So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
The Opus Project Choir Foundation first discovered the music of Steve Dobrogosz, an American composer living in Sweden, in 2007. That year the choir performed his two best known works, the Mass and the Requiem, which audiences received enthusiastically. While Dobrogosz was attending this project (called ‘Opus 1’) in Leeuwarden, the choir suggested that he write a much larger work, an oratorio. When he returned to Sweden, he became inspired by the beautiful, timeless texts of William Shakespeare. Thus My Rose came into existence, a two-hour-long work that was composed in the space of only four days. The oratorio adopts various musical styles, classical, jazz and musical theatre, to which the composer adds a touch of romance and a pinch of humour.
