Michael Ching (born September 29, 1958)Cuyler, Antonio Christopher
"The Career Paths of Non-European-American Executive Opera Administrators in the United States"
Florida State University, 2007. pp. 59–64. is an American composer, conductor, and music administrator. A prolific and eclectic composer, he is best known nationally as the composer of innovative operas, including his ''a cappella'' adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'' (2011).Waleson, Heidi
"A Remarkably Inventive A Cappella Premiere"
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. January 25, 2011. His other major operas include ''Buoso's Ghost'' (1996), ''Corps of Discovery'' (2003), ''Slaying the Dragon'' (2012), ''Speed Dating Tonight!'' (2013), and ''Alice Ryley'' (2015). He has written the librettos of many of his own operas, and has done so for all of his operas composed after 2012. He is on the board of directors of the National Opera Association.

Early life and education

Michael Ching was born in 1958 in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, Hawaii. Before he was one year old his family left Honolulu, and he grew up in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. His father was an accomplished amateur pianist and a college professor in theater and speech. Ching later recalled, "He played everything from Chopin to Dave Brubeck transcriptions. He wanted to go into music but his family discouraged him."Strauss, Elaine
"Summer Arts Preview"
. ''Princeton Info''. June 14, 2006. Ching started piano at the age of six and was quite skilled at it, at one point considering a career as a concert pianist. In addition, he studied flute, violin, and oboe, mostly for the sake of composition. He started composing as a child, and by the time he reached high school he had studied composition at

Interlochen Interlochen ( ') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located with ...

and also had private composition instruction. He attended Duke University on a composition scholarship, studying with

Robert Ward Robert Ward may refer to: Politicians *Robert Ward (MP for City of York) * Robert Ward (1754–1831), Irish MP for Wicklow Borough, Killyleagh and Bangor * Robert Ward (American politician) (1952–2021), American lawyer and politician * Robert War ...

and Iain Hamilton.Mobley, Mark
"Remembering Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer Robert Ward"
''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

''. April 3, 2013. He graduated in 1980, and his senior project was a one-act opera retelling a vampire story set in New Orleans, which received a small performance at Duke.

Career

Ching began his career as a National Opera Institute apprentice 1980–1981 at the

Houston Grand Opera Studio Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, where he was involved in the company's productions and continued his composition studies with composer

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post- ...

. From 1981 to 1985 he held increasingly responsible positions at the

Greater Miami Opera Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...

Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...

.Green, Judith
"Country songwriter hooks up with opera director for piece"
''

Cox News Service CMG Media Corporation ( doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

''. July 10, 1999."Opera America Salon Series: Exploring American Voices. Season Closes With Excerpts From Ching's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream — An A Cappella Opera''"
''

Opera America __NOTOC__ Opera America, styled OPERA America, is a New York-based service organization promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera in the United States. Almost all professional opera companies and some semi-professional companies i ...

''. August 3, 2009. He subsequently held conductor and executive director positions at venues including Texas Opera Theatre,

Chautauqua Opera The Chautauqua Opera is the resident summer opera company of the Chautauqua Institution. It is one of the oldest continuously active summer opera companies in the U.S, having been founded in 1929 as the Chautauqua Opera Association, and it has pr ...

,"''Speed Dating Tonight!'' Resource Guide"
. Amarillo Opera. 2014. and Triangle Music Theater. In 1989 he was appointed Assistant to the General Director of

Virginia Opera Virginia Opera is an opera company based in the Commonwealth of Virginia which was first organized in 1974 by a group of Norfolk, Virginia community volunteers. The company presented its first productions in 1975, and in the following four decad ...

. He was subsequently the company's Associate Artistic Director from 1991 through mid 1992. In 1992 Ching joined

Opera Memphis Opera Memphis is a Memphis, Tennessee non-profit arts organization chartered in 1956 by a group of Memphians interested in producing regional opera. Charter signatories included noted Memphians Philip Belz and Walter Chandler. Early productions c ...

as Artistic Director, a position he held through 2010. He was the opera's General Director for most of those years as well.Devin, Jonathan
"Mr. Ching's Opus: Opera Memphis seeks to fill director’s shoes"
''

Memphis Daily News ''The Daily News'' is a newspaper covering business, government and legal news in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, the largest county by population in the state of Tennessee, including the largest city in the county, Memphis, Tennessee. '' ...

''. March 30, 2010. He left Opera Memphis for Iowa in the spring of 2010 when his wife Barbara, a university professor and a native Iowan, was named chair of the English department at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

.Davis, Chris
"Michael Ching Leaves Opera Memphis"
''

Memphis Flyer The ''Memphis Flyer'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper serving the greater Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part ...

