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NEAL GOREN
CONDUCTOR
BIOGRAPHY
Conductor Neal Goren has been lauded by The New York Times for his “vivid, atmospheric performances” and for leading his orchestras “with considerable force” (Musical America) in performances throughout his career. Labeled a specialist in both contemporary and rarely performed works, Goren maintains an active career as a frequent guest conductor throughout North America and Europe.
Notable appearances include Respighi and Bistolfi's La bella dormente nel bosco for the Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA, Transformations by Conrad Susa and Anne Sexton for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, The Turn of the Screwwith Opera de Nantes and Angers in France, Die Zauberflöte for the Trentino Festival, the world premiere of Mila by Eli Marshall for Asia Society of Hong Kong with subsequent performances in New York and San Francisco, the U.S. premiere of Anaïs Nin and Odysseus’ Women by Louis Andriessen for the Center for Contemporary Opera, Krasa and Hoffmeister’s Brundibarfor the City University of New York, and the World premiere of Nico Muhly and Stephen Karam’s Dark Sisters for Gotham Chamber Opera, as well as reprisals for Opera Philadelphia and the European premiere for the Trentino Festival in Italy. [read more...]
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...directed, with great finesse..." – Opéra Magazine
La ville morte – "The best is to be found in the instrumental ensemble, directed, with great finesse, by the American conductor Neal Goren, founder and artistic director of the Catapult Opera company."
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"... cutting edge…” – reaction.life
Hanjo – “Catapult Opera claims to be launching the future of opera. For Neal Goren, conductor, founder and artistic director of the small company, that is no idle boast. Hanjo, by Toshio Hosokawa, is so cutting edge there’s danger of laceration from picking up the program…He blends musical cultures and has created a sound world all his own. This was the first time I had experienced his work. I found it sensitive, engaging and very difficult to perform. Sounds often fade to whispers. Precise execution is critical. Goren was more than up to the complexities."
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"performed with considerable force" – Musical America
World Premiere of Eli Marshall's Mila – "Under the musical direction of Neal Goren, a ten-piece ensemble that featured four percussionists on various drums and mallet instruments, performed with considerable force."
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"the concept was Neal Goren's" – Musical America
Haydn's Il Mondo della luna – "The concept was Neal Goren's...Goren wisely has reduced the work to about 100 minutes of music, without intermission. He keeps the emphasis on music (nicely-judged orchestral playing) and singing, but gives the visual side full rein, abetted by Paulus' very broad handling of the cast."
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"dependably creative and musically keen" – New York Times
Gotham Chamber Opera – "Perhaps most intriguing and promising is the Gotham Chamber Opera. Over the past decade, with ample praise but without much fanfare, Gotham has earned a reputation for being dependably creative and musically keen. Its production last year of Haydn’s “Mondo Della Luna,” ingeniously set amid star projections in the Hayden Planetarium, was one of the delights of recent seasons. Gotham’s founder and artistic director, Neal Goren, has a gift for spotting talented young singers"
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"vivid, atmospheric performance conducted by Neal Goren" – New York Times
Toshio Hosokawa's The Raven – "I wish that now and then the singer would break into patter, or skittish bursts that match the instruments — which include a sultry saxophone and a reedy clarinet — especially in the vivid, atmospheric performance conducted by Neal Goren."
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"this production was the brainchild of the conductor Neal Goren" – New York Times
The Tempest Songbook – "Gotham closed its 14th season this weekend with a modest, though rewarding offer: 'The Tempest Songbook,' which opened on Friday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A collaboration between Gotham and the Martha Graham Dance Company, this production was the brainchild of the conductor Neal Goren, Gotham's artistic director, and the director/choreographer Luca Veggetti."