Funding for this production has been made possible through the generous support of TIMOTHY and JANE GILLETTE
AN OPERA IN THREE ACTS AND SEVEN SCENES
MUSIC BY
MISCHA SALKIND-PEARL
LIBRETTO BY
THE ENSEMBLE Aliana de la Guardia PRODUCTION STAFF Allegra Libonati ADMINISTRATION Mike Williams Rudolf Rojahn Aliana de la Guardia Julia Noulin‐Mérat Sophie Michaux Brian Church Amy Advocat Kent O’Doherty Mike Williams Lilit Hartunian Julia Noulin‐Mérat Daniel B. Chapman Neil Fortin Cheryl Turski Elise Napoli Keithlyn Parkman Bruno Baker Mark DiGiovanni Tae Kim Holly Gordon FREDERICK CHOI
MIDORI/ORIKI/OKYOU HIGUCHI NATSUKO (ICHIYOU) NAKARAI TOSUI/NOBU/KICHIZOU/TOMONOSUKE CLARINETS SAXOPHONES PERCUSSION VIOLIN STAGE DIRECTOR PRODUCTION DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER COSTUME DESIGNER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHER STAGE MANAGER ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER/MASTER ELECTRICIAN ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR REHEARSAL PIANIST GRAPHIC DESIGNER CO‐ARTISTIC DIRECTOR CO‐ARTISTIC DIRECTOR GENERAL MANAGER DIRECTOR OF DESIGN AND PRODUCTION FROM THE COMPOSER
Troubled Water follows a storyline from the life of late 19th‐century Japanese author Higuchi Natsuko (Ichiyou). Considered the first female writer of the Japanese modern era, Higuchi was educated in classical writing traditions, and these influences became significant aspects of her work. Woven into the story of the author are scenes from her stories which reflect and amplify Higuchi’s experience of the world she lived in. SYNOPSIS
Overture: Hokku A hokku, in Japanese literature, the opening stanza (or group of stanzas) in certain forms of classical poetry and free‐prose. Originally serving an introductory function, the hokku in some genres became a demonstration of the author's descriptive and narrative capabilities, often setting up elaborate scenes only to hinge on a single detail which connected to the body of the work. ACT I Scene 1: Meeting Nakarai A 19‐year‐old Natusko Higuchi calls on Tosui Nakarai, a locally‐famous writer of cheap fiction; she is asking him for help and mentorship in her efforts to become a respected author. Despite Higuchi's timid nature, Nakarai detects the desire and conviction with which she approaches her craft, and he offers his support. He expresses concern that he will not be of much help, since he writes strictly for profit. Higuchi understands the conflict of styles between them, but, taken by Nakarai's celebrity and desperate for guidance she eagerly commits to a working relationship. Interlude 1 Scene 2: Garden (from Child's Play/Takekurabe) Nobu, a young monk in training, has broken his sandal outside the garden of Midori, daughter of a wealthier family and sister to the most respected courtesan in the Yoshiwara, Tokyo's slightly seedy red‐light district. The two were drawn to each other in school, but recent petty teenage quarrels have caused them to drift apart. As Midori sees Nobu struggling to fix his sandal, drenched in rain and late to return home, she is overwhelmed with sadness at the loss of their friendship. Nobu feels a similar regret as he realizes what has become of their friendship. Although neither speaks to the other, in a moment of clarity both begin coming to terms with the fact that their futures are predetermined: Nobu for the life of a monk, and Midori to be pulled into the world of professional courtesans. Interlude 2 Scene 3: Bridge (from Troubled Water/Nigorie) Oriki, a popular courtesan at the Kikunoi house, prepares to entertain her guests with a song. The mood is festive, and a small crowd has gathered to see her perform. As the song goes on, Oriki jumps up and runs out of the house in a panic. She wanders through the streets and makes her way to a bridge, where she reflects on the inexorable march of her life. Tomonosuke, a patron whom Oriki has come to like, startles her as she is coming out of a daze and the scene ends. ACT II Scene 4: Heroes Higuchi (having now taken the pen name Ichiyou in place of Natsuko) has learned that Nakarai has been spreading rumors of their relationship to mutual acquaintances. Even though the charges are spurious at worst, she becomes enraged at his betrayal and vows to stop relying on Nakarai for help. She sings an aria in which she reflects on the the identity of the "protectors" in her life. Interlude 4 Scene 5: Separate Ways (from Separate Ways/Wakare Michi) Returning from an evening walk, Okyou, a poor seamstress of around the age of 30, surprises Kichizou, an umbrella‐maker's assistant of 16, as the two pass on a quiet street. The two are each other's only friends in a destitute quarter. Kichizou has heard rumors that Okyou has agreed to be taken as a wife, and she confirms his suspicions. Kichizou reacts angrily, claiming betrayal and questioning how she could sacrifice the relationship that he considered the only positive thing in his life. Okyou is ashamed of her decision, but feels justified in taking the opportunity to procure herself a better life. She asks Kichizou for forgiveness, but he rejects her. Interlude 5 Scene 6: Kikunoi (from Troubled Water/Nigorie) Back in the Kikunoi house after her breakdown, Oriki sits with Tomonosuke in her room. He tries to persuade her to open up about her life and troubles, but she resists. Finally, he coaxes her to sing with him, and asks Oriki to let him marry her and give her a better life. She remains reticent and suspicious; the owner of the establishment announces the closing hour, and the scene ends. ACT III Scene 7: Wall Higuchi is now 24, in poor health and with little money. She has recently attained significant recognition in the literary world for her published works (notably Takekurabe, Nigorie, and Wakare Michi), and has acquired a small but devoted following of young male writers who want her to champion their literary causes. She is alone, and while she enjoys the recognition, she prefers to distance herself from the agendas of those around her. She sings of how she came to choose her pen name, Ichiyou. The scene ends as she reflects on her gradual withdrawal from society's smothering forces. FROM DIRECTOR
ALLEGRA LIBONATI
FROM DIRECTOR
ALLEGRA LIBONATI
“She returned the novel to the province of the heart—not the wit or the intellect, though she
had both, but those gray elusive intermittences of feeling… In plumbing the depths of the
beauty and sadness of life, her themes were as old as those of the ancient poets; yet her work
was as fresh as anything the innovative Europeans were exporting. In speaking to her times,
Ichiyou spoke for all times. The realism of her best stories was so grounded in her sense of
place—Tokyo at the turn of the century—but she distilled from her localities something that
was universal, that captured a generation at the very moment of its rueful disillusionment: the
perishability of friendship, the victimization of women, the profound disequilibrium between
individual and society, the poetry and melancholy of memory, the road not taken.”
“She returned the novel to the province of the heart—not the wit or the intellect, though she
had both, but those gray elusive intermittences of feeling… In plumbing the depths of the
beauty and sadness of life, her themes were as old as those of the ancient poets; yet her work
was as fresh as anything the innovative Europeans were exporting. In speaking to her times,
Ichiyou spoke for all times. The realism of her best stories was so grounded in her sense of
place—Tokyo at the turn of the century—but she distilled from her localities something that
was universal, that captured a generation at the very moment of its rueful disillusionment: the
perishability of friendship, the victimization of women, the profound disequilibrium between
individual and society, the poetry and melancholy of memory, the road not taken.”
—Excerpt from In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The life of Higuchi Ichiyou, Robert Lyons Danly
—Excerpt from In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The life of Higuchi Ichiyou, Robert Lyons Danly
Troubled Water is a new opera about an extraordinary individual. To learn about the life of
Ichiyou Higuchi is to become entranced by her dedication to writing. Higuchi was a young
woman who could not be stopped. Born into a society that did not view women as serious
writers, she was taken out of school, suffered from poverty, and driven to manual labor, yet
she never stopped writing her poems and stories and turned her life into an articulated work
of art through her journal. She is described as suffering from timidness in social interactions,
yet her work is bold, confident, and deeply articulates the inner emotional workings of
complex relationships between men and women in her time, and for all times.
