Stephen Schwartz is probably best known in Europe for his music and lyrics for the stage musicals WICKED and GODSPELL and the DreamWorks animated feature THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he received the 1999 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Other work familiar to European audiences includes the lyrics to Disney’s ENCHANTED as well as the animated features POCAHONTAS (two Academy Awards) and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, both with music by Alan Menken. The latter was adapted for the stage and, as DER GLOCKNER VON NOTRE DAME, became the longest-running musical in the history of Berlin. In 2005, Mr. Schwartz contributed songs to the Danish musical, MIT EVENTYR, in celebration of the bicentenniel of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen. Other stage works for which Mr. Schwartz has written music and lyrics include PIPPIN, THE MAGIC SHOW, THE BAKER’S WIFE, WORKING, and CHILDREN OF EDEN. He also provided lyrics in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein for Bernstein’s MASS.  His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has recently been released by Applause Books. Mr. Schwartz invites interested members of the audience to visit his Website at www.stephenschwartz.com.