Sergio Cervetti, composer

Compositions

Elegy For A Prince
A Lyric Metaphor, Opera in Two Acts
Libretto by Elizabeth Esris

Imagination, humor, cynicism, sorrow and love intertwine in Elegy For A Prince, a bittersweet musical journey that resonates with life. It places Oscar Wilde's story, The Happy Prince, within an original framework that begins with a father reading the tale to his son. As in the original story, the Prince seeks to alleviate the suffering that he ignored while he was alive. Swallow is a young vagabond and dreamer of exotic origins who stumbles into town and becomes the Prince's agent to the poor. Together they fulfill the Prince's mission. In the process, Swallow develops compassion for humanity. He learns from the Prince that love is the divine secret, as expressed in the second act in a farewell duet that borrows from Wilde's discourse on love in De Profundis. The opera ends with one of the characters from the original tale--the Young Writer--emerging as a champion of compassion and beauty in a cynical world.

Learn more at elegyforaprince.com

OPERA

Elegy For A Prince, A Lyric Metaphor, Opera in Two Acts

Libretto by Elizabeth Esris
premiere of three excerpts, New York City Opera’s VOX 2007 Showcase, Skirball Center, NYC
A prince learns the value of life too late and a young vagabond dreams of returning home. Their lives intersect in this opera rooted in a story by Oscar Wilde.

Abby's Song, Opera in Six Tableaux, for orchestra and electronic soundtrack

Libretto by Elizabeth Esris and Robert Esris
A girl, a secret: Abby has Asperger’s Syndrome. The opera follows her path to young adulthood. Work in progress.

YUM!, Opera in one act for three voices and chamber ensemble.

Libretto by Elizabeth Esris
Sam and Isabelle are old friends and competitive cooks. Egos are tested when both plan to make a birthday cake for their "oldest, dearest" friend. They compromise. As they verbally spar and reminisce, hidden secrets are revealed that lead to a celebration of forgiveness.

ORCHESTRA

Candombe II, premiere Moravian Philharmonic, Oulomoc, Czech Republic
Graffiti
Plexus, premiere National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, DC
The Hay Wain, for orchestra and speaking chorus

ORCHESTRA AND VOCAL SOLOIST

Leyenda, (soprano) premiere SODRE Orchestra, Montevideo, Uruguay
Madrigales de Amor y Muerte, (baritone) premiere SODRE Orchestra, Montevideo, Uruguay

CHAMBER MUSIC

Cocktail Party , premiere Donnell Library, NYC
Cuarteto de Cuerdas III , premiere Sala Vaz Ferreira, Montevideo, Uruguay
Duelle (dance work) premiere Washington Square Methodist Church, NYC
Doing the Dance (dance work) premiere Delacorte Dance Festival, NYC
English Horn Quintet
Five Episodes for piano, cello and violin, premiere Caracas Festival, Venezuela
...from the earth..., premiere The Kitchen, NYC
Music for Rachel (dance work) premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC
Prisons (dance work) premiere Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany
Pulsar, premiere Amerikahaus, Berlin, Germany
Trio for Strings
Six Sequences for Dance (dance work) premiere University of Maryland, College Park
Woodwind Quartet
Zinctum, premiere Beaux Arts String Quartet, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE AND SOLOIST

Concerto for Harpsichord and 11 Instruments, Las Indias Olvidadas, premiere Alicante Festival, Spain

PIANO solo

3 Estudios Australes, premiere Donnell Library, NYC
Exiles I
Some Realms I Owned
Sonata No. 1, premiere Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Tema y Variaciones

HARPSICHORD solo

Alberada, premiere Palacio de Linares, Casa de America, Madrid, Spain
Candombe I, premiere The Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
Hard Rock, premiere Palacio de Linares, Casa de America, Madrid, Spain
Llanto y Muerte, premiere Sala Vaz Ferreira, Montevideo, Uruguay

ORGAN

Lux Lucet (prelude)

CONTRA BASS solo

Alberti Bass/Alberti Bounce (dance work) premiere The Kitchen, NYC

GUITAR solo

Guitar Music, The Bottom of the Iceberg, premiere The Kitchen, NYC

VIOLIN solo

Plegaria y Danza, premiere St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, NYC