Troubled Water is a new opera about an extraordinary individual. To learn about the life of
Ichiyou Higuchi is to become entranced by her dedication to writing. Higuchi was a young
woman who could not be stopped. Born into a society that did not view women as serious
writers, she was taken out of school, suffered from poverty, and driven to manual labor, yet
she never stopped writing her poems and stories and turned her life into an articulated work
of art through her journal. She is described as suffering from timidness in social interactions,
yet her work is bold, confident, and deeply articulates the inner emotional workings of
complex relationships between men and women in her time, and for all times.
The opera begins with the moment Higuchi first meets her mentor, friend, and the man whom
she would love, the writer Nakarai. She arrives at his office, destitute, seeking to become a
published author. We then see her stories come to life as Nakarai begins to read her original
manuscript and discovers the work of a genius. The opera unfolds, interweaving her heartwrenching stories with events in her short, profound life.
The opera begins with the moment Higuchi first meets her mentor, friend, and the man whom
she would love, the writer Nakarai. She arrives at his office, destitute, seeking to become a
published author. We then see her stories come to life as Nakarai begins to read her original
manuscript and discovers the work of a genius. The opera unfolds, interweaving her heartwrenching stories with events in her short, profound life.
For the staging of Troubled Water, an opera that articulates both this world and the world of
art, I was inspired by traditional Japanese theater and performance as a mode of
communication. We looked specifically at the character archetypes and how men and women
were portrayed in their movement and specific staging techniques. What you will see,
however, is in no way a traditional Kabuki piece. We have blended European commedia
traditions as well as techniques from the modern American theater as we sought for a physical
and poetic expression equivalent to Higuchi's own works—both traditional and new. I felt it
important to portray elements of the Japanese culture on stage for a story about a Japanese
woman writer at the turn of the century. Yet, anytime one embodies members of another
culture on stage there is a danger of stereotype—particularly a culture like Japan, steeped in
rituals, customs, and etiquette. My goal is we remain cognizant that we are in Tokyo, 1890,
and experience elements of what this may have looked and felt like, while allowing a freedom
of expression from our living artists.
For the staging of Troubled Water, an opera that articulates both this world and the world of
art, I was inspired by traditional Japanese theater and performance as a mode of
communication. We looked specifically at the character archetypes and how men and women
were portrayed in their movement and specific staging techniques. What you will see,
however, is in no way a traditional Kabuki piece. We have blended European commedia
traditions as well as techniques from the modern American theater as we sought for a physical
and poetic expression equivalent to Higuchi's own works—both traditional and new. I felt it
important to portray elements of the Japanese culture on stage for a story about a Japanese
woman writer at the turn of the century. Yet, anytime one embodies members of another
culture on stage there is a danger of stereotype—particularly a culture like Japan, steeped in
rituals, customs, and etiquette. My goal is we remain cognizant that we are in Tokyo, 1890,
and experience elements of what this may have looked and felt like, while allowing a freedom
of expression from our living artists.
My greatest hope is that we draw you into Ichiyou Higuchi's world—complex, honest, and
based in the human heart. It has been an honor to dig into the world of a genius with the
inspired Guerilla Opera artists.
My greatest hope is that we draw you into Ichiyou Higuchi's world—complex, honest, and
based in the human heart. It has been an honor to dig into the world of a genius with the
inspired Guerilla Opera artists.
Slender, and yet
To some they form a veritable staff,
A pillar of support:
The bristles on the tip
Of the writing brush.
—Ichiyou Higuchi
Slender, and yet
To some they form a veritable staff,
A pillar of support:
The bristles on the tip
Of the writing brush.
