Off The Ground

Experiments in Opera presents workshop performances of three different operas. Rainbird is a collaboration between director/librettist Mallory Catlett and composer Aaron Siegel, produced in partnership with Restless NYC. Chunky in Heat is a multi-composer work based on a libretto by A.M. Homes and directed by Alison Moritz, produced in partnership with Contemporaneous. Warka Vase is a new work by composer Rick Burkhardt and presented in collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). All of these workshop performances are presented FREE, but RSVP’s are required.
RAINBIRD
Tuesday February 12, 2019, 7:00pm
Godfrey Rainbird struggles to return to normal after a near fatal accident.
Created by Mallory Catlett and Aaron Siegel based on the novel Yellow Flowers in the Antipodean Room by Janet Frame.
Produced in partnership with Restless NYC
Gelsey Bell, Tomas Cruz, Anaïs Maviel, and Dave Ruder – Voice
Andie Springer – Violin
Emily Manzo – Keyboards
Matt Evans – Percussion
CHUNKY IN HEAT
Wednesday February 13, 2019, 7:00pm
Teenager Cheryl is trapped poolside by her dysfunctional family in an eerie and artificial Los Angeles.
Music by Jason Cady, Paula Matthusen, Erin Rogers, Aaron Siegel, Shelley Washington, and Matthew Welch
Libretto by A. M. Homes
Sarah Daniels, Timothy Stoddard, Rachel Doehring, Joshua Jeremiah and Emily Geller – voices
In partnership with chamber orchestra Contemporaneous
David Bloom, Music Director
WARKA VASE
Saturday February 16, 2019, 7:00pm
Created by composer/director Rick Burkhardt and International Contemporary Ensemble as part of the OpenICE initiative.
All of these workshop performances are presented FREE, but RSVP’s are required.
Experiments in Opera is focused on re-writing the story of opera. They believe that new operas can be adventurous and fun, focused on strong and intimate storytelling, while also challenging notions of what experimental music can be. EiO invites composers, directors, designers and performers to create new work that embraces unconventional mediums, a range of durations and production scales, and explores collaboration between all types of artists working to share their visions. They bring new operas to the stage as quickly as we can, marking the urgency of artists with something important to say and the desire of audiences to be a part of the excitement of risky and rewarding work. experimentsinopera.com