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Ausrine Stundyte as Cio-Cio-San, Elizabeth Janes as Butterfly’s child and Sarah Larsen as Suzuki in Seattle Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Photo by Elise Bakketun.
North American Works Directory Listing
The Refuge
Composer: Christopher Theofanidis
Composer Bio: Christopher Theofanidis (b. 12/18/67 in Dallas, Texas) has had performances by many leading orchestras from around the world, including the London Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Moscow Soloists, the National, Atlanta, Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, and California Symphonies, and many others. He also served as Composer of the Year for the Pittsburgh Symphony during their 2006-2007 Season, for which he wrote a violin concerto for Sarah Chang.

Mr. Theofanidis holds degrees from Yale, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Houston, and has been the recipient of the International Masterprize (hosted at the Barbican Centre in London), the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, six ASCAP Gould Prizes, a Fulbright Fellowship to France, a Tanglewood Fellowship, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Charles Ives Fellowship. In 2007 he was nominated for a Grammy for best composition for his chorus and orchestra work, The Here and Now, based on the poetry of Rumi. His orchestral concert work, Rainbow Body, has been one of the most performed new orchestral works of the last ten years, having been performed by over 100 orchestras internationally.

From his website, www.theofanidismusic.com
Librettist: Leah Lax
Other Artistic Personnel: Patrick Summers (Conductor)
Richard Bado (Chorus Master)
Karen Reeves (Children’s Chorus Director)
Jonathan Godfrey (Acting Concertmaster)
Original Cast: Albina Shagimuratova (soprano)
Rebekah Camm (soprano)
Faith Sherman (mezzo-soprano)
Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano)
Beau Gibson (tenor)
Liam Bonner (baritone)
Ryan McKinny (bass-baritone)
Philip Evbomoen (tenor soloist)
Julie Trinh Dang (dan bau and dan tranh)
Ali Durrani (Qawwali singer)
Chandrakantha Courtney (sitar)
David Courtnery (tabla)
Giridahar Kalamanglam (tanpura)
Samhitha Murthy (tanpura)
Vadim Angerov (bayan)
Gifted and Talented Vocal Ensemble
Spanish Choir, Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral
Chorus, Children’s Chorus and
Orchestra of HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
Premiere Date: November 10, 2007
Producing Company: Houston Grand Opera
Description: In a city where more than one in five of its residents is foreign born, The Refuge tells the stories of hundreds of immigrants from the African, Central American, Indian, Mexican, Pakistani, Soviet-era Jewish and Vietnamese communities who have made Houston their new American home.
Reviews: Not From Here: An Opera for Houston’s Immigrants - The New York Times 11/12/2007
Comments: On May 1, 2008, Houston Grand Opera announced the commercial release of its 36th world premiere, Christopher Theofanidis’s The Refuge, on the Albany label. The Refuge, which premiered on November 10, 2007 at the Wortham Center in Houston, has been called “a moving musical experience” by Opera News and “first class” by the Houston Chronicle. In a city where more than one in five of its residents is foreign born, The Refuge tells the stories of hundreds of immigrants from the African, Central American, Indian, Mexican, Pakistani, Soviet-era Jewish and Vietnamese communities who have made Houston their new American home.
Length: 01:30
Total Acts: Not Available
Contact: Houston Grand Opera
Schedule of Performances Listings
The Refuge (Theofanidis)
Friday, May 16, 2008 - Houston Grand Opera

Spring 2013 Magazine Issue
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  • Of One: The Quest for Asian Fusion in the Opera House
  • Vancouver: Where Nature Nurtures Art
  • Inheriting the Wind
  • My First Time
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