Opera: Tenderhooks & 4:30 Movie

Composer Anthony R. Green’s Tenderhooks explores modern dating and how dating apps have changed the way individuals interact in real life. Writing from his own experiences as a Black, gay cis-male, he has pondered, in particular, about how dating apps have influenced relationships among homosexual men. He explains, “Combined with articles theorizing how such apps have ruined certain institutions (such as “the gay bar”) and are slowly eroding the concept of older gay mentors, my thoughts about the dating app world have led me to think about the future of gay youth growing up in a world where certain elements of life are just a swipe away.”

Composer Kurt Rohde and poet Donna Masini’s new micro-opera, 4:30 Movie, is a 20 minute work for soprano, percussion, video mirror, and electronics based on Masini’s poems from Masini. These poems, funny, touching, and ruthless, take the reader through the diagnosis, treatment, and death of the author’s sister Karen from cancer. This resonates with the composer, currently under treatment for his own cancer. The texts provide action, dialogue, engagement, and unexpected moments of sorrow and truth as the writer’s sister slowly succumbs to her