Rose Made Man (2015)

An opera in one act for 1 female or male lead, 4 females, 3 males, chorus, electronics, and orchestra

Commissioned for the 2015 Cohen New Works Festival

Hailed as “brilliant,” “moving,” and “powerfully compelling,” the new opera Rose Made Man is a coming of age story of a trans man named Gabriel, but also a coming of gender story since Gabriel was assigned female at birth, but identifies as a boy. Born deaf and thus having never heard his gender clearly spoken by others, he lives in a relative bubble until age ten when he gains his hearing and feels the full force of how his identity unsettles society. The piece features a cast and chorus of 20 singers and chamber orchestra, with music by Franklin Piland and libretto by Tegan McLeod.

Original Cast
Page Stephens, Gabriella/Gabe/Gabriel 
Tyler Brown, Wally
Czarina Vazquez, Marcelle 
Joseph Quintana, Tanner 
Katherine Wiggins, She Voice
Dylan Morrongiello, He Voice
Lauren Gusman, Teacher
Jawan Jenkins, Principal
University of Texas Collegium Musicum, chorus

Original Orchestra
Jillian Kouzel, oboe
Ben Stevenson/Kristen Bundy, English horn
Nick Clark, bassoon
Jacob Schnitzer, horn 1
Mike Mikulka, horn 2
Casey Martin, trumpet
Sara Sasaki, violin
Brandon Clinton/Tim George, piano
Franklin Piland/Brandon Clinton, synthesizer
Kramer Elwell, electronics

Original Creative Team
Franklin Piland, composer
Alex Byrnes, assistant to Mr. Piland
Nick Clark, assistant to Mr. Piland
Tegan McLeod, librettist
Phillip Bernard, conductor
David Toro, director
Keenan Boswell, pianist/ lead coach
Kelsey Vidic, costume designer
Shimshon Zeevi, lighting designer
Bruno-Pierre Houle, scenic designer
Rachael Fitch, stage manager
Archana Narasimhan, chorus manager
Kathy Panoff, faculty advisor
Joshua Miller, producer