MARVIN DAVID LEVY  

The American composer David Marvin Levy studied with Philip James and Otto Luening at New York and Columbia Universities respectively. He has been closely involved with opera and theatre music, and has made particular contributions to American Jewish music.

Opera & Vocal Music
Levy won considerable success with his Metropolitan Opera commission Mourning Becomes Electra in 1967, followed by The Grand Balcony, based on Jean Genet, and the childrens opera The Zachary Star, with versions either for Hanukka or Christmas. Vocal music ranges from settings of Edna St Vincent Millay, to Canto de los marranos, reflecting the continuing persecution of the conversos of 15th century Spain, and Shir Shel Moshe (Song of Moses) of the Sabbath eve, to Masada, a biblical oratorio recalling the heroism and defiance of Jewish resistance to Roman domination.