Opera Shorts, a production of The Remarkable Theater Brigade, was a smashing success.  The variety of the compositions was exciting, and each had its own take on the notion of music-drama, and the performers and the musical and theatrical direction were all top-notch.  There were lots of laughs, and the audience, performers, and composers seemed to bond throughout the night, culminating in what many said was the most entertaining night of music they had attended in a long time.  The producers, Monica Harte (who also sang and acted beautifully) and Christian McLeer (who had two wonderful compositions and played fantastic piano as well) commissioned eight composers to compose pieces no longer than ten-minutes.  It turned out to be a great idea, and I am very happy to have been part of this wonderful night.

My commission was titled The Poem That Nobody Hears.  It was directed by Josh Carr, and featured Chas Elliot as Poet, Will Ferguson as Student, Noby Ishida, piano and musical direction, and Vox4 String Quartet (Sarah Larsen and Orie Furuta - violins, Keith Sanders - viola, Seth Woods - cello).

The video above is from a rehearsal of the piece.  Above I have put an mp3 of the piece as well.   Feel free to take a listen!  Below is a synopsis of the drama.  This was my first shot at writing a libretto, so go easy on me!

The Poem That Nobody Hears

Music and Libretto by Benjamin Bierman

Synopsis

The opening scene finds Poet sitting in a student lounge in a public place. Scattered around the lounge are students and small groups of students, drinking and eating as they study or talk. Poet is sitting by himself, in the midst of the activity, busily writing away on a small scrap of paper with a stubby pencil. No one is paying attention to him. In fact, they do not even notice him. Poet sings his poem-without-words to himself as he writes (“Poem”).

Student enters the lounge alone, and sits down at the Poet’s table. Initially, Student pays no attention to Poet, but gradually is drawn in by the latter’s intense scribbling, and “Poem” becomes a recitative. A dialog ensues and the drama unfolds (“The Poem That Nobody Hears”).

As they talk, the Poet speaks of his life––working for his father in the family hardware store, his loneliness, his frustrations, and his bittersweet attempts to turn this around. It turns out that in his frequent visits to places that he believes to be good for meeting women, Poet writes the same poem over and over––the poem that nobody hears.