In Real Life II

dating site songs for Baritone and piano 

Written: 2020
Duration: ca. 20'
Lyrics: David Cote
Instrumentation: baritone and piano
Commissioned by American Modern Ensemble with funding from the Doctorow Family Foundation
World Premiere (Piano/vocal Version): American Modern Ensemble, Jorell Williams, baritone, Caffè Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY, October 29, 2021
Word Premiere (Chamber Version): American Modern Ensemble, Jorell Williams, baritone, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Mary Flagler Cary Hall, New York, NY, October 27, 2021
PublisherBill Holab Music

View Piano/vocal Score | Buy Sheet Music

In Real Life II is also available as a version for chamber ensemble.
In Real Life I for soprano and piano and In Real Life for soprano chamber ensemble also available, consisting of different songs than In Real Life II.
Extraordinary, a duet for soprano, baritone, and chamber ensemble, or soprano, baritone, and piano is also available as a companion piece to In Real Life I and/or In Real Life II, or as s stand-alone work.

PROGRAM NOTe

As a follow-up to our song cycle for soprano and chamber ensemble (or piano), Robert and I  agreed the concept of five characters looking for love online should have a male counterpart. Written for baritone and chamber ensemble, In Real Life II looks at five contemporary men clicking their way to second chances and romance. In “No Frog” we meet a prototypical player, a guy who fluffs his profile, but the truth keeps slipping out. The tone shifts with “Sola Fide,” in which a U.S. veteran of the war in Afghanistan explains the tattoo on his chest and the wounds inside. An older gentleman envisions one last fling in the irreverent “Die with Me.” In “Still Vamping,” a gay man muses on his start-and-stop romantic history. Finally, in “Nice-Plus,” an everyday guy reveals a hidden passion. In Real Life II was commissioned by American Modern Ensemble with funding from the Doctorow Family Foundation.

Program note © 2020 David Cote. Reprinted with permission.

Press Quotes

Paterson’s musical settings are very much in the spirit of a first-rate contemporary Broadway score. They are melodic, accessible, and gratifyingly sensitive to the narrative’s ebb and flow. In Real Life is a human and touching exploration of the eternal search for companionship and love.
— Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine
In Real Life explores online dating with much comedy in a very theatrical setting... the songs here portray five women and five men filling out their dating-site profiles, sets it to music, and essentially illuminates all the humor, romance and forthrightness that comes with searching for a mate in a charming, operatic demeanor.
— Take Effect Reviews
[In Real Life is] like a chamber musical. You can see why the composing duo write opera together... Paterson takes Cote’s texts and bakes into the words a new and often surprising energy... bundled with wit and a good sense of humor.
— Luke Quinton, Austin American-Statesman