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THE COMPOSER
THE OPERA
Widely known for his work as an opera impresario, David DiChiera earned his Masters in Composition at UCLA under the direction of Lukas Foss
(Born 1922, Berlin) American conductor and composer whose music is characterized by atonality.
and Boris Kremenilev. He wrote his first works in the 50s and early 60s when atonality
Music that has no tonal center (or key).
was an emphatic voice in the music world. He says he "really had nothing to say musically within the atonal compositional style" and so composed against the trend. Pieces in his repertoire (a concerto for piano and orchestra, two song cycles for singer and piano, a children’s opera, and various chamber and choral works) consistently are built around melodies traditionally harmonized. His largest work, Cyrano, is no exception to the Romantic
Music characterized by long melodies and lush harmonies expressing extreme emotions.
style of DiChiera's opus: it is through-composed with arching melodies and dense orchestrations. The work requires eight soloists and chorus, a 70-piece orchestra, and three hours curtain to curtain.

In addition to his work as a composer, DiChiera has produced opera and musical theater productions for more than 36 years. He founded Michigan Opera Theatre (where he is General Director) and Opera Pacific (in Orange County, CA), salvaged the Music Hall (Detroit) in 1971, and established the Detroit Opera House in 1996.

David DiChiera's complete bio

 Cyrano is an opera newly written by American composer David DiChiera and French librettist Bernard Uzan. Based on Edmond Rostand's 1897 drama, Cyrano de Bergerac, the three-act opera is a co-production of Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Company of Philadelphia and Florida Grand Opera.

Cyrano is DiChiera's debut as an opera composer. Collaborating on the project (over eight years in the making) are two of the composer's long-time colleagues: Uzan, who also directs the premiere, and American conductor Mark D. Flint, who created the orchestration. English artist John Pascoe designed the period scenery and costumes.

In the October 13, 2007, premiere, Romanian baritone Marian Pop creates the title role, American soprano Leah Partridge sings the part of Roxane, and Spanish tenor José Luis Sola will sing the role of Christian.

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Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand’s most popular play and the basis for the opera, commingled nostalgia for 17th-century French life with swashbuckling heroism, romance, and lyrical verse. Cyrano,
Inspired by the life of Cyrano Hercule Savinien de Bergerac (1619-1655), a Paris-born poet/swordsman who authored the science fiction novel Other Worlds.
similar to Don Quixote and Don Juan, has endured as a popular literary figure. The French libretto of the opera, Cyrano, stays faithful to Rostand's classic.

Cyrano is a larger-than-life personality. While skilled in the sword and pen, the nobleman is afflicted with a monstrous nose. He presumes that no woman will ever return the affections of a man with such a proboscis. Despite his love for the beautiful Roxane — or by virtue of it — Cyrano agrees to help a handsome rival to win her heart.


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