The Commission (1983)

This work is Woodys first entry into the narrative sphere whereby the story is continually undermined with the aid of various antinarrative strategies In each of the eleven segments of this electronic opera different effects are used Fascinated with the remarkable personality of infamous violinist Niccola Paganini and his complicated relationship to Hector Berlioz played by artists Ernie Gusella and Robert Ashley respectively the author meditates over the intricacies of artistic geniality as connected not only with fame but also with the necessity of painful survival under the pressures of the art market