Composer - Clarinetist
The Danger Zone (2015) - for Soprano and Piano
Text by Jocelyn Tello
Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera Community Outreach (HGOco.)
Premiered by Kaitlyn Stavinoha and Mark Buller
Duration: ca. 3 1⁄2 minutes
As part of the Opera Adventure Curriculum, HGOco teamed up with HISD middle schools to teach children about opera. The kids attended a showing of the Velveteen Rabbit and wrote poems, to be set to music, inspired by themes of the opera.
Text
I’m a polar bear, I have been in a box called the Danger Zone.
I have been in the box for two hours long. It’s small. It’s tight.
It’s dark and full of monsters. I want to get out! The box is no place for toys! Next door is Haven Island where dreams come true.
My wildest dream is to find true love.
I have been trying to escape but I...do not...succeed.