Connor conducts a scene from his chamber opera. Onstage are the three characters, one in a giant frame.

What Was

• Libretto by Richard Ballon


• written for 2 Sopranos, 1 Tenor, and Piano; 15’ 00”


( 2021 )

Audio Excerpt from Scene 2, February 18, 2022:

Program Note


Daphne and Will Babson have been rubbed raw by tragedy in their lives. They seemed to have turned a corner until Daphne purchases and becomes obsessed by a large antique mirror whose surface reveals more than what it reflects. Will wants the mirror returned and neither suspect that this mirror feeds on the living.

Performances

Premiere: Mackenzie Heaney (Daphne), Cody Pepitone (Will), Lucy Kimbell (Echo), Francisca de Castanheiro de Freitas (piano)

​Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, February 18, 2022

Directed by Carolyn Anderson, Music Directed by Connor Gibbs


Abigail Rockhill-Beckler (Daphne), Zak Palmer (Will), Clara Norell (Echo), Ivy Wilson Kocher (piano)

University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, October 1, 2024

Directed by Juan Carlos Mendoza