Deborah Drattell

{{Short description|American composer (born 1956)}}

{{BLP sources|date=May 2022}}

Deborah Drattell (born 1956){{Cite web |title=Recordings by Deborah Drattell {{!}} Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos |url=https://www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Deborah_Drattell/68543 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.naxos.com}} is an American composer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and started her career in music as a violinist. She has been lauded as "a remarkably original voice"{{Cite news |last=West |first=William D. |date=November 1998 |title=Cooperstown, NY |work=OPERA NEWS |pages=75}} by Opera News and is noted for her contributions to contemporary classical music. Her compositions have been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Tanglewood and Caramoor Music Festivals, and many other groups and venues.Neil Stannard, Sorrow is not Melancholy: The Music of Deborah Drattell, Delos DE 1359, liner notes. She rewrote the role of the villain in Nicholas and Alexandra, Rasputin, from baritone to tenor when Plácido Domingo expressed interest in singing the role.[http://www.theurbanman.com/laopeningnights/reviewsfolder/2003operapreview.htm The Urban Man]

Early Life and Education

Drattell was born in Brooklyn, New York. She developed her musical foundation as a violinist before shifting her focus to composition. She earned a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Chicago, where she studied under Ralph Shapey.{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=1997-06-01 |title=All About Eve and Adam's Ex, A Demon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/arts/all-about-eve-and-adam-s-ex-a-demon.html |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Career

Opera

Her operas include:

“Festival of Regrets" (1999): A one-act opera with a libretto by Wendy Wasserstein, premiered at the Glimmerglass Opera and later performed as part of the Central Park trilogy at the New York City Opera.{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Bernard |date=1999-11-15 |title=CITY OPERA REVIEW; Park Bench Habitues Play Out Life in Song |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/15/arts/city-opera-review-park-bench-habitues-play-out-life-in-song.html |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

"Lilith" (2001): A full-length opera exploring the biblical figure of Adam's first wife, premiered at the New York City Opera.{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=1997-06-01 |title=All About Eve and Adam's Ex, A Demon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/arts/all-about-eve-and-adam-s-ex-a-demon.html |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

"Nicholas and Alexandra" (2003): Commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera, this opera featured Plácido Domingo as Rasputin and explored the final days of Russia's Romanov dynasty.{{Cite news |date=2003-09-14 |title=MUSIC; Rasputin, From Top to Bottom (Published 2003) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/arts/music-rasputin-from-top-to-bottom.html?searchResultPosition=6 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250120183758/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/arts/music-rasputin-from-top-to-bottom.html?searchResultPosition=6 |archive-date=2025-01-20 |access-date=2025-01-31 |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Bernard |date=2003-09-17 |title=OPERA REVIEW; A Czarist Disaster As Musical Challenge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/17/arts/opera-review-a-czarist-disaster-as-musical-challenge.html?searchResultPosition=4 |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=SITI Company |url=https://archive.siti.org/Detail/occurrences/39 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=archive.siti.org |language=en}}

"Marina" (2003): A one-act chamber opera based on the life of Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva, premiered at the D.R.2 Theater in New York City.{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=2003-05-06 |title=IN PERFORMANCE: CLASSICAL MUSIC; An Operatic Treatment Of a Russian Poet's Despair |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/06/arts/in-performance-classical-music-an-operatic-treatment-of-a-russian-poet-s-despair.html?searchResultPosition=2 |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Orchestral and Chamber Music

During her tenure as Composer-in-Residence at the Denver Symphony{{Cite news |last=Shulgold |first=Marc |date=March 1988 |title=DSO composer, soloist to introduce concerto |work=Rocky Mountain News |pages=51}} and the New York City Opera,{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=1997-06-01 |title=All About Eve and Adam's Ex, A Demon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/arts/all-about-eve-and-adam-s-ex-a-demon.html |access-date=2025-02-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Drattell composed several notable works, including:

"Sorrow is Not Melancholy" (1993): Recorded by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz, conductor.{{Citation |last=Deborah Drattell |title=Sorrow Is Not Melancholy: The Very Intense Music Of Deborah Drattell |date=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/cd_sorrow-is-not-melancholy-the-very-intense_deborah-drattell-gerard-schwarz-seattle-sy/page/n7/mode/1up |access-date=2025-01-31 |others=Internet Archive |publisher=Delos |last2=Gerard Schwarz |last3=Seattle Symphony Orchestra |last4=David Shifrin}} Her works have been performed by prestigious ensembles, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New Orleans Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic.{{Citation |last=Deborah Drattell |title=Sorrow Is Not Melancholy: The Very Intense Music Of Deborah Drattell |date=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/cd_sorrow-is-not-melancholy-the-very-intense_deborah-drattell-gerard-schwarz-seattle-sy/page/n6/mode/1up |access-date=2025-02-02 |others=Internet Archive |publisher=Delos |last2=Gerard Schwarz |last3=Seattle Symphony Orchestra |last4=David Shifrin}}

Additional Roles and Initiatives

As Composer-in-Residence at the New York City Opera (1998–2001),{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=1997-06-01 |title=All About Eve and Adam's Ex, A Demon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/arts/all-about-eve-and-adam-s-ex-a-demon.html |access-date=2025-02-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Drattell launched the annual "Showcasing American Composers" series to highlight emerging talent, including works by Scott Wheeler.{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=John |date=2005-01-31 |title=Democracy: An American Comedy – Scott Wheeler/Romulus Linney |url=https://culturevulture.net/music/democracy-an-american-comedy-scott-wheelerromulus-linney/ |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=CultureVulture |language=en-US}}

Style and Influence

Drattell's compositions are often described as lyrical, dramatic, and emotionally evocative. Critics have noted her ability to fuse traditional operatic elements with modernist sensibilities.{{Cite news |last=Kozinn |first=Allan |date=1997-06-01 |title=All About Eve and Adam's Ex, A Demon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/01/arts/all-about-eve-and-adam-s-ex-a-demon.html |access-date=2025-01-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Personal Life

Drattell lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, a physician, and their four children.

Selected Operas

“Festival of Regrets" (1999)

“Lilith" (2001)

"Nicholas and Alexandra" (2003)

"Best Friends" (2005, with Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang)

Selected Orchestral Works

"Fire Dances" (1986)

"The Fire Within" (1989)

"Sorrow is Not Melancholy" (1993)

Honors and Awards

Drattell's accolades include:

The Leonard Bernstein Fellowship in Composition at Tanglewood{{Cite web |title=Blog {{!}} News {{!}} Leonard Bernstein |url=https://leonardbernstein.com/news/blog/241/from-the-archives-the-quiet-legacy |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=leonardbernstein.com}}

Commissions from the Fromm Foundation and Meet the Composer{{Cite web |title=Deborah Drattell {{!}} Fromm Music Foundation |url=https://frommfoundation.fas.harvard.edu/people/deborah-drattell |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=frommfoundation.fas.harvard.edu |language=en}}

An NEA Grant and ASCAP awards{{Cite web |title=Grants |url=https://www.arts.gov/grants |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.arts.gov |language=en}}