now / next

AS PERFORMER:

UPCOMING:

 

HIDDEN The Musical  |  Staged Concert Reading

 

ROLES of Benno, (Papa)

Saturday May 20, at 7:30 PM  |  Sunday May 21, 2:00 PM

Abington Friends School  |  Jenkintown, PA

 

Hidden is a musical by David & Jenny Heitler-Klevans based on the true story of Ruth Kapp Hartz, who as a young Jewish girl was hidden in Southern France during World War II. Forced to change her name to Renée Caper in order to blend in, Ruth and her family rely on the kindness of strangers in a small French village. From a secret apartment to a basement hideout to a Catholic orphanage in a convent, Renée must hide her true identity and learn to survive through a series of harrowing events. Dealing with themes of identity, allies, anti-Semitism, fascism, resilience and resistance, this musical will resonate with audiences today.

 

These performances will include a reading of the entire script and all of the songs, with video elements, and live musicians. Appropriate for audiences middle school to adults. There will be a talk-back after the 5/21 performance. Some of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The Righteous Among the Nations, honored by Yad Vashem, are non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust. Several people in Ruth’s story have been honored by Yad Vashem, including the Fedous and the Valats as well as the entire town of Arthès, for protecting their Jewish neighbors at a time when hostility and indifference prevailed.

 

For more information, visit HIDDEN The Musical

Click here for Ticket Information!

 

 

RECENT:

 

HOPPER HAIKU  |  New Art Song Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

Performed by Composer/Pianist Ellen Mandel and Lyricist/Vocalist Daniel Neer

2022 Phoenix Festival – Live Arts in Nyack, New York (Birthplace of Edward Hopper)

The Nyack Library, Carnegie-Farian Room  |  Friday, September 23, 7:30pm

For tickets and registration, please click HERE

 

 

THE FINAL WALTZ:  Viennese Operetta and the Anschluss

Beyond the Notes lecture recital series of Temple University Libraries

Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University

Charles Library of Temple University  |  Wednesday, November 9  |  12noon

Featuring Daniel Neer, baritone

Assisted by:

Marta Zaliznyak, soprano

Ariana Grace, soprano

Gabriel Rebolla, piano

More Information Coming Soon!

 

 

FABLES, MYTHS, AND LEGENDS  |  Art Song in Recital

Daniel Neer, baritone and Suzanne Newcomb, piano

Spring 2023 – Dates Coming Soon!

Riley Auditorium at the Battelle Fine Arts Center

Otterbein University

170 W. Park Street, Westerville, OH

read more

 

Fables, Myths, and Legends celebrates the art of storytelling by exploring some well-known, (and not so well-known), stories from a diverse array of our rich literature landscape. From Orpheus to Sleeping Beauty, Peer Gynt to the Lorelei, the fascinating stories of brave knights, beautiful princesses, mischievous cowboys, and courageous outlaws will be told through some of the world’s best songs.

 

Featuring music of Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann, Edvard Grieg, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and central Ohio’s own famed 19th-century abolitionist Benjamin Hanby, the program will also include the world premiere of Tin and Meat by composer Francis Kayali with text by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum: a story of the Tin Woodsman that needs to be heard to be believed! Rounding out the program will be traditional favorites from America’s cowboy genre, a Tall Tale ballad, an Aesop Fable, and a seldom heard chestnut by the wonderful Cole Porter.

 

*Admission is FREE. Great for ALL AGES.

 

 

 

AS LIBRETTIST / LYRICIST / WRITER:

 

UPCOMING:

 

HE WHO GETS SLAPPED

By composer Alex Burtzos and Lyricist Daniel Neer

 

HE Who Gets Slapped is an opera in development by Alex Burtzos and librettist Daniel Neer, based on Leonid Andreyev’s 1915 play of the same name. The opera’s action revolves around a mysterious stranger, known only as “HE,” who works as a clown at a small circus in the early part of the 20th century. In addition to lengthy runs on Broadway and London’s West End, Andreyev’s tale has been adapted into a Russian silent film (1916), an MGM feature (1924), a novel (1924) and more. This operatic setting is testament to its continuing timeless appeal.

 

The University of Central Florida Symphony Orchestra will perform excerpts from this new opera musicians perform orchestral classics and excerpts from a new opera, conducted by Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s maestro Eric Jacobsen. This performance is made possible with support from Opera Orlando. 

 

University of Central Florida Symphony Orchestra in Concert

April 6, 2023 – 7:30pm

Steinmetz Hall  |  Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts  |  Orlando, Florida

 

 

RECENT PROJECTS:

 

HOPPER HAIKU – New Art Song Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

By Composer Ellen Mandel and Lyricist Daniel Neer

Made possible with grants from The Ohio Arts Council and The Johnstone Fund for New Music

Special arrangement with Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Premiere: February 26, 2022

Battelle Fine Arts Center  |  Otterbein University  |  Westerville, Ohio

 

POLAR BEAR

Vocal Chamber Music Work for Voice and Trombone on Themes of Global Warming

Music by Sara Carina Graef  |  Lyrics by Daniel Neer

Made possible with grants from The Ohio Arts Council and Puffin Foundation West

Premiere: March 13, 2021

Battelle Fine Arts Center  |  Otterbein University  |  Westerville, Ohio

 

Sandy Songs

A Song Set for Baritone and Piano

Music by Linda Kernohan  |  Lyrics by Daniel Neer

Premiere: March 13, 2021

Battelle Fine Arts Center  |  Otterbein University  |  Westerville, Ohio

 

 

WORKS IN PROGRESS:

HE WHO GETS SLAPPED

A New Opera in Two Acts  |  Inspired by the play by Leonid Andreyev

Music by Alex Burtzos |  Libretto by Daniel Neer

Stay tuned for more details!

 

THE BARBED WIRE WALTZ

A New Operetta inspired by the life of Austrian composer & conductor Robert Stolz

Music by Robert Stolz  |  Book, Libretto, and Lyrics by Daniel Neer

Stay tuned for more details!

 

 

NEW RECORDINGS / VIDEO:

And Here We Are, a shadow puppet opera Kontaken Records (KR109)|  Music by Matthew Welch, Libretto by Daniel Neer  |  Recorded Live at National Sawdust, May 6, 2018.  Available now at Kontaken Records.  Also available soon on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play and YouTube

 

The Persistence of Song – songs of Jonathan David Centaur (CRC 3723)

Featuring:

“Gitchee Gumee”, a song cycle with text by Daniel Neer, with Trudy Chan on piano

“The Persistence of Song”, a song cycle with texts by Muriel Rukeyser, Howard Moss, Bonnie Phelps, and Thomas Merton, with Trudy Chan on Piano and Elizabeth Derham on violin.

Available now at Centaur Records

 

CLOCLO – Operetta in Three Acts by Franz Lehár  |  Role of Severin

Stage Direction by Steven A. Daigle  |  Musical Direction by Steven Byess

Recorded Live at the 2018 Ohio Light Opera Summer Festival. Available now at Operetta Foundation