—Ichiyou Higuchi
PROGRAM ADDENDUM
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF
Daniel B. Chapman
Elise Napoli
Sammi Cannold
Sam Filson Parkinson
PROGRAM ADDENDUM
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF
LIGHTING DESIGNER/PROJECTION DESIGNER
REHEARSAL STAGE MANAGER
SHOW STAGE MANAGER
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Daniel B. Chapman
Elise Napoli
Sammi Cannold
Sam Filson Parkinson
LIGHTING DESIGNER/PROJECTION DESIGNER
REHEARSAL STAGE MANAGER
SHOW STAGE MANAGER
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
ARTISTS
ARTISTS
SAMMI CANNOLD (SHOW STAGE MANAGER) is an Artistic Fellow at the American Repertory Theater
and an M.Ed candidate at Harvard University. Previous directing credits include Evita, Les
Misérables, Machinal, and Violet at Stanford University. PA/SM Team credits include Finding
Neverland (A.R.T. & Broadway), The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess (1st Ntl), Beautiful (SF), the Tony
Awards, and Hamlet (Stanford). Assisting credits include The Prince of Egypt(Bay Street) and
A.R.T.’s upcoming Pirate Princess with Allegra Libonati.
SAMMI CANNOLD (SHOW STAGE MANAGER) is an Artistic Fellow at the American Repertory Theater
and an M.Ed candidate at Harvard University. Previous directing credits include Evita, Les
Misérables, Machinal, and Violet at Stanford University. PA/SM Team credits include Finding
Neverland (A.R.T. & Broadway), The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess (1st Ntl), Beautiful (SF), the Tony
Awards, and Hamlet (Stanford). Assisting credits include The Prince of Egypt(Bay Street) and
A.R.T.’s upcoming Pirate Princess with Allegra Libonati.
SAM FILSON PARKINSON (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) is an actor, director, and stage manager based
in Boston, MA. Parkinson is delighted to join the crew of Troubled Water for his first
production with Guerilla Opera. Recent stage management credits include Our Town with
Boston Opera Collaborative, Suor Angelica and Trouble in Tahiti with MetroWest, and The
Rake's Progress at The Boston Conservatory. Parkinson’s next projects include The Flight, The
Old Maid and the Thief, and This is the Rill Speaking at The Boston Conservatory where
Parkinson is completing his M.M.
SAM FILSON PARKINSON (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) is an actor, director, and stage manager based
in Boston, MA. Parkinson is delighted to join the crew of Troubled Water for his first
production with Guerilla Opera. Recent stage management credits include Our Town with
Boston Opera Collaborative, Suor Angelica and Trouble in Tahiti with MetroWest, and The
Rake's Progress at The Boston Conservatory. Parkinson’s next projects include The Flight, The
Old Maid and the Thief, and This is the Rill Speaking at The Boston Conservatory where
Parkinson is completing his M.M.
ABOUT
ICHIYOU HIGUCHI
Ichiyou Higuchi was born Natsuko Higuchi in Tokyo in 1872. Trained in the stylized refinement
of traditional Heian poetry—popular among women above Higuchi's social station—she found
herself drawn to both the classical literary forms and to new subjects that came into focus
during Japan's period of modernization. The Meiji Restoration thwarted her father's hopes at
ascending to a higher position in society, and the early deaths of her father and brother led to
the impoverishment of the remaining family (Higuchi, along with her mother, sister, and
other brother). Higuchi had found herself a mentor, Tosui Nakarai, a writer of cheap novels,
but her career had yet to take off. Reduced to living in the poorest neighborhoods and finding
herself among society's outcasts, she began to write of what she saw: courtesans, rickshaw
drivers, and manual laborers. Her mature works—including Child's Play (Takekurabe), Separate
Ways (Wakare Michi), and Troubled Waters (Nigorie)—tell the stories of people, mostly
women, facing limited options and struggling against the paths laid out for them. When
Higuchi died of tuberculosis at age 24, she had only recently gained recognition as a major
writer. Recognized as the first significant female writer of Japan's modern era, her mature
style synthesizes the stylization of classical poetry with the desperation of life at society's
fringes.
