The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
Cast
John Moore
Steve Jobs
Sarah Larsen
Laurene Powell Jobs
Bille Bruley
Steve Wozniak
Elizabeth Sutphen
Chrisann Brennan
Adam Lau
Kōbun Chino Otogawa
Daniel Armstrong
Paul Jobs
Gretchen Krupp
Teacher
Creative
Michael Christie
Conductor
Tomer Zvulun
Original production & staging
Rebecca Herman
Associate Director
Jacob Climer
Set & Costume Designer
Robert Wierzel
Lighting Designer
S. Katy Tucker
Projection Designer
Rick Jacobsohn
Sound Designer
Melanie Steele
Wig & Makeup Designer
Composer: Mason Bates
Librettist: Mark Campbell
Premiere Date: July 22, 2017, Santa Fe Opera
Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, one of the most influential people of the modern age, is transformed into a dramatic character in this compelling 2017 opera by DJ and composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell. As the character Jobs looks back on a life dappled by dizzying heights and crushing disappointments, this charismatic, hard-driving visionary confronts the complexities of life and death. Cast in an appealing electro-acoustic soundscape generated by Mac laptop (of course) and live musicians, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs cycles through key moments in his lifelong–and futile–pursuit of perfection and control over everything that matters to him.
A co-production with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Austin Opera, Utah Opera, & Calgary Opera
Performed in English with English supertitles
A co-production with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Austin Opera, Utah Opera, & Calgary Opera
photo: Felipe Barral
Upcoming Events
Digital Preshow Talk with the Director, Composer, and Librettist
One hour prior to the start of each performance | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre | 2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339
Free to all ticket holders | General admission
Join us one hour prior to the start of each performance for a special Digital presentation, featuring director Tomer Zvulun, composer Mason Bates, and librettist Mark Campbell. Learn the story behind the opera and what inspired the composer and librettist. Conducted by artists and opera aficionados, pre-opera talks give you a better understanding of the opera and a boost of energy before the curtain goes up.
Post-show Talkback with the Composer and Librettist
Saturday, April 30 – immediately following the performance | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre | 2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339
Free to all ticket holders | General admission
Join us opening night for an exclusive talk-back and Q&A with composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell, immediately following the production.
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs – Opera’s Night Out Afterparty
PERFORMANCE: Friday, May 6 at 8 p.m. | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre | 2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339
AFTERPARTY: Friday, May 6 – Following the performance | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre | 2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339
Get ready to #OperaDifferent.
After our production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs on Friday, May 6, join us for our Opera’s Night Out: Afterparty! Enjoy a night of music, drinks, and dancing with the official DJ of Atlanta United FC, DJ EU at the helm, and mingle with your fellow operagoers after experiencing the GRAMMY-winning opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell. It will be a night to remember! $50 gets you a ticket to the performance plus entry to the event
Party Package
Let us choose your seats and you save with the Party Package. Package includes ticket to The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs plus entry to the afterparty. Tickets will be emailed within 48 hours of purchase.
Party Add-On
Have a ticket to the show already? Choose the Party add-on for $25. All party attendees must have a ticket to the performance.
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs – LIVE STREAM
Friday, May 6 at 8 p.m. | available on Spotlight Media
Any device. Any place. ONE NIGHT ONLY.
Stream The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs LIVE on May 6 at 8:00 PM EST and witness the triumph and tragedy of the polarizing pioneer of tech on your favorite device! Reserve your place to stream the GRAMMY-winning opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell and experience the next stage of opera.
FREE for Spotlight Members or purchase the one-time event for $19.99!
Past Event
Community Conversation: Impact, Arts, & Technology
Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 2 p.m. | Ferst Center for the Arts | 349 Ferst Drive, NW, Atlanta, GA 30332
Free – Registration required
The Atlanta Opera and Georgia Tech Arts partner to explore how technology – from film to artificial intelligence – is changing the way we present and think about conventional artmaking. How do we update traditionally “analog” genres like opera? Is this the goal? What do we lose or gain when we limit the creation of art to humans? Panelists will discuss these topics in light of their upcoming projects, a wide array of creative work which includes Kahane’s Magnificent Bird, filming for The (R)Evolution of Steve Jobs (the Opera’s upcoming new production), and Howell’s work exploring emotional meaning-making with biosensors and biodata.
Panelists:
Gabriel Kahane – singer-songwriter, composer
Felipe Barral – filmmaker, Director of The Atlanta Opera Film Studio
Dr. Noura Howell – Assistant Professor, Digital Media, Georgia Institute of Technology
Moderated by Aaron Shackelford – Director of Georgia Tech Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology
photo: Felipe Barral
Get the Feeling
Runtime
Synopsis
PROLOGUE
1965: The Jobs family garage, Los Altos
Paul Jobs presents his son Steve with a workbench as a birthday present and calls it “a fine place to start.”
Characters & Cast
Paul Jobs
Daniel Armstrong
Newbie Guide
The Opera Experience
Operas on our mainstage are grand theatrical experiences. You can always expect the unexpected, and for our productions to be presented at the highest quality.
Supertitles
Many operas are in a foreign language. Supertitles are similar to subtitles in a film, except they are projected above the stage. These translations will help you follow what’s happening on stage.
What to Wear
There is no dress code at The Opera and you will see everything from jeans to evening gowns and formal suits. Most people use it as a chance to enjoy dressing up in their own style.
Arriving in Good Time
If you are late, you will be escorted to the nearest late seating area. At intermission ushers will show you to your seat. Plan ahead to arrive with extra time.
