Acclaimed chamber opera with music by Susan Kander and libretto by Roberta Gumbel confronts the topic of systemic racism
World premiere audio recording features chamber duo New Morse Code and soprano Roberta Gumbel
"One of the most singularly devastating theatrical moments of the last year.”–The Pitch
When composer Susan Kander and soprano Roberta Gumbel collaborated on a new chamber opera, the narrative was woven directly from Gumbel’s life. “Roberta’s libretto comes from her experience raising her son,” said Kander. “This story of a Black youngster growing up to be a teenager, about to get behind the wheel, brings up so many possibilities, each with the potential to end in tragedy.”
“Singers are storytellers,” said Gumbel, “but rarely do we get the opportunity to help create the stories we are telling.”
The critically acclaimed monodrama dwb (driving while black), with music by Susan Kander and libretto by Roberta Gumbel is released on Albany Records (Troy1858) on March 15, 2021. Called "un-missable" by The New York Observer and "searing" by The Washington Post, this chamber opera for soprano, cello and percussion connects with the essential conversation of our day: systemic racism.
Susan Kander wrote dwb for the performers on this world premiere recording: Roberta Gumbel (who also wrote the libretto) and New Morse Code (cellist Hannah Collins and percussionist Michael Compitello). It documents the story of an African American parent of a teenage boy as he approaches driving age. What should be a celebration of independence and maturity turns out to be fraught with the anxiety of driving while black.
dwb takes us through 16 years of a Black mother’s interactions with her young son. The libretto weaves two strands - one internal, one external. The Mother relates to her child as a passenger in her car as the child grows older. Threaded between these scenes are a series of vignettes based on real incidents, introduced in narration by the instrumentalists with contrasting color and texture in the music. The Singer takes on a variety of characters in specific but familiar events, relating the dangerous world beyond the Mother’s control.
The cellist and percussionist are active parts of the drama as both narrators and witnesses. Composer Susan Kander explores the vast timbral and textural possibilities for the two - the percussionist plays vibraphone among 21 other instruments; the cellist also plays toy piano and tambourine; one scene is scored for the human body, a twenty-first century reference to juba or ham-boning.
Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.
dwb (driving while black)
Albany Records (Troy1858)
Release date: March 15, 2021
Susan Kander, composer
Roberta Gumbel, librettist & Soprano
New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello and Michael Compitello, percussion)
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View Susan Kander's Digital Press Kit
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Susan Kander’s compositions have been praised by critics as “lovely and evanescent” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “wrenchingly powerful” (Gramophone Magazine). Her music has been performed around the world and she has received commissions from Opera Minnesota, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City and National Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
In addition to dwb (driving while black), written with librettist Roberta Gumbel, Susan Kander’s catalogue also includes several long-form song cycles for voice and chamber ensemble, as well as instrumental works, which have been performed in venues large and small from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to the White Nights Festival in Russia.
Ms. Kander holds a Master’s in composition at Purchase Conservatory, studying with Du Yun and Huang Ruo, and a Bachelor’s in music from Harvard University.
Roberta Gumbel, soprano and librettist, has appeared with opera companies in Kansas City, Houston, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Memphis, and toured the United States and Europe in companies of Porgy and Bess, including the renowned Houston Grand Opera Production. She performed in the Broadway productions of Showboat, Ragtime, Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme and In My Life, in which the New York Times described her as “silver voiced”.
A versatile performer, Roberta has been a frequent soloist with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Her long association with composer Susan Kander began in 1996 with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s commission of She Never Lost a Passenger, in which Roberta premiered the principal role of Harriet Tubman.