ABOUT
ICHIYOU HIGUCHI
Ichiyou Higuchi was born Natsuko Higuchi in Tokyo in 1872. Trained in the stylized refinement
of traditional Heian poetry—popular among women above Higuchi's social station—she found
herself drawn to both the classical literary forms and to new subjects that came into focus
during Japan's period of modernization. The Meiji Restoration thwarted her father's hopes at
ascending to a higher position in society, and the early deaths of her father and brother led to
the impoverishment of the remaining family (Higuchi, along with her mother, sister, and
other brother). Higuchi had found herself a mentor, Tosui Nakarai, a writer of cheap novels,
but her career had yet to take off. Reduced to living in the poorest neighborhoods and finding
herself among society's outcasts, she began to write of what she saw: courtesans, rickshaw
drivers, and manual laborers. Her mature works—including Child's Play (Takekurabe), Separate
Ways (Wakare Michi), and Troubled Waters (Nigorie)—tell the stories of people, mostly
women, facing limited options and struggling against the paths laid out for them. When
Higuchi died of tuberculosis at age 24, she had only recently gained recognition as a major
writer. Recognized as the first significant female writer of Japan's modern era, her mature
style synthesizes the stylization of classical poetry with the desperation of life at society's
fringes.
ARTISTS
MISCHA SALKIND‐PEARL (COMPOSER) is a Boston‐based composer of instrumental and vocal music. His music is informed by questions of humans’ relationships to nature; through the musical qualities which grow from this relationship, feelings of mystery, anticipation, and the unexpected are common threads in Salkind‐Pearl’s music. His works have been performed throughout the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Italy, and have been featured at music festivals and concert series in Boston, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Fairbanks, Tokyo, Freiburg, Pavia, and elsewhere. He has received commissions and performances from numerous ensembles and soloists, including Boston’s Guerilla Opera, Dinosaur Annex, and Ludovico Ensemble, The Boston Conservatory Sinfonietta, Alea III, Chamber Cartel, Callithumpian Consort, Sinopia Quartet, the DMC percussion‐clarinet duo, Ensemble SurPlus, Diagenesis Duo, Transient Canvas, Finland’s Uusinta Ensemble, Juventas New Music, and UMBC’s faculty ensemble, RUCKUS; percussionists Trevor Saint and Masako Kunimoto; saxophonist Philipp Stäudlin; guitarist Gregory König; cellist Jennifer Bewerse; pianists Elaine Rombola, Miki Arimura, and Kate Campbell; as well as conductors Russell Ger, Eric Hewitt, Jeffrey Means, and Yohei Sato. He holds a B.A. in music from Skidmore College, a certificate in American contemporary music from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and an M.M. in composition from The Boston Conservatory. His primary teachers have included Linda Dusman, Marti Epstein, and Dalit Warshaw, with additional studies under Anthony Holland and Carlo Alessandro Landini. Salkind‐Pearl is co‐founder and artistic director of the Boston area Equilibrium Concert Series. He currently teaches at The Boston Conservatory as a member of the Composition, History, and English as a Second Language departments. He is Composer‐in‐Residence for the Ludovico Ensemble. Read Salkind‐Pearl’s complete bio at mischasalkindpearl.com. FREDERICK CHOI (LIBRETTIST) is a Korean‐American playwright and composer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his "mini" opera Leif (music by Andy Vores), which recounts the story behind a famous Boston statue, was commissioned in 2008 by Boston Music Viva for their 40th anniversary season. He has led summer seminars for high school students on songwriting and the works of Stephen Sondheim, and performs and records as a singer‐songwriter under the moniker Zpqa. He has recently completed a full‐length theatrical piece entitled Life? that combines elements of theater, poetry, mime, dance, and song, and is currently working on a musical adaptation of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. ALLEGRA LIBONATI (STAGE DIRECTOR) is currently the Resident Director at the American Repertory Theater. She resides in Boston, MA where she guest teaches at MIT and Harvard University. Her work is diverse, from Shakespeare to musicals, from children’s theater to street mob flash events. She is a proud member of Tut Zanni Commedia Company and a graduate of NYU and CMU. Favorite productions listed below. A.R.T.: The Light Princess (Director), Hansel and Gretel (Director/Adapter), The Snow Queen (Director), The Donkey Show (Resident Director), The Tempest (Associate Director), Prometheus Bound (Associate Director), Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera (Assistant Director), Best of Both Worlds (Assistant Director). OBERON: