WINNER OF THREE
2021 ROCKY MOUNTAIN EMMY® AWARDS
Best Arts & Entertainment Program
Best Director (Long Form)
Technical Achievement
““Bohmler’s cinematic score also has a very contemporary energy, with flashing violins of the sort that build excitement in the latest “Star Wars” flick. This engaging production is built on sturdy bones: iconic hero-and-villain characters, a suspenseful story and a score that’s studded with soaring, hummable melodies...””
Riders composer Craig Bohmler explores the origins of the opera's source material at the Zane Grey Cabin and Rim Country Museum in Payson, Arizona
DOCUMENTARY FILM
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE:
THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA
Opera’s hallowed traditions and America’s cowboy culture converge in a documentary film that celebrates the collaborative power of art. Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera follows Zane Grey’s classic Western novel as it is re-imagined as a Grand Opera. Can the rugged American West fit in the genre of Verdi and Mozart? A challenge between the composer and his lyricist quickly expands into a creative posse of musical, visual, and digital artists as the fully orchestrated opera emerges from the page. From Arizona’s windswept desert canyons that inspired both Zane Grey and fine art painter Ed Mell, to onstage at Phoenix Symphony Hall, where scores, story, and performances are meticulously aligned, Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera captures the process of making a legend stand up and sing.
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA (82 mins) is available for worldwide distribution, screenings, classroom use, and events. Executive Producers Billie Jo & Judd Herberger, Director/Producer Kristin Atwell Ford, Produced by Quantum Leap Productions in collaboration with Arizona Opera. To learn more, visit www.RidersOperaFilm.com.
““Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera captures two worlds – the hardscrabble splendor of America’s cowboy past and the high-tech fusion of music, art and story that creates a modern opera. Zane Grey’s classic novel brings both worlds together as composers, cowboys, painters, singers and historians rekindle an iconic tale of the American West.””