Stewart Wallace composes operas that share an obsession with what it means to be American, the dark undercurrents in our politics and a perhaps naive sense that art can change the world.
He is the composer of Harvey Milk, The Bonesetter's Daughter, and Supermax, among other works, all of which were worked on--to some degree--during MacDowell Residencies. Harvey Milk originally premiered in 1995 at the Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, and San Francisco Opera. A completely new version premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2023 and will be followed by the San Francisco premiere at Opera Parallele. The Bonesetter's Daughter, his opera with novelist Amy Tan, premiered at the San Francisco Opera and was chronicled in the PBS documentary Journey of The Bonesetter's Daughter broadcast nationally on NPR, Shanghai Radio, and Hong Kong.
Other pieces he has worked on at MacDowell include Marco Polo, and his children's books including his first, Mister Toast. During his 2024 residency, he began a new opera with Adam Gopnik based on Stephen Greenblatt's The Swerve.
