Shaman is an opera in one act for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and chorus, with flute, oboe, English horn, cello and electronic music. The electronic music, which runs throughout the 45-minute-long opera, was created out of wolf-calls, coyote screams, and manipulated human voices (including the composer's). The plot, in which a shaman transforms himself into a coyote, is based on Native American shamanic ritual.
Coyote was created at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in 1979, and recorded on CRI Records. It has just been re-issued as a CD accompanying the book Pioniere della Musica Elettronica (Women Pioneers of Electronic Music, ISBN-10: 8886784910), which devotes a chapter to my work.
Shaman was premiered by the American Chamber Opera Co. in NYC in 1987, under the direction of composer-conductor Douglas Anderson, founder of that innovative opera company.
