Twice Upon A Birthday

Tulsa Opera joins forces with local writers

by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief

While brainstorming ideas one day, writers Frank Schiro and Shawn Churchman began talking about things that twins hate to share. Riffing on the theme “Once upon a time,” one of them came up with the inspiration for their first composition in Opera, Twice Upon A Birthday.

“I'm not even sure who came up with the name,” said Churchman. “It just came out of one of our mouths!”

Twice Upon A Birthday is an opera in one act, with music by Schiro, libretto by Churchman and additional material by Schiro, which follows the magical, whimsical, and sometimes perilous journey of Molly and Michael Montgomery - twins who are celebrating their tenth birthday.

As typical ten-year-olds, they are not really enjoying being with one another. Their mother has hired a magician for the event who promises wish-granting powers, so with an ancient spell and the help of a solar eclipse, the twins, much to their amazement, are granted their most cherished wishes.

Each of the twins lives vicariously through their magical wishes and gets themselves into a lot of trouble. They are able to escape and return home as a result of their unbreakable bond as twins. Ultimately they learn that what they really value and needed all along was right in their own back yard.

“Opera is so often thought of as a stuffy art form,” adds Churchman. “The truth is opera can be fun and funny, if you write it that way. I think it will demystify the form for every child that sees it.”

Interestingly, this is Schiro’s first opera. The duo had been commissioned by the Connecticut Opera to write the piece, then in mid-project, the Opera went bankrupt.

“We had a half finished piece and no one to perform it. So we finished it and then went about marketing it. We sent it to every opera company in the country. We had lots of interest, but the Tulsa Opera was the first to make a commitment to produce it.”

With the help of the Tulsa Opera, Twice Upon A Birthday will tour to 70 different schools across the state.

“We both come from the world of musical theatre and had never written an opera,” Churchman admits. “We were scared it would sound like a musical. I think one of the biggest compliments we have received is from a Maestro who said, ‘Hey, this is really opera - but it's funny!’ We thought we had died and gone to heaven.”

We asked Churchman what he would have thought of Twice Upon A Birthday at ten years old…

“Ironically, even though musical theatre has been the majority of my career, I have a deep and abiding love for opera, and it started very young. I saw a production of Madame Butterfly at the Dallas Opera for a school matinee. I was so enthralled by the sheer size and theatricality about it! I'm sure I went home and practiced my best geisha moves! Clearly, I've always had a good imagination, so I'm sure I would love it!”

Tulsa Opera is thrilled to announce the world premiere of Twice Upon a Birthday, with music by Frank Schiro and libretto by Shawn Churchman. Tour dates for 2015-16 are October 26-November 20, 2015 and March 21-April 8, 2016.

Registration will be available at TulsaOpera.com or visit www.twiceuponabirthday.com.

The Gayly – October 22, 2015 @ 7:05 a.m.