Once In Hell: Dante’s Inferno in 10 Dinner Courses; Matchmaker, Matchmaker, I’m Willing to Settle: A Musical Guide to Internet Dating. Broadway: HAIR (Assistant Director, Tony Award‐winning Revival). Summer Theater of New Cannaan: Hairspray (9 Broadway World Nominations); South Pacific (2 Broadway World Nominations); My Fair Lady, Carousel, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, H4 (an original adaptation of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2). Read Libonati’s complete bio at: allegralibonati.com. ALIANA DE LA GUARDIA (MIDORI/ORIKI/OKYOU/GENERAL MANAGER) is a soprano vocalist specializing in New Music and extended vocal techniques, as well as an actor, teacher, and producer dubbed by Stuff Magazine as “an anomalous player on the Boston music scene.” The Cuban‐ American performer began training in theater and film at a young age in her native New Jersey and completed studies in voice and opera at The Boston Conservatory (B.M. ’05 and M.M. ’07). An avid performer of new music, she has performed the works of many of the leading composers of our time such as Birtwistle, Gorecki, Harvey, Kurtág, and Sciarrino, among others. She a co‐founding artist of Guerilla Opera, where she has co‐produced and premiered 12 new operas with roles written specifically for her, and the director of Dirty Paloma, which has been bringing concerts to Boston and beyond since 2010 with varied repertoire. De la Guardia is committed to developing new vocal repertoire, frequently collaborating with living composers. The Arts Fuse writes: “Her natural sound is lovely, as clear and powerful as grain alcohol… In addition, her control of ‘in the margin’ techniques is super.” Additional new music performances include: The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Center for Contemporary Opera, Firebird Ensemble, Harvard Group for New Music, I/O Ensemble, Ludovico Ensemble, PARMA Festival, and Xanthos Ensemble. Her experience extends to standard classical repertoire as well, including performances with Boston Lyric Opera, Granite State Opera, New England Philharmonic, Lorelei Ensemble, and Cappella Clausura, among others. She can also be seen on television guest starring in the episode entitled Missing in the second season of ABC’s Body of Proof. Additional engagements include guest speaker at the National Opera Association Convention in Memphis, TN (2012) and guest panelist at Boston Lyric Opera’s “Night at the Opera” series (2012). Artistic residencies include the University of Memphis, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Harvard University, and performance faculty at Hubbard Hall Opera Theater. She is currently a voice teacher in MA at Wakefield Public Schools and at the Be Imagine Music Studio in Haverhill. SOPHIE MICHAUX (HIGUCHI, ICHIYOU NATSUKO) was born in London and raised in the French Alps. The Boston Musical Intelligencer characterized her voice as “luscious,” “velvety,” and “ever so slightly smoky.” Recognized for her enthralling presence and her audacious interpretation, Michaux maintains an active performance schedule in Europe and the U.S. under directors Gabriel Garrido, Richard Webster, Federico Cortese, Gil Rose, Michael Sakir, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Beth Willer, Frederic Jodry, and Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, among others. She appeared in Switzerland, at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Victoria Hall, in France at the Festival Radio France, Festival Europa Musa, and the Musée‐Château d’Annecy, and in the Boston Area at Sanders Theatre, Jordan Hall, Trinity Church of Boston and the Goethe Institute. On stage, her roles include the title role in Rinaldo (Boston Opera Collaborative), Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Brittenica), Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lowell House Opera), Mrs. Soames in Our Town (Boston Opera Collaborative), Dorabella in Cosí fan Tutte (The Greater Worcester Opera), Mercedes in Carmen (MetroWest Opera), La Pythonisse in David et Jonathas (Helios Early Opera), the title role in Orontea (Longy School of Music), and the Third Lady in The Magic Flute (Longwood Opera). In April 2015, she sang the role of Ceres in The Shakespeare Concert’s world premiere of The Tempest, by Joseph Summer. In March 2016, she will appear as Anne in Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Jake Heggie’s To Hell and Back. In 2010, she was a soloist at the Egida Sartori and Laura Alvini Early Music Seminar in Venice, Italy, directed by René Jacobs, and with the Brockton Symphony Orchestra in 2011. Michaux is simultaneously active as a vocal chamber singer. She appears with Lorelei Ensemble, Schola Cantorum, and sings regularly as a soloist the Trinity Church of Boston. She was the alto soloist both in Handel’s Messiah in 2013 and Bach’s Magnificat