CHRISTOPHER DROBNY
Composer & Musical Arranger
Christopher Drobny’s original works include K (from the writings of Kafka), developmental reading at Sundance Theatre Lab, workshop production at NYU’s Provincetown Playhouse, both directed by Diane Paulus; Kissing and Horrid Strife (from the poetry of D.H. Lawrence), co-production of Opera Company of Philadelphia and Curtis Institute of Music; Lucy’s Lapses (libretto: Laura Harrington), developmental reading at O’Neill Music-Theatre Conference, workshop production at Playwrights Horizons, world premiere at Portland Opera; and Fire in the Future (libretto: Joan Schenkar), developmental reading at New Dramatists, commissioned and premiered by Minnesota Opera New Music-Theatre Ensemble. He is currently collaborating with librettist Helen Richardson on Transcendent, about the life of Margaret Fuller, pioneering nineteenth-century American feminist-journalist, recently presented in a concert reading at Brooklyn College.
Christopher has served as a musical arranger for CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. His musical direction credits include collaborations with directors including Christopher Ashley (New York Theatre Workshop), Anne Bogart (Columbia University), David Esbjornson (Classic Stage Company), Bill Irwin (Roundabout Theatre Company), Michael Mayer (Juilliard School of Drama) and Vanessa Redgrave (Joseph Papp Public Theatre.). Regional credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival, Syracuse Stage, and the Huntington Theatre of Boston.
Original Music
K (from the writings of Kafka)
Drawing upon his fictional and autobiographical writings, K focuses upon the 40-year old Kafka. Dying of tuberculosis, he wanders through a labyrinth of memories, observing and participating in events from his childhood and the stories they inspired.
Transcendent
Transcendent dramatizes the life of pioneering nineteenth-century American feminist-journalist Margaret Fuller. The first act follows her early career in the US, including her involvement with American transcendentalism. The first track, “Sleep,” musicalizes the tensions between Ralph Waldo Emerson, his wife Lidian, and Fuller. The second track, "A Woman May Love," explores the unique bonds Fuller formed with many of her acolytes, both male and female.
Those Winter Sundays
“Those Winter Sundays” is a poem by Robert Hayden (1913-1980), born and raised in Detroit. In 1976 he was the first African American to be appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. This musical setting is part of a cycle of art songs focusing on the relationship of parents and children. (Vocalist: Kevin Guillaume)
Musical Arrangements
Late Night with Stephen Colbert
Musical arrangements of two songs by staff writer Ariel Dumas: the first pre-recorded late one evening on the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theatre before Stephen and crew left the next morning to film on location in Cleveland; the second performed live at Carnegie Hall as part of CBS’ “Upfront” preview of its new fall season.
