Michael Korie received The Marc Blitzstein Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for both his lyrics in musicals and librettos in operas. His collaboration with composer Tom Kitt and playwright and director James Lapine, Flying Over Sunset, premiered at Lincoln Center Theater where it received a Tony nomination for best score. Korie collaborated with composer Ricky Ian Gordon on the world premiere of the opera, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis adapted from Bassani’s novel. It was produced at New York City Opera and National Yiddish Folksbiene.
Korie’s opera with Stewart Wallace, Harvey Milk, was produced in a newly conceived version which premiered recently at Opera Theater of Saint Louis, directed by James Robinson, and Detroit Opera. It will be produced next year at Opera Parallele in San Francisco. The original version of the opera premiered to acclaim at Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera, and was recorded by Teldec.
For Broadway, Korie wrote the lyrics to composer Scott Frankel’s music for the Broadway productions of War Paint and Grey Gardens, both with books by playwright Doug Wright and direction by Michael Greif, and the Off-Broadway productions of Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizons with book by Richard Greenberg, Happiness at Lincoln Center Theater with book by John Weidman and direction by Susan Stroman, and Doll at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival. Korie and Frankel’s scores have been nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards and received The Outer Critics Circle Award. Following Broadway productions, their shows have been produced throughout the USA and Europe as well as South America and Australia. Grey Gardens had its European premiere in London directed by Thom Southerland where it was awarded the Offie Award for Best New Musical of the year, and in Japan by Toho. In 2023, War Paint received a multi-city production in Japan. New musicals include Shimmer with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis, and playwright Sarah Schulman. It has been developed at the Yale Schwartzman Center, and in workshop at Northwestern University in 2024. A new musical collaboration with composer Frankel and playwright Richard LaGravanese will be produced at La Jolla Playhouse.
For opera, Korie adapted Steinbeck’s novel for the libretto to The Grapes of Wrath composed by Ricky Ian Gordon, performed nationally in opera houses as well as concert versions at Carnegie Hall and Los Angeles Disney Concert Hall. A newly conceived concert version was produced in Spring, 2024 at Carnegie Hall. Korie's original librettos to operas composed by Stewart Wallace include Harvey Milk, Where’s Dick?, Kabbalah, and Hopper’s Wife. Korie’s operas have been produced at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, BAM Next Wave Festival, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Michigan Opera, and abroad in Germany and Australia. A new opera with composer Michael Torke and director Des McAnuff premieres in 2026.
Korie’s lyrics have received the Edward Kleban Prize, Jonathan Larson Award, and the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award. His songs with composer Scott Frankel were featured at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage Broadway Today. Korie chairs the Dramatists Guild Opera Committee which holds educational forums and podcasts to create more inclusive and equitable collaborations between composers and playwright/librettists. One such project was the short film he wrote and produced, Credit the Librettist, featuring interviews with dozens of opera composers and playwrights. For the Dramatist Guild Foundation, Korie chairs the Fellows program for emerging musical theater composers, lyricists, and playwrights.
Korie teaches musical-theater writing at Yale University and teaches musical book writing at Columbia University School of the Arts. He leads collaboration seminars for opera composers and theater playwrights for both American Opera Project (AOP) and American Lyric Theater where is on the faculty.