''. March 12, 2010. He told the ''

'', "Barbara and I always had a plan that I would be able to stay home and write and she would be the one carrying the economic ball. The time was right and the job came through." In addition to being a freelance composer and conductor, Ching is also Chairman of the Douglas Moore Fund for American Opera, which supports emerging opera creators. He was Music Director of Nickel City Opera in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, from 2012 to 2017, and he has been Music Director of Amarillo Opera in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

, since September 2016. In 2019 he was elected to the board of directors of the National Opera Association.

Major compositions

Ching's Piano Concerto, commissioned by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, had its well-received premiere, performed by

Craig Bohmler Craig Bohmler (born April 7, 1956)Hansen, Niels-Henning."En tilgang til den klassiske Musik" NielsHenning.dk. p. 145. Retrieved August 12, 2019. is an American composer who specializes in opera and musical theater. His musicals include ''Gunmetal B ...

, in 1997. The ''

San Jose Mercury ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

'' wrote, "The concerto has the kind of instant appeal to listeners that every composer must dream of.... When it was finished, the crowd rose in a spontaneous ovation." The concerto was recorded and released on the orchestra’s first commercial CD. The San Jose Chamber Orchestra subsequently also commissioned and premiered his ''Psyche and Eros'', a 45-minute composition for narrator and string orchestra, written in collaboration with storyteller

Margaret Wolfson Margaret Wolfson is an American storyteller and writer, best known for her worldwide performance of epics and myths, as well as her work in verbal branding. After receiving her master's degree from New York University in 1982, she developed a form ...

, in 2000. Dan Leeson in ''San Francisco Classical Voice'' wrote that "The Ching/Wolfson collaboration is simply marvelous.... Ching is a gifted composer capable of turning out well-crafted music, very romantic when the occasion dictates and frightening when that is called for." ''

Metro Silicon Valley ''Metro'' is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California, based Metro Newspapers. Also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', as well as ''Metroactive'' online, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley area. In addition to prin ...

'' analysed the music in great depth, concluding that " e technique is adroit, fluid and winningly integrated. Ching speaks music so well that he accommodates the text without a stumble.... e music stands remarkably well on its own – rather like a string of pearls.... Ching might well be tempted to craft a concert suite without the transitional material."MacClelland, Scott
"'Psyche' Hotline: The San Jose Chamber Orchestra shows off composer Michael Ching's new ''Psyche and Eros''"
''

''. May 25–31, 2000. The work's additional venues have included the Abu Dhabi Music & Art Festival and the Lincoln Center Summer Institute program in

West Memphis West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is ...

Operas

1985–1999

Ching is best known for his operas. He provided his own libretti for his first two operas: ''Levees'' (1980), a New Orleans vampire story performed at Duke University; and ''Cocks Must Crow'' (1985), based on a

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953)
accessed December 8, 2014. was an

short story and performed at Greater Miami Opera. His early miniature opera ''Leo: Opera in One Cat'' is a jazz-based 15-minute one-act opera, with a libretto by Fernando Fonseca based on Cal Massey's story "Leo Spat". It premiered in June 1985 at

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

's Texas Opera Theater, and subsequent venues included South Street Theater in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in October 1985. ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and i ...

'' called it "a pleasant diversion but such an assured one that the Miami-based composer's talent glitters all over it." His fourth opera, ''Cue 67'', a one-act 35-minute contemporary murder-mystery ghost story set in a theater, was commissioned and premiered at

in 1992, paired in a double bill with

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept ...

's ''

The Medium ''The Medium'' is a short (one-hour-long) two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946. The opera's first profess ...

''. It contains an eclectic blend of musical styles from opera to rock 'n' roll, pop music, and Broadway-type tunes, and the libretto is by Sandra Bernhard.Nicholson, David
"A 'Cue' From Director"
'' Daily Press''. January 19, 1992. Beginning in 1993, Ching wrote two related one-act operas with songwriter Hugh Moffatt. The first, ''King of the Clouds'' (1993), deals with alcoholism and broken families, and the second, ''Out of the Rain'' (1998), explores contemporary topics such as social pressure, teen suicide, and AIDS. ''King of the Clouds'' was commissioned and premiered by

Dayton Opera Dayton Opera is an American opera company based in Dayton, Ohio. The company makes its home at the Schuster Performing Arts Center in downtown Dayton where it annually produces three operas and an operatic concert and has an annual budget of appr ...

