His remorse sends him on a life journey from mass murder to enlightenment. After you’ve killed, how do you redeem your soul? Milarepa’s transformation and redemption into the most revered teacher of Tibetan Buddhism offer hope and spiritual wayfinding to all who regret acts of consequence and seek higher ground.
MILA, Great Sorcerer
Andrea Clearfield’s first opera, MILA, Great Sorcerer, with libretto by Jean Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, was premiered in a semi-staged production at the acclaimed Prototype Festival in January, 2019 at Gerald Lynch Theater in NYC. Praised by the press as “mystical and dramatically compelling”, “deeply moving and successful premiere”, “highly recommended”, “colorful, expressive score”, “lush and rich”, “a sonic exultation with lasting power”, “successfully delivers its redemptive message”, “the most accomplished and mature of this year’s compositions”, the opera was commissioned by Gene Kaufman and Terry Eder. Read the feature stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Tricycle Magazine below. The opera is on the life of the great Tibetan sage, Milarepa, who transformed from mass murderer into Tibet’s most venerated teacher. Watch the trailer.
Opera on the life of the Tibetan yogi, Milarepa. Libretto by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden. Prototype Festival, NYC, January 2019. Commissioned by Gene Kaufman and Terry Eder. Click on title for cast.
Review by Adrian Dimanlig, MILA, Great Sorcerer: A Fabulous Surprise, January 19, 2019
MILA Review
Article and interview in TRICYCLE “A Milarepa Opera offers and Ode to Stillness”
MILA, Great Sorcerer – Opera in 2 Acts
Andrea Clearfield, composer
Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, librettists
Completed: November, 2018
Duration: Entire work: 2 hours
coring: 9 leads, chorus, chamber orchestra
Commissioners: Terry Eder and Gene Kaufman
Recording: Prototype Festival, Gerald Lynch Theater, NYC, 1/13/2019
Director: Kevin Newbury
Cast: Aaron Blake (Mila), Lauren Flanigan (Mother), Eve Gigliotti (Aunt), Will Liverman (Sorcerer), Matthew Gamble (Uncle) Tobias Greenhalgh (Father), Susannah Biller (Damema), Musa Ngqungwana (Marpa), Jonathan Blalock (Young Man)
Chorus: New York Virtuoso Singers
Orchestra: The Knights
Conductor: Manoj Kamps
Wearable and projected art: Tsherin Sherpa
Philadelphia Inquirer Preview Story
Prototype Festival MILA, Great Sorcerer
MILA Great Sorcerer Website
Opera Summary:
Folk hero, singer, and spiritual teacher, Milarepa has been venerated for one thousand years. But as a child, at his mother’s behest, he wields black magic against the relatives that stole his inheritance and destroys his entire village. His remorse sends him on a life journey from mass murder to enlightenment. After you’ve killed, how do you redeem your soul? Milarepa’s transformation and redemption into the most revered teacher of Tibetan Buddhism offer hope and spiritual wayfinding to all who regret acts of consequence and seek higher ground.