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Opera Company names second composer in residence

Deepening its pledge to advance the art form, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theatre Group in New York, has appointed a second composer in residence.Missy Mazzoli, 31, a Lansdale native now based in Brooklyn, was chosen from 106 applicants and begins her work in September, joining Lembit Beecher, the previously appointed composer in his second year of the three-year shared residency. The post pays $60,000 plus benefits. Said Mazzoli: "I'm very excited about the residency, to say the least. I have preliminary ideas for two new operas, and I'm hoping to be able to workshop both.?... I can't really share the details just yet, but will say that both are part of a trilogy of operas I'm writing about fascinating female characters of the 20th and 21st centuries."