, and ''Out of the Rain'' was commissioned jointly by

Opera Delaware Opera Delaware is a professional opera company located in Wilmington, Delaware. The company was founded in 1944 and is one of the oldest professional opera companies in the United States. To date the company has staged 198 productions of 104 operas ...

, the Kansas City Lyric Opera, and

, and premiered by Opera Delaware. Both operas, separately and together, have received numerous productions, including high-school productions."Middletown: Buttonwood Tree to host concert by Hugh Moffatt June 20"
''Middletown Press''. May 14, 2014. Ching's opera ''Buoso's Ghost'' is a comedic sequel to

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

's one-act comic opera ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucc ...

''. It had its first full staging with the

Pittsburgh Opera Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts Scho ...

in 1996, and its official premiere at Opera Memphis in 1997.''Buoso's Ghost''

. Retrieved October 8, 2017. Starting where ''Gianni Schicchi'' ends, the new opera, with a libretto by the composer, opens with ''Schicchi''s final chords and carries the plot forward by following the sinister dealings of Buoso Donati's family, who apparently had poisoned Buoso, and the continued machinations of Schicchi, who tries to exploit this growing suspicion on his part. In reviewing the work the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' wrote that "''Buoso's Ghost'' soared .... toffered highly charged acting atop a deft, tuneful score.... Ching, General/Artistic Director of Opera Memphis, studied with Robert Ward and Carlisle Floyd, and the unashamed flow of natural, singing melody ... reflects the profile of his teachers." And the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' reported that "Composer and librettist Ching ... borrows snatches of Puccini tunes and weaves them into his own conservative-eclectic idiom, tossing in bits of American pop ... for merry measure. The vocal writing is expert, the orchestration light enough to allow the singers to project the text clearly. ''Buoso'' is charming and unpretentious ...." ''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also supp ...

'' noted that Ching uses "a more modern musical mode, yet avoiding excessive atonality. The score subtly introduces brief tongue-in-cheek quotations from other works, ranging from Mozart to Sondheim, plus one unmistakable interjection of Shostakovich." The work has been performed throughout the U.S. as an ideal pairing with ''Gianni Schicchi'', the most popular of Puccini's three ''

Il trittico ''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych'') is the title of a collection of three one-act operas, '' Il tabarro'', ''Suor Angelica'', and ''Gianni Schicchi'', by Giacomo Puccini. The work received its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 14 Decembe ...

'' one-act operas. Ching also supplied his own libretto to his one-act opera ''Faith'', based on the short story of the same title by award-winning science-fiction author

James Patrick Kelly James Patrick Kelly (born April 11, 1951 in Mineola, New York) is an American science fiction author who has won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Biography Kelly made his first fiction sale in 1975. He graduated magna cum laude fr ...

. The opera follows the story of the titular character, a divorced and depressed woman who meets a man via a personal ad, discovers he talks to plants, and begins to fall in love again. Kelly said of the opera, "You get good reviews, you win an award, but there's no feeling quite so wonderful as having another artist interpret your work supremely well. There are giant chunks of narrative hingjust set to music which is different ... for opera ... much more colloquial and approachable. This man transformed my piece into something equally, if not more, wonderful."Whitney, D. Quincy
"Science fiction as opera: Composer, author bring unlikely story to stage"
''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. April 18, 1999. The opera was commissioned by OperaFest of New Hampshire, and premiered there in April 1999, with subsequent performances in September 1999 at the Vital Theatre in

and elsewhere, including Chicago in 2000.

2000–2012

Ching's three-act opera ''Corps of Discovery'', his third collaboration with Hugh Moffatt, was commissioned by the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

for the bicentennial of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. The principal roles are

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohea ...

;

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educat ...

; Sacagawea; interpreter

Toussaint Charbonneau Toussaint Charbonneau (March 20, 1767 – August 12, 1843) was a French-Canadian explorer, trader and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is also known as the husband of Sacagawea. Early years Charbonneau was born in Bouchervi ...

;

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

, a slave and full member of the corps;

George Shannon George Shannon may refer to: *George Shannon (actor) George Shannon (born c. 1940) is an American professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, inaugural holder of the Kevin Xu Chair in Gerontology, and director of the ...

; and John Potts, a German-born older member of the corps. Act 1 of the opera was performed in 2002 at

Weill Recital Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by ...

in Carnegie Hall and at the

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Poto ...