in 2014. Although she focuses on classical music, her versatility and musical curiosity have brought her to be an active performer in other repertoires. She toured the U.S and Europe with Northern Harmony in 2014, an ensemble that is renowned for its command of varied world ethnic singing styles, from the Balkans, the Republic of Georgia, South‐Africa, and the U.S. She is the co‐founder of a guitar/voice duo, Sophie et Adam, that focuses on French and American folk music. She has also explored the Yiddish song repertoire, with performances at the Goethe Institute for the Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprise and the celebration of musical wealth in the Vilna and Łódź Ghettos during WWII. She is a graduate of the Haute École de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland (B.M., early music vocal performance), and of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA (M.M. in vocal performance). Read Michaux’s complete bio at: sophiemichaux.com. BRIAN CHURCH (NAKARAI TOSUI/NOBU/KICHIZOU/TOMONOSUKE) has enjoyed a busy and varied career in the Boston performing arts scene. He is an avid performer of contemporary and experimental music and has been fortunate to work closely with many significant living composers on their own compositions, most recently with Roger Reynolds, performing his works for the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP) at the New England Conservatory. He has also performed works by Furrer and Lachenmann with Sound Icon, appeared in the solo quartet version of Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion with Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), and Wolff’s Exception to the Rule with Callithumpian Consort at the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP), which toured in Boston, Colorado and Chicago. Church has performed Davies’ 8 Songs for a Mad King with the Callithumpian Consort and Collage New Music, which was selected as “Most Exciting Contemporary Concert” in The Boston Phoenix 2009 Classical Year‐In‐Review. A frequent performer with Guerilla Opera his performances include: Joe Biden/Joe “the Plumber” (Say It Ain’t So, Joe), the Doctor (Heart of a Dog), and Clem Dupree (Bovinus Rex). This past season Church also performed with the Grammy‐winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth including performances in Seattle, Portland, San Diego, New York City, and Boston. He was also recently a soloist with the Cantata Singers as part of the American Guild of Organists Convention, and continues to work as a soloist, ensemble member and occasional conductor with the Choir at King’s Chapel. Church is featured on two new recordings of works by composer Curtis K. Hughes, the chamber opera Say It Ain’t So, Joe, and the Beck Journals, Vol. 1. Later this summer, he will be releasing his first solo album as well as the final album by his former avant‐
noise punk band Tristan Da Cunha. AMY ADVOCAT (CLARINETS) has been hailed as “dazzling” (The Boston Globe). She is an avid performer of new music having performed with Callithumpian Consort, Firebird Ensemble, [sound icon], Boston Modern Orchestra Project, The New Fromm Players at Tanglewood, Boston Microtonal Society’s NotaRiotous, Glass Farm Ensemble, and the Second Instrumental Unit. She is a founding member of the clarinet and marimba duo, Transient Canvas, with whom she has commissioned and premiered more than 12 pieces, including works by Marti Epstein, Gary Philo and Osnat Netzer. Their recording of Andy Vores’ Fabrication 10: Itch appears on his latest CD One Head, released in January 2013. Always looking for the most innovative projects, Advocat was recently highlighted in The Boston Globe for her work at the Bohlen‐Pierce Symposium in Boston, during which she premiered six new pieces on the newly invented Bohlen‐Pierce clarinet. This instrument plays in a non‐octave‐repeating tuning system which offers an alternative to our own, and was the basis of Advocat’s studies toward her D.M.A. at McGill University in Montréal. Equally at home with more traditional classical music, she has also performed with Opera Boston, Boston Pops, National Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Advocat was twice a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, and has participated at the Spoleto USA Festival, Monadnock Music, Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP), New York String Orchestra Seminar, Virginia Arts Festival, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Advocat was named the first recipient of the Boston Woodwind Society’s Harold Wright Award and is a Hadar Foundation Scholar. She received her D.M.A. from McGill University, and her B.M. and M.M. degrees from the New England Conservatory, where she was a recipient of the Tourjée award; a scholarship awarded to one outstanding NEC graduate who returns for a second degree. Her principal teachers include Simon Aldrich, Thomas Mar‐
tin, David Weber, William Wrzesien and Craig Nordstrom. She has been recorded on Mode, Navona and New World Records. Read Advocat’s complete bio at: amyadvocat.com. KENT O’DOHERTY (SAXOPHONES) is an interdisciplinary art maker whose work generally falls into the territory of existence and being. A native of Australia, he studied saxophone in Melbourne (Australia), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and then to Boston, MA, picking up performance art, followed by video and sound sculpture. As a performer/teacher/art‐maker he endeavors to discover what lies beyond both his “self” and convention. He has had the great fortune to make art with some wonderful people and looks forward to more discoveries in the future. MIKE WILLIAMS (PERCUSSION/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) has been hailed by The Boston Globe as “one of the city’s best percussionists.” He has performed throughout North America and Europe and is a regular performer in the Boston area. An advocate for contemporary music, he is a member of the new music sinfonietta Sound Icon and the percussionist and artistic director of Guerilla Opera, with whom he has commissioned and premiered 12 new chamber operas since 2007. He has also performed with groups including the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Ludovico Ensemble, Callithumpian Consort, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, and Harvard Group for New Music. Williams has worked with many of the leading composers of our time including Pierluigi Billone, Philippe Leroux, Salvatore Sciarrino, Steven Mackey, Gunther Schuller, and Roger Reynolds and has been involved in numerous recordings on labels including Cantaloupe, BMOP Sound, Albany, and Northwest Classics. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Portland Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, New Hampshire Symphony, and Springfield Symphony, and in the summer of 2010 toured North America with the Star Wars: In Concert Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded a fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center and attended The Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance in New York. In addition, he has performed at the Festival de Mexico, Gaudeamus Music Week, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, New Hampshire Music Festival, Monadnock Music, and the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice at New England Conservatory. Williams holds B.M and M.M. degrees from The Boston Conservatory, where he won the top prize in the Concerto Competition. He also attended SUNY Stony Brook and completed a year of advanced study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam during which time he regularly performed with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra under Peter Eötvös. Williams has given masterclasses at the University of Memphis School of Music and the Vermont College of Fine Arts and was a solo recitalist and guest lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. His principal teachers include Peter Prommel, Pat Hollenbeck, Nancy Zeltsman, and Salvatore Rabbio. In the fall of 2015, he joined the music theory faculty at The Boston Conservatory. LILIT HARTUNIAN (VIOLIN) performs at the forefront of contemporary music innovation in Boston and internationally. Described as “brilliantly rhapsodic” by the Harvard Crimson, Lilit is regularly heard on stage premiering works written for her by leading composers, and has appeared as soloist in the SEAMUS, NYCEMF, Open Sound, and P3 festivals in 2015. She can also be heard performing with contemporary ensembles such as Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Sound Icon, Boston New Music Initiative, Hub New Music, Transient Canvas, Equilib‐
rium Ensemble, Boston Microtonal Society, and others. She has been invited repeatedly to perform at the Museum of Fine Arts, with projects ranging from solo recitals to orchestral concerts, which culminated in her appointment as Creative Director of a new Ensemble‐in‐
Residence launching there in the fall of 2015. Locally, the Boston Musical Intelligencer has praised her “captivating and luxurious tone.” Internationally, she was one of twelve U.S. violinists chosen to attend the 2014 Lucerne Festival Academy. In addition to her performance career, Lilit enjoys serving on violin and chamber music faculty at The Rivers School Conservatory. JULIA NOULIN‐MÉRAT (PRODUCTION DESIGNER/DIRECTOR OF DESIGN AND PRODUCTION) is the principal set designer at Noulin‐Mérat Studio, an intrepid design firm that has designed more than 300 productions for opera, film, television, and site‐specific immersive theater. She is the Associate Producer at Boston Lyric Opera, the Director of Design and Production for the Boston‐based