VIOLIN AND VIOLA

Darkness at Noon, Four Epitaphs in Times of AIDS, premiere NYC

CHORUS A CAPPELLA

I Will Say Unto God My Rock
Lest You Forget, premiere National Cathedral, Washington, DC
Lux Lucet in Tenebris, premiere Waldensian 100 Years in America, Rutgers Church, NYC
Nuestras Vidas Son los Rios

VOICE AND STRING QUARTET/CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Cuatro Fragmentos de Neruda, soprano, premiere Donnell Library, NYC
Madrigal I, soprano
Madrigal II, soprano, premiere The Kitchen, NYC
Madrigal III, two sopranos, premiere San Francisco Contemporary Players, San Mateo, CA
Madrigal IV, soprano, premiere University of California, La Jolla

VOICE AND PIANO

Four Fragments of Isadora, soprano, premiere New York University
7 Canciones de Orfila Bardesio, soprano, premiere Sala Vaz Ferreira, Montevideo, Uruguay
The Triumph of Death, soprano, premiere Museum of Modern Art, NYC

INSTRUMENTAL AND ELECTRONIC

Aria Suspendida, clarinet, premiere The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Cui Bono, dance/theater work, piano, premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC
Cantata 84-behind the moon beyond the rain (dance work)piano/percussion,premiere Dance Theater Workshop,NYC
El Devorador de Hombres, premiere Montevideo, Uruguay
El Rio de los Pajaros Pintados, for bandoneon and tape, premiere Teatro del Circulo, Montevideo, Uruguay
40 Second/42nd Variations, piano, premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC
Stella Vindemiatrix, for oboe and tape, premiere Santiago, Chile
Raga II, trombone, premiere The Kitchen, NYC
Raga III, chamber ensemble, premiere The Kitchen, NYC

ELECTRONIC/DIGITAL

Audacious (dance work) premiere Miles Playhouse, Santa Monica, CA
Clearlight (dance work) premiere University of Virginia
Fable In Four Fugues, (dance work) premiere The Dalton School, NYC
Falling In (dance work) premiere Ohio State University, Columbus
Fields of Grace, premiere NYU/Tisch School of the Arts
40 Second/42nd Variations (dance work) premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC
Generation Pieces Opus 168, premiere Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Beckett, MA
Inclosed Time (dance work) premiere Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY
In Your Winter Garden (poem/spoken text)
Inez de Castro (dance work) premiere Ballet Hispanico, Joyce Theater, NYC
Lullabyes for Elizabeth (dance work) premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC
Manhattan (dance work) premiere La Mama, NYC
Migrations 1,2,3 (dance work) premiere NYU/Tisch School of the Arts
Night Trippers (dance work) premiere Joyce Theater, NYC
Oulom (dance work) premiere Donnell Library, NYC
Out of the Rolling Ocean (dance work) premiere Marymount Manhattan College, NYC
Quest (dance work) premiere NYU/Tisch School of the Arts
Raga I, premiere The Kitchen, NYC
Rift (dance work) premiere NYU/Tisch School of the Arts
Something Borrowed (dance work) premiere Dance Central, Columbus, Ohio
Stella Dominatrix, premiere University of Victoria, B.C., Canada
Studies in Silence (dance work) premiere Georgetown Workshop, Washington, DC
The Hay Wain
The Mouth of Boredom
Transatlantic Light (dance work) premiere Holland Festival, Amsterdam
Unspeakable Piano
Wind Devil (dance work) premiere Next Wave Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY
Womens Enigmatic Patterns (dance work) premiere Gallaudet College, Washington, DC

FILM/VIDEO

A Shade of Gray, Cinepez Productions
Natural Born Killers, directed by Oliver Stone (Fall of the Rebel Angels from The Hay Wain)
The Sadness of Sex, directed by David Wainwright
Visual Diary: Electronic soundtrack to 1 hour 20 minute film, by Valerie Sonnenthal made from 27,000 still photographs

THEATER

The Harlot’s Curse, directed by James Cunningham, premiere Dance Theater Workshop, NYC