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COMPOSER
AMY SCURRIA

Amy Scurria sitting at the piano, looking into the camera.

LIBRETTIST
ZANE CORRIHER

Librettist, Zane Corriher smiling, wearing a brown jacket and a black shirt
ALICE Pitch Graphic.png

Who are you?

For some of us, that question has never felt simple. ALICE follows a girl who doesn't fit the world she was born into - down a rabbit hole into a place of wonder, danger, and the kind of self-knowledge that can only be earned the hard way. The journey unfolds through soaring arias, mad duets, and gloriously outlandish ensembles.

From the Audience

In prior performances, children have leaped out of their seats singing the "Let's Have Some Tea" chorus at its return in the second act. Adults have laughed so hard their shoulders bounced uncontrollably. Audience members have quietly wiped their eyes when the story turns more serious. People leave singing the music. One child asked her mother on the way home, "Mommy, can you please play the Queen music?"

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ALICE follows a curious, imaginative girl who feels out of step with the rigid expectations of the world around her. At a garden tea party, Alice’s vivid inner life collides with social norms, and she is mocked by the guests for her apparent wildness. Alice is distracted from their taunts by a White Rabbit. She follows him into the forest where she falls into Wonderland, a topsy-turvy world with its own inscrutable creatures and customs.

In Wonderland, Alice encounters a series of surprising characters: a condescending Caterpillar who demands definition, a volatile Duchess with a penchant for pepper, playful creatures terrorized by an army of playing cards, a wise and mysterious cat, and an infinitely Mad Tea Party. Alice searches for belonging and meaning in a Wonderland governed by fear, spectacle, whimsy, and nonsense. As Alice journeys deeper into Wonderland she adapts, absorbs, and disappears into the worlds of others, her own voice surfacing only in fragments before slipping away.

Casting a shadow over Wonderland, the tyrant Queen of Hearts humiliates her subjects and demands obedience with constant threats of “off with your head!” Alice empathizes with the terrified populace, and she challenges the Queen’s unjust rules during a game of croquet. When the outraged Queen condemns Alice to a trial for her insubordination, Alice’s fate is seemingly sealed.

Under pressure to submit, Alice finds clarity and the courage to resist the Queen’s arbitrary injustice. Alice refuses the labels imposed on her, and encourages Wonderland itself to awaken. Through courage, humor, wit, and self-knowledge, Alice upends the Queen’s power and affirms a deeper truth: identity cannot be dictated by force - it originates from within. ALICE is about reclaiming individual agency, trusting one’s inner voice, and self-empowerment through imagination and joy.

Audio selections from live performances at University of Utah, Mo. Robert Baldwin, conducting (*Queen's Aria, Mo. Oswaldo Machado, conducting)

Curious, I Observe (Alice)
Meg Steele and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:15

Who Are You? (Alice and Caterpillar)
Meg Steele, John Knight Allen, and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 00:49

Duchess Scene (Alice and Duchess)
Meg Steele, Sage Madsen, and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 00:29

Duchess Lullaby (Duchess)
Sage Madsen and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 00:41

Nonsense Trio (Alice, Mad Hatter, March Hare)
Meg Steele, Alex Harrelson, Matthew Tang, & Utah Phil

00:00 / 00:46

Lost and Alone (Alice)
Meg Steele and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:00

You're Not Ready (Cheshire Cat and Alice)
Mara Davis, Meg Steele, and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:13

Queen's Processional (Ensemble)
Opera at the U and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:41

Off With Your Head (Queen)
Karley Swallow and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:31

Keep Your Wits (King)
Porter Hiatt and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 01:19

The Trial (Mad Hatter)
Sam Plumb and Utah Philharmonia

00:00 / 00:34

characters

Alice

Sister & Duchess

White Rabbit

Caterpillar & King

Cheshire Cat

Mad Hatter

March Hare

Dormouse

Queen of Hearts

King of Hearts

Gryffon

Bill the Lizard

Cards / Jury

Flowers

soprano

1-2 mezzo soprano

tenor

1-2 bass baritone

mezzo soprano

tenor

baritone or countertenor

supernumerary

mezzo soprano

bass

baritone

supernumerary

SATB choir *min. 4 to a part

children's choir

An Opera in
Two Acts

~ 90 minutes
with intermission

instrumentation

Chamber Orchestra

1,1,1,1; 1,0,0,0; timp, pno, strings

Full Orchestra

2,2,2,2; 4,2,2,1; timp; 3 perc; harp; strings

Electro-Acoustic Ensemble

accordion, electric guitar, keyboard, drumset

Flexible Instrumentation

Just ask!

AWARDS

2024 American Prize in Opera
2024 NOA Production Award
2025 American Prize in Production, Finalist

GRANTS

2024 Dee Endowment Grant
2024 NC Arts Council Artist Development Grant

PRESENTATIONS

2025 Opera America

2024 NOA
2024 SETC

Performances / Staged Workshops

Chicago Dramatists

June 14, 2025

We held a reading of our libretto at Chicago Dramatists, featuring moments from our opera with piano and voice. We look forward to further developing this opera.

Director, Amy Hutchison

Lawrence University

May 16, 2024

Scenes from A.L.I.C.E.

Music Director, Kristin Roach

Conductor, Ben Keating

Arts of the Albemarle

January 21 & 22, 2022

 

​Fully staged piano/vocal workshop 

Music Director, Jennifer Blades

Pianist, Stephanie Otto-Ørvik

Student Director, Christian Abbo

University of Utah Opera

April 12-13, 2024

​Three fully staged performances with full orchestra with their first sensory friendly performance.

​Director, Robert Breault

Opera at the U Vocal Students

Conductor, Robert Baldwin

Assistant Conductor, Oswaldo Machado

University of Utah Philharmonic

Costume Designer, Robin Farnsley-Becker

Red River Lyric Opera Festival

July 25 & 28, 2023

Two fully staged performances with chamber orchestra.

Producer, Darla Diltz and RRLO

Director, Grace Edgar

Conductor, Kristin Roach

Choreographer, ChristinaNoel Reaves

University of Nevada

December 6, 2024

Scenes from A.L.I.C.E.

Music Director, Darryl Cooper

Pianist, Maren Daynes

Student Director, Christian Abbo

Duke University

April 21, 2023

Scenes from A.L.I.C.E.

Director, David Heid

Pianist, Daniel Seyfried

Duke University Vocal Students

Interested in producing ALICE?

Get in Touch

amyscurria.composer(at)gmail.com

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