What Belongs to You

What Belongs to You is the world premiere recording of David T. Little’s opera for solo tenor and chamber orchestra, performed by Karim Sulayman with Alarm Will Sound, conducted by Alan Pierson. The libretto, adapted by the composer from Garth Greenwell’s novel of the same name, follows an American teacher in Sofia through his unstable affair with a hustler named Mitko, and the childhood that shaped his longing. In three parts — Mitko, A Grave, Pox — the score looks back to look forward, drawing on Britten, Dowland, Monteverdi, Schubert, and Grisey.

The opera received the Music Critics Association of North America’s 2025 award for Best New Opera. The recording was made live during the work’s premiere production at the Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, in September 2024, directed by Mark Morris. Bright Shiny Things released the album on June 26, 2026, with album notes by Alex Ross.

Entered for the GRAMMY® Awards:

• Best Opera Recording
• Best Contemporary Classical Composition
• Best Engineered Album, Classical — Andrew McKenna Lee
• Best Album Notes — Alex Ross

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[Alarm Will Sound] seems to be able to handle anything. And they do.

What Belongs to You is the most riveting, soul-shaking contemporary opera recording since the 2019 release of Ellen Reid’s equally brilliant and award-winning chamber opera, Prism… Little’s music is extraordinary… so expressive, imaginative, and gripping that it raises the operatic experience to a level that only great music can do. …Not only is the recording definitive; it is essential.

Every now and then a new opera comes along that shakes your world, reminding you of the power and emotional depths that can be attained by this most complex of artforms. David T. Little’s What Belongs to You is just such a work… Even at its most traumatic, the music retains an inner beauty… Karim Sulayman’s central performance is visceral, fluid, and richly poetic… Alarm Will Sound give a performance that crackles with energy under Alan Pierson, and the recording is thrillingly immediate. Be in no doubt, this is a major work by a composer at the top of his game. As such, it demands to be heard.

Daring brilliance… unforgettable… the impact is extraordinary… compelling in its freshness and surprise… Under Alan Pierson, the Alarm Will Sound ensemble… gives a superbly precise and gusty performance. In sum: a gem.

tender, lyric, and full of heartbreak

every moment … is rapturously musical

a finely concentrated performance

• Karim Sulayman, tenor
• Alan Pierson, conductor
• Erin Lesser, flutes
• Christa Robinson, oboes
• Eileen Mack, clarinets
• Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinets
• Michael Harley, bassoons
• Laura Weiner, horn
• Tim Leopold, trumpet
• Michael Clayville, trombone
• Chris P. Thompson, percussion
• Matt Smallcomb, percussion
• John Orfe, piano and synthesizer
• Courtney Orlando, violin
• Patti Kilroy, violin
• Gillian Gallagher, viola
• Stefan Freund, cello
• Miles Brown, bass
• Libretto by David T. Little, after the novel by Garth Greenwell
• Produced by Gavin Chuck, Andrew McKenna Lee, and David T. Little
• Alan Pierson, recording director
• Recorded live by James Seretis
• Sound engineering by William Stanton
• Mixed and edited by Andrew McKenna Lee, Still Sound Music
• Mastered by Joe Lambert
• Album notes by Alex Ross
• Cover photograph by Mark McKnight
• Design by Reely Design
• Recorded live at the Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, September 2024
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes