Radio Operas by Experiments in Opera - new works by Matthew Welch and more - Feb. 28, March 1st

Fri - February 28, 2014, 8:00 pm

 

Radio Operas by Experiments in Opera - new works by Matthew Welch and more - Feb. 28, March 1st

Experiments in Opera returns to the Abrons Arts Center
Underground Theater to premiere Radio Operas – a collection of six 10-15 minute works that explore a wide range
of stories highlighting the composers’ interests in Modern abstractionism,
science fiction, melodrama, satire, hallucinatory experiences, scientific
discoveries, and pop culture icons.

Featured works: 'Ping' by John King, 'The Mutt' by Matthew Welch, 'Thomas Paine in Violence' by Paul Pinto, 'The Collector' by Aaron Siegel, 'I Need Space' by Jason Cady and Ann Heppermann, and 'These Walls Can Talk'
by Jonathan Mitchell.

Featured performers: Joan LaBarbara, Vince B. Vincent, Erin
Flannery, Jamie Jordan – vocals; John King - viola and electronics; James
Moore, Taylor Levine and Mary Halvorson – guitar; Matt Evans - percussion;
Matthew Welch, Aaron Siegel – spoken voice; Karl Larson – piano; Jason Cady –
modular synthesizer; Ed Herbstman, Dennis Pacheco, Annemarie
Cullen, Kevin Cragg and Rebecca Robles - actors, and featuring Foley
artist Steve Brush.

These are not nostalgic
homages to the radio plays of yesteryear. EiO’s Radio Operas are daring new
operatic works created by some of the premiere experimental composers of today
and designed specifically with this format in mind. Rather than prioritizing
stage design and visual storytelling, these opera vignettes feature sound
effects performed live by a foley artist, spoken text, music and singing and
will rely on the imagination of the listener to create the image of the
stories.

This inversion of
standard operatic presentation will be made complete when the six featured
works are recorded at the studios of Q2 Music for world premiere webcasts and on-demand streaming. Q2 Music will
share one opera on consecutive nights Monday through Saturday at 8 pm during a
special week in March.

Underground Theater at Abrons Arts Center

The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street, at the corner of Pitt Street, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Friday February 28 & Saturday March
1, 2014  --8 pm