CONCERT PRESENTATION

DOG DAYS: 15th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23

7:30PMNational Sawdust

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24

2:00PMNational Sawdust

For its 15th anniversary, David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s haunting contemporary opera Dog Days returns in a special concert presentation. Based on the short story by Judy Budnitz, the work follows thirteen-year-old Lisa and her family as they struggle to survive in a near-future America unraveling under the pressures of war, hunger, and emotional collapse. As food disappears and hope erodes, each member of the family confronts the limits of their humanity in different ways. Their fragile world is further disrupted by the arrival of Prince, a mysterious man in a dog suit begging for scraps. Is he delusional, enlightened, or simply adapting better than the humans around him? By turns brutal, darkly funny, and deeply moving, Dog Days is a powerful meditation on survival, morality, and the animal instincts that emerge in times of crisis.

James Matthew Daniel

CREATIVE TEAM

COMPOSER — DAVID T. LITTLE

LIBRETTIST — ROYCE VAVREK

ORIGINAL DIRECTION — ROBERT WOODRUFF

MUSIC DIRECTOR — ALAN PIERSON

Based On The Short Story "Dog Days" By — JUDY BUDNITZ

DAVID T. LITTLE

Composer

ROYCE VAVREK

Librettist

Opera/Music Theater libretti include David T. Little’s Dog Days (Zankel Hall, New York City Opera VOX) and Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera (Bard Conservatory); Jeff Myers’ The Hunger Art (American Lyric Theater, Center City Opera Theater, Burning Bayreuth); Jay Anthony Gach’s Nora at the Altar-Rail (A.L.T.); andKristin Hevner’s Bully Pulpit (Metropolis Opera Project).A founding member of The New Ensemble, he contributed lyrics ton on play: shadows of a dream and Black Snow in collaboration with composer Andrew Gerle. As a filmmaker, Royce wrote and directed From Sky and Soil (Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative), I Will Not Be Sad Anymore (Quebec Cooperative Filmmakers Initiative), Pig and Bear(Frigid Fest NY) and Good Woman, a collaboration with American fashion designer Marc Bouwer. Upcoming projects include collaborations with Missy Mazzoli, Du Yun, Nick Martin, Rachel Peters, Mark Baechle and Matt Marks. Artistic Director of opera-theater company The Coterie, founded with soprano Lauren Worsham. B.F.A: Concordia University, Montreal; M.F.A: NYU.

ROBERT WOODRUFF

Co-creator & Director

ALAN PIERSON