Leonard Lehrman's Operas
--with links to production photos, posters and videos



Idiots First (1973)
  • one-act opera on story by Bernard Malamud,
    begun by Marc Blitzstein, completed by Leonard Lehrman

    Karla (1974)
  • one-act opera based on Bernard Malamud's
    "Notes from a Lady at a Dinner Party"

    Sima (1976)
  • two-act opera based on Edgar Lehrman's translation
    of David Aizman's "Krasovitsky Couple"

    Hannah (1980)
  • three-act opera in collaboration with Orel Odinov
    based on Talmudic Chanukah legends

    The Family Man (1984)
  • one-character one-act opera based on story by Mikhail Sholokhov

    The Birthday of the Bank (1988)
  • one-act opera based on Anton Chekhov's farce "Yubilei,"
    commissioned for Lake George by Opera America

    New World (1991)
  • two-act opera opera about what Columbus did to the "Indians"
    commissioned by The Puffin Foundation

    Suppose A Wedding (1996)
  • one-act opera based on scene of a play by Bernard Malamud
    commissioned by The Puffin Foundation

    Sacco and Vanzetti (2001)
  • three-act opera begun by Marc Blitzstein, completed by Leonard Lehrman
    commissioned originally by The Ford Foundation for The Metropolitan Opera
    completion commissioned in part by The Puffin Foundation

    The Wooing (2003)
  • one-act opera on libretto by Abel Meeropol
    based on Anton Chekhov's "The Boor"

    The Triangle Fire (2016)
  • one-act opera on libretto by Ellen Frankel
    A Puffin Foundation commission
    starring Alessandra Altieri, David Anchel, David Aubrey, Jackie Bakewell, Charles Samuel Brown,
    John Callison, Bill Castleman, Kevin Courtemanche, Amy Glass, Emily Misch, Michael Niemann,
    Michelle Pellegrino, Mary Rice, Perri Sussman, Thomas Smith, Nancy Zucker
    Production Manager: Helene Williams Consultant: Leigh Benin
    with     The Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus in association with The Bronx Opera
    and The Solidarity Singers of the New Jersey Industrial Union Council
    (in a medley of labor songs)
    Conducted by the Composer
    Premiered Sep. 4, 2016, American Labor Museum, Haledon, NJ,
    and Sep. 11, 2016, with Intro and Q&A, Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck, NJ.
    2017 performances: Long Beach Public Library 3/5;
    Community Church, Manhattan 3/12; HBO, Manhattan 3/23;
    NYU 3/25: Intro, Medley, Opera Intro, Opera, Q&A
    Additional intro, speeches, discussions, concert excerptsinclude Opening Chorus; Augusta Caso as Margaret Schwartz, fire victim;
    Bill Castleman as reporter William Gunn Shepherd; Thomas Smith as Defense Attorney Max David Steuer;
    David Anchel, as Prosecutor Charles Bostwick, demands recusal of Charles S. Brown as Judge Thomas Crain;
    Steuer vs. Shepherd; Final Chorus.
    Interviews: NJ Standard, with Frankel & Lehrman; LI Herald with Lehrman, plus rehearsal photos
    Reviews: by Jonathan Dzik;
    by Mark Greenfest with production photos by Helene Williams
    and by Mark Zuckerman for The New Music Connoisseur.

    A Loveletter from Rosa Luxemburg (2019)
  • one-act monodrama opera on words by & about Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919)
    libretto by composer (assisted by Baerbel Rautenberg & Kim Rich)
    with optional flute, chorus, and additional soloists
    commissioned by The Puffin Foundation
    in English and in German
    Premiered Jan. 13, 2019, Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck, NJ
    Other performances in English by Helene Williams:
    1/15 & 20 Community Church of NY; 1/26 Long Beach Library
    Introduction by composer: here.
    Complete performance of 1/26/19: here.
    Review by Mark Zuckerman for SoundWordSight.com posted here.
    Performances in German by Kathryn Wieckhorst:
    2/9 Hamburg;
    10/10 LŸneburg Festival
    Playlist, including introductory speeches, here.