Ben Moore, Composer
The music of American composer Ben Moore includes art song, opera, musical theatre, cabaret, chamber music, choral music and comedy material. His work has been called “brilliant” and “gorgeously lyrical” by the New York Times while Opera News has praised the “easy tunefulness” and “romantic sweep” of his songs. Singers who have performed his work include Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, Robert White, Nathan Gunn and Audra McDonald.
Besides Enemies, Ben composed the music for two other operas: Odyssey and Robin Hood. Both works werecommissioned by the Glimmerglass Festival with librettos by Kelley Rourkeand are intendedfor young audiences.Opera News called Odyssey “an opera for all ages” with an “ebullient and lyrical” score. They have received numerous productions across the country by presenters such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MinnesotaOpera. Seattle Opera, and Houston Grand Opera.
Ben's songs can be heard on Deborah Voigt’s All My Heart (EMI) with eight Moore works, Nathan Gunn’s Just Before Sunrise (SonyBMG), Lawrence Brownlee’s This Heart that Flutters (Opus Arte) and Susan Graham at Carnegie Hall (Warner Classics). Dear Theo (Delos records) features three of Ben's song cycles.
In 2006 the Metropolitan Opera featured two of his comedy songs in a gala broadcast nationally. 2006 also saw the release of the volume “Ben Moore: 14 Songs” published by G. Schirmer. Reviewing the publication,Classical Singer Magazine wrote: “…you can find a breath of fresh air in the settings included in this volume… This composer is not afraid of the past, but rather embraces many of the most beautiful aspects of his artistic heritage while imbuing his work with its own personal colors and tones.”