CHARLES KONDEK is the recipient of the prestigious MARC BLITZSTEIN MEMORIAL AWARD for music theater presented by the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS.

ESTHER, written with HUGO WEISGALL and premiered by the NEW YORK CITY OPERA at LINCOLN CENTER, was proclaimed by New York Magazine “a work that can now be placed among the very finest operas we have,” and Time Magazine termed ESTHER “a powerful evening of music theatre.” Martin Bernheimer of The Los Angeles Times suggested ESTHER “may be a masterpiece.”

KONDEK also wrote the libretto for BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer SHULAMIT RAN, commissioned and produced by the LYRIC OPERA of CHICAGO. KONDEK and RAN have just finished a version of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, which will premiere at INDIANA UNIVERSITY in 2021.

In addition to the opera BORGIA INFAMI, his collaborations with composer HAROLD BLUMENFELD include the farcical ensemble opera FOURSCORE, the opera-bagatelle BREAKFAST WALTZES, and SEASONS IN HELL, whose libretto was described by the American Record Guide as “an ingenious display of literary virtuosity.” Cincinnati Enquirer called SEASONS IN HELL “a fascinating coming-together of words, music and imagery.”