(Remove Shoes Before Entering) [[SELF LICENSED]] [[RSBE]] [perusal scores](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1psyubcsOD8EGB2qSchnvz8TnKqAX3q6t?usp=drive_link) Contact me, [contact form.](https://operaandbeyond.blogspot.com/) ![[IMGP4329-rsbe-bw-crop-nolight-p.jpg|400]] *Image by Mark Slagell* Commissioned and premiered by the University of Alabama, Paul Houghtaling, producer Conducted by Laurie Rogers 2021 Remove Shoes Before Entering RSBE is the successor to SPEED DATING TONIGHT! It is has the same flexible structure--generally ungendered, with musical selections available in High, Medium, and Low versions. It was commissioned by Paul Houghtaling and premiered at the University of Alabama, literally a month before the COVID 19 lockdown. The "subject" of the opera is empathy, or at least that was the inspiration. The opera has a simple premise. A group of students on a field trip are brought by their professor to a derelict old building in a small town. Is it an old church? A juke joint? An abandoned thrift store? The front of the stage has a bunch of objects including shoes. When the characters look at, pick up, or interact with something, it reminds them of an important moment in their lives. #RSBE #selflicensed #likespeeddating #oneactopera #fulllengthopera #interconnected #environment #ensemble #schadenfreude #lively #dark #guilty #hopeful #Musicaltheater #angry #family #fairlyeasy #race #playful #childhood #rhapsodic #Mozart #Quotation #funny #thehecticpaceoflife #reading #race #angry #righteous #operatic #depression #abuse #belcanto #abuse #creepy #recovery #giddy #computergames #uplifting #war #love #ballad #cocooning #operetta #romantic Some of these tags will take you to Speed Dating Tonight! pieces as well. For purposes of RSBE, ignore those. There is an orchestration (flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, drums/vibes, piano (keyboard), 1 violin, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 bass. Strings can be supplemented), a two keyboard version, and it can be done with just piano. For a good sample of the pieces in the opera, listen to 8, 13A, 15, and 2. Songs [[RSBE 1 Friendship Bracelet]] They remember rescuing a turtle caught in a fishing line [[RSBE 2 Impostor]] Impostor syndrome [[RSBE 3 No Excuse]] Remembers driving by somebody on the highway who was later struck and killed [[RSBE 4 I see me]] Realizing there are cities nearby where they can be themselves and come out. [[RSBE 5 Alaskabout you]] A child bitterly remember their absent father. [[RSBE 6 N Word]] A friend tells a friend not to use the N word, while another admires a beautiful African American quilt. [[RSBE 7 Imaginary Friend]] This imaginary friend shows back up after being gone for awhile. [[RSBE 8 Gramma's lesson]] Where the wonder never ceases. Recalling Gramma and her garden [[RSBE 9 The First Time I Heard Mozart]] recalling hearing Mozart. Sung over part of THE MAGIC FLUTE [[RSBE 10 You're in my car]] Getting in the wrong car in a parking lot. [[RSBE 11 Reading Frederic Douglass for the first time]] Channels righteous indignation. [[RSBE 12 Picture of you]] an old shirt reminds of a lost love. [[RSBE 13A So sad]] Reflecting on long term depression stemming from abuse [[RSBE 13B Just between us]] A creepy recollection of the abuser [[RSBE 14 Me that used to be]] Leaving an violent partner for a shelter and looking to find themselves again. [[RSBE 15 Console Consolation]] Two characters remember great times with an old game console [[RSBE 16 Shedding]] [[RSBE 17 Interconnected]] Recalls a sermon about our interconnectedness. [[RSBE 18 What I had to do]] Reading grandpa's letters from the war. [[RSBE 19 Hide with the TV]] Recalls cocooning with B&W TV to avoid the troubles of the world. [[RSBE 20 Don't let the music end]] A duet which recalls a very old flame. [[RSBE 21 Another motherfucking snow storm]] Recalling digging out from yet another storm. [[RSBE 22 Beautiful Traveller]] Ode to a beautiful butterfly. As with Speed Dating Tonight! I plan to grow this group of arias and ensembles. ![[RSBE Sign from Set.jpg]] *Scenery from the original production* Performance History. University of Alabama, Amarillo Opera, Taos Opera Institute, Heartland Opera Theater, Roosevelt University, Charlottesville Opera Here's a [link to the original production at UA](https://youtu.be/u1GPIuN_sqo?si=diP8JhyWVwB81MLK). And here is a simpler version from Amarillo Opera. The premise is changed to a classroom setting to further simply the staging. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1t5Kxu7mhfE?si=9PEhfV5_j3dAZXmQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> #opera