WORLD PREMIERES

Du Yun

DU YUN

21C LIEDERABEND COMMISSIONED WORK

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Peter Golub

PETER GOLUB

BOXES, BUCKETS AND BAGS

Libretto by David Grimm

"Boxes, Buckets, and Bags", for soprano and string quartet, is a short tryptic portrait of a hoarder who is quickly losing herself in her belongings. Featuring singer Amelia Watkins.
Daniel Felsenfeld

DANIEL FELSENFELD

THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST

Daniel's own musical resetting of David Bowie’s lyrics, featuring singers Corey Dargel and Mellissa Hughes.
David T. Little

DAVID T. LITTLE

LAST NIGHTFALL

Libretto by Royce Vavrek

It is the last night of El Mozote: the massacre will begin at dawn. Rufina Amaya, 38, tries to stay calm, to comfort her elders and keep her little ones quiet. She senses what the morning will bring, and knows what she will have to do when it arrives.
Matt Marks

MATT MARKS

I PRETENDED

Libretto by Royce Vavrek

A cycle of songs written for soprano and brass quintet. Featuring soprano Mellissa Hughes.
Missy Mazzoli

MISSY MAZZOLI

SONG FROM THE UPROAR

Film by Stephen Taylor
Libretto by Royce Vavrek

A chamber opera for alto, flute, clarinet, e. guitar, piano, double bass and electronics text by Missy Mazzoli after the journals of Isabelle Eberhardt. Featuring singer Abigail Fischer.
Paola Prestini

PAOLA PRESTINI

YOANI

Libretto by Royce Vavrek

Starring jazz sensation Sofia Rei Koutsovitis, the first installment of Yoani–a new evening length multimedia work, is based on the real life story of Yoani Sanchez, a Cuban philologist and blogger. Named “Time 100 Most Influential People” Yoani has achieved international fame and multiple international awards for her critical portrayal of life in Cuba under its current government on her blog, Generation Y http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/. From the shortage of lemons to dark nights of male prostitutes, this work will celebrate the life of a silent revolutionary.

AN AGING MAGICIAN

Libretto by Jonathan Safran Foer

A Multimedia song cycle
Performed by Rinde Eckert and Gabriel Kahane with narrator Melvin van Peebles and actor John Bufallo Mailer
ACME string quartet
Projection Design S. Katy Tucker
Co-adaptation Ali Hossaini and Paola Prestini

An Aging Magician is a 20′ multimedia work for narrator, 2 male voices, piano, string quartet and electronics with text by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is a composite of sonic and visual elements used to paint a picture of an aging clown, on his way to another world. The main character, the magician, is played by singer and actor Rinde Eckert, the young boy he falls in love with (his last grasp at life), by Gabriel Kahane, and the narrator and gondolier who shepherds him through a symbolic last ride through Venice by Melvin van Peebles. The musicians are the NY based ACME ensemble.

At mid point through the piece, a sculpture/instrument designed by Mark Stewart will slowly illuminate while played and improvised on by the magician. This whimsical instrument can be blown, struck, whistled, and by the end of the piece, when illuminated fully, nearly blindingly, it will portray the joy the magician wished to bring to his audience through his craft.

"I wanted three generations of men to play these three roles, and it is quite significant for me, as I rarely write specifically for the male voice. There is something very special about these three male artists entwining: their styles are radically different, and yet I believe that through my musical through thread it will be poignant to see them touch souls and make magic through this piece, bringing to life Safran Foer’s beautiful text. An Aging Magician is a VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects Production."- Paola Prestini

Kamala Sankaram

KAMALA SANKARAM

The Thumbprint of Mukhtar Mai

Libretto by Susan Yankowitz

A full-length chamber opera, utilizing Western and Asian instruments, about Mukhtar Mai, who was gang-raped for an alleged crime by her little brother and became the first woman in Pakistan to bring her rapists to justice.