Enhance Your Visit
Pre-Performance Talk
Learn about the history of the opera, the composer, and more from artists and opera aficionados. One hour prior to curtain. Free with your ticket!
Familiarizing Yourself with the Story
Because of the foreign languages, classical music, and often complex plots, you will very likely enjoy the performance better if you spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the story and characters in advance. Some people even like to listen to the music in advance and others prefer to let it wash over them during the show and perhaps look it up afterwards.
How is an Opera Staged?
Auditions
Actors first audition for roles up to a year in advance, or for more experienced artists, directors also invite them to play a role.
Rehearsals
Most of the rehearsals are held in our rehearsal hall, and not the actual theatre. The conductor begins orchestra rehearsals about a week and half before opening night. They have four rehearsals with the conductor, and then the singers are added into the mix.
Sets & Costumes
The Atlanta Opera Costume Shop alters the costumes to fit our singers. Sometimes they do have to make costumes if there aren’t enough, or if there is nothing that fits, etc. Once the sets are in place, the cast begins rehearsing at the theatre. The Opera production staff works with staff at the theatre to get all of the lighting and technical aspects of the production together.
Sitzprobe & Dress Rehearsal
The orchestra comes together with the singers in a special rehearsal called sitzprobe. There are no costumes during the sitzprobe, this is mainly to hear the voices with the orchestra. There is a piano dress rehearsal, when the singers rehearse in full costume for the first time so they can get used to wearing them. Finally, all of the pieces are put together for two full dress rehearsals leading up to opening night.
Composer
Mason Bates
Composer of the Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Mason Bates serves as the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Championed by legendary conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Leonard Slatkin, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds, and he was named the most-performed composer of his generation in a recent survey of American music. His opera was hailed as one of the best-selling productions in the history of Santa Fe Opera and was awarded the 2019 Grammy for Best Opera Recording. In 2018, he was named Composer of the Year by Musical America.
As both a DJ and a curator, he has become a visible advocate for bringing new music to new spaces, whether through institutional partnerships such as his former residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or through his club/classical project Mercury Soul, which transforms commercial clubs into exciting hybrid musical events. He has also composed for films, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts. He serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, which offers instruction in both composition and music technology.
Librettist
Mark Campbell
On the heels (at least in “opera time”) of the success of Kevin Puts’ and his opera Silent Night in 2016, Mark Campbell is thrilled to be rejoining Atlanta Opera this season with two works he co-created: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and As One. Mark’s work as a librettist have received both the Pulitzer Prize in Music (2012) and a GRAMMY Award (2018) and is at the forefront of the contemporary American opera scene. A prolific writer, he has penned 37 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals, and the text for 5 song cycles and 2 oratorios. Mark’s other successful works include The Shining, Stonewall, Later the Same Evening, Burke & Mr. Hare, The Manchurian Candidate, The Other Room, Edward Tulane, Empty the House, The Inspector, Approaching Ali, A Letter to East 11th Street, Volpone, Bastianello/Lucrezia, Songs from an Unmade Bed, Sanctuary Road and A Nation of Others. Mark has received many other prestigious prizes for his work, including the first Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist, 2 Richard Rodgers Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, 3 Drama Desk nominations, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, a New York Foundation for the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, the first Dominic J. Pelliciotti Award, and a grant from the New York State Council of the Arts. Mark is also an advocate for contemporary American opera and serves as a mentor for future generations of opera creators through such organizations as American Opera Projects, American Lyric Theatre, and Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. Upcoming premieres include The Secret River for Opera Orlando (Stella Sung, composer), Supermax for Saratoga Opera, (Stewart Wallace, composer); A Thousand Acres for Des Moines Metro Opera (Kristin Kuster, composer) and the book for the musical Les Girls for Théatre du Châtelet (Cole Porter, composer). www.markcampbellwords.com
Conductor
Michael Christie
Grammy award-winning conductor Michael Christie, newly appointed Music Director of the New West Symphony, is a thoughtfully innovative conductor, equally at home in the symphonic and opera worlds, who is focused on making the audience experience at his performances entertaining, enlightening, and enriching.
Christie won a 2019 Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording) for the world premiere recording of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with The Santa Fe Opera (PENTATONE), and was featured in Opera News in August 2012 as one of 25 people believed to “break out and become major forces in the field in the coming decade.” At Minnesota Opera, Christie led 24 productions over eight years, six seasons as its first-ever Music Director (2012-2018).
Director
Tomer Zvulun
General and Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, Israeli born Tomer Zvulun is also one of leading stage director of his generation, earning consistent praise for his creative vision and innovative interpretations. His work has been presented by prestigious opera houses in Europe, South and Central America, Israel and the US, including The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas, San Diego, Boston, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Israeli Opera, and the festivals of Wexford, Glimmerglass and Wolf Trap, as well as leading educational institutes and universities such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, and Boston University.
Tomer spent seven seasons on the directing staff of the Metropolitan Opera where he directed revivals of Carmen and Tosca and was involved with more than a dozen new productions. He is a frequent guest director in companies such as Seattle Opera (Semele, La Bohème, Eugene Onegin, Lucia di Lammermoor), Dallas Opera (Die Fledermaus, La Bohème), Houston (Flying Dutchman, Rigoletto), Wexford Festival (Silent Night, Dinner at Eight), Cincinnati Opera (Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Flying Dutchman), Wolf Trap (Falstaff, Don Giovanni), Israeli Opera (Dead Man Walking, Giulio Cesare) among others. His European premiere of Silent Night at the Wexford Festival received two Irish Times Awards and traveled from Ireland to Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival and the opera companies of Atlanta, Austin and Salt Lake City.
