With a libretto by Dana Gioia, Tony Caruso’s Final Broadcast takes place in a classical music radio station on the last night of its operations: at midnight, the station’s new management will convert to an “Easy-Listening” format. The station’s final program, “Opera Lover,” is hosted by Antonio Caruso, a failed tenor who has worked on the show for 27 years. Click here for more information.

Premiered at the 2008 National Opera Association Convention in Los Angeles, Tony Caruso was the winner of the NOA’s 2007 Chamber Opera competition. A definitive recording was recently released on Naxos (8.669031) with tenor Eric Fennell in the title role and the Monocacy Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jung-Ho Pak.

In a very different vein, The Life and Love of Joe Coogan is an opera based on an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show from the 1960s. Carl Reiner’s original script has been skillfully worked into a dramatic libretto by Kate Light, with extra material where necessary to adapt to the operatic stage. The result is a laugh-out-loud comedy that lives up to the memories of those who remember the TV show, as well having tremendous appeal for those who do not know the original source. In true sit-com style, as well as conforming to traditional opera buffa traditions, the comedy arises from a series of misunderstandings that become resolved at the end to everyone’s relief and satisfaction. Click here for more information.

See Presser's YouTube channel for our special features on each of the Paul Salerni operas, where you can also watch excerpts from The Life and Love of Joe Coogan. In addition, an interview, complete with photos and excerpts from the September, 2010, premiere at Lehigh University, which was broadcast earlier this year on WFIU in Indiana, and can still be heard at www.indianapublicmedia.org; the original Dick Van Dyke TV episode can be viewed via a link at the bottom of the same web page.