. The full work had its world premiere in May 2003.World Premiere: Cast and Action of ''Corps of Discovery, A Musical Journey''
''NWPlants.com''. April 17, 2003. (Accessed August 30, 2014). In addition to full productions at the University of Missouri, Opera Memphis,

's 2003 convention,

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

, and elsewhere, Ching also toured the piece with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, using a piano and violin as accompaniment, throughout North Dakota, including some of the locations the expedition stopped at.Gunderson, Dan
"An adventurous opera"

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

. May 18, 2007. Memphis's ''

Tri-State Defender The ''Tri-State Defender'' is a weekly African-American newspaper serving Memphis, Tennessee, and the nearby areas of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. It bills itself as "The Mid-South's Best Alternative Newspaper". The ''Defender'' was fo ...

'' deemed the work an "epic success"; its review of the "enthusiastically received" work noted that "The years of preparation, study, writing, composing, editing and creating that were required to produce this panoramic and worthy opera is mind-boggling." The review found the score "monumental", "masterful", "magnificent and often haunting". His next opera, an adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

'', is an entirely '' a cappella'' work, with the musical accompaniment, including the percussion, sung by a "voicestra" of 15 to 20 voices. The inspiration for the work came when he was invited to become the vocal coach for DeltaCappella, a contemporary a cappella group founded in Memphis in 2007. Ching retrospectively noted, "Their devotion to detail and their joy of singing was palpable and infectious. There was something jaw-droppingly giddy about the whole enterprise. With no reeds, no mouthpieces, no strings, no sticks, the variety of sounds they were capable of making was virtually unlimited. By the end of my first rehearsal with them I was hooked and eager to apply this new sonic palette to opera.""Beginnings Of A Dream"
''A Midsummer Night's Dream – Opera A Cappella''. Retrieved October 8, 2017. After conducting

Marcus Hummon Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) is an American country music artist. He is the father of country singer Levi Hummon. Early life Hummon was born in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from Williams College. Career After several years ...

's Shakespeare-filled ''Surrender Road'', he reflected that "with its potential for three sonic worlds inhabited by the Athenians, the fairies, the rude mechanicals, ''A Midsummer Night’s Dream'' seemed a perfect vehicle for exploring a colorful prism of a cappella styles." Ching has noted that his eclectic compositional style was influenced by what Gershwin was trying to accomplish in ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy'', its ...

'': "He was writing something that surfs between pop and opera. Many people love ''Porgy'', but nobody ever tries to write an opera like it. I wanted to write accessible and tuneful music, yet very modern."Blank, Christopher
"Michael Ching scores a cappella ''Midsummer'' adaptation"
''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, al ...

''. ''GoMemphis.com''. January 21, 2011. The opera debuted in 2011 at

Playhouse on the Square Playhouse on the Square is a regional theatre company located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is owned by Circuit Playhouse, Inc., which operates two other Memphis theaters. While it has its own resident company of professional actors, auditions are ...

, in collaboration with Opera Memphis, with roles sung by musical-theater singers and professional opera singers. It was also performed at OperaHub in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

in 2012. The ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' praised ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', stating that "Ching's remarkably inventive opera is a celebration of what voices can do and still, with the exception of a few startling vocal percussion effects, sound like voices." The review noted Ching's "seamless changes in tone, ... fine sense of pacing and skill with ensemble writing" and "tonal and tuneful vocal lines ... written for maximum intelligibility". The reviewer found the voicestra's part remarkable in that it "supports the singers on the stage, its overlapping lines and syllables weaving around them, amplifying their characters and conflicts, sometimes echoing their words (or even their thoughts), or supplying atmosphere. The voicestra gives the opera an added human dimension ...."

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record labe ...

released the CD of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream — opera a cappella'' in 2014. The Recorded A Cappella Review Board reviewed the work, noting that ''Slaying the Dragon'', Ching's fact-based 2012 opera, explores intolerance and redemption, and was inspired by the 1990s true story '' Not by the Sword'' by Kathryn Watterson."Michael Ching's ''Slaying the Dragon'' Musical Reading"
''Delaware Today''. September 2011. The two-act opera's libretto is by

Ellen Frankel Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and also served as CEO of the JPS for 10 years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, serving as JPS's f ...

, and it was premiered in June 2012 by

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Center City Opera Theater Center City Opera Theater (CCOT) is an opera company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999, CCOT is the only professional opera company in the United States whose mission it is to create new opera works, guiding works from incept ...

, which commissioned the work. The opera is the story of a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Ca ...

Grand Dragon Ku Klux Klan (KKK) nomenclature has evolved over the order's nearly 160 years of existence. The titles and designations were first laid out in the original Klan's prescripts of 1867 and 1868, then revamped with William J. Simmons's '' Kloran'' of ...

whose life is transformed by the friendship and kindness of a local rabbi and his wife. The man renounces his Klan association and begins to speak out publicly for tolerance; his terminal illness eventually incapacitates him and he moves into the rabbi's home, converting to Judaism before dying. The score balances the dark themes of bigotry and intolerance with an eclectic variety of ethnic music including Yiddish folk songs, Vietnamese children’s songs, Jewish sacred music, Aryan rock, Broadway scores, gospel music, and country-western tunes.

2013–present

''Speed Dating Tonight!'', a comic opera in one act, was commissioned and premiered in 2013 by the Janiec Opera of the

Brevard Music Center Brevard Music Center is a classical music venue and festival held annually located in Brevard, North Carolina. It has been the home to their international summer institute and festival that enrolls about four hundred students, age fourteen and o ...

. Ching supplied his own libretto for the piece, and the opera for up to 45 singers or more''Speed Dating Tonight!''

. Retrieved November 30, 2017. can be adapted for varying numbers of singers, voice types, gender ratios, and length of time, by cutting, re-ordering, or transposing the keys of the vignettes.Chandler, Chip
"Opera to change nightly"
''

Amarillo Globe-News The ''Amarillo Globe-News'' is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock. History The current-day ''Globe-News'' is a combina ...

''. October 23, 2013.''Speed Dating Tonight!'' by Poor Richard's Opera
''MyFringeArts.com''. September 2014. Additional 2013–2014 production venues included Amarillo Opera,

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and ...

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, Microsopic Opera (Pittsburgh), Poor Richard's Opera (Philadelphia), and elsewhere, and it has been cited as "the most-performed American opera within a year of its premiere". Ching next composed and wrote the libretto for the opera ''Alice Ryley'', a fact-based ghost story based on the title character (also spelled Alice Riley), a woman who was hanged in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, in the 1730s. The opera was commissioned by the

Sherrill Milnes Sherrill Milnes (born January 10, 1935) is an American dramatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera. His voice is a high dramatic baritone, combining good legato with an in ...

VOICE Programs, via the Savannah VOICE Festival, in October 2014, and premiered on Halloween Eve, October 30, 2015. In 2017 he premiered ''Anna Hunter, the Spirit of Savannah'', another opera commissioned by the Savannah VOICE Festival. It is a one-act opera about historic preservation in 1950s' Savannah, and Ching wrote his own libretto. For Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert, in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, California, Ching wrote ''Thriver'', also known as ''Thrivers'', a one-act opera specifically for adolescent voices about overcoming teen depression."Thrivers – A new opera about overcoming teen depression"
''All Events''. Retrieved February 18, 2019. It premiered in January 2019. Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, in

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, commissioned his opera ''Seven Woods and a Van'', which alludes to the 15th-century Flemish artist Jan van Eyck's influence on 20th-century ''

American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the ''American Gothic'' House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people efancied shoul ...

'' painter

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (1930 ...

. It was one of three 30-minute operas about Grant Wood commissioned by Cedar Rapids Opera, presented in April 2019.

Selected works

*''Leo: Opera in One Cat'' (1985) *''Cue 67'' (1992) *''King of the Clouds'' (1993) *''Buoso's Ghost'' (1996) *''Out of the Rain'' (1998) *''Faith'' (1999) *''Corps of Discovery'' (2003) *''Three Pigs Remix'' (2006) *''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2011) *''Slaying the Dragon'' (2012) *''Speed Dating Tonight!'' (2013) *''Alice Ryley'' (2015) *''Anna Hunter, the Spirit of Savannah'' (2017) *''Thriver'' (2019) *''Seven Woods and a Van'' (2019)

Personal life

Since mid 2010 Ching has lived in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary med ...

. His wife Barbara is professor of English at

, and was chair of the English department from 2010 through 2018.Department of English – Administrative Personnel

. Archived July 7, 2018.

References

External links

''Opera and Beyond''
– Official site
Michael Ching
– Profile at

New Music USA New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media program ...

Michael Ching
– Profile at Wolverton Artists
Interview
– One-hour interview (October 2017)
''A Midsummer Night's Dream – Opera A Cappella''"Lysander and Hermia duet"
– excerpt from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream: Opera A Cappella'' (video)
''Speed Dating Tonight!''
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ching, Michael 1958 births Living people Musicians from Honolulu Duke University alumni American male classical composers American classical composers American male conductors (music) American opera composers American musicians of Chinese descent Male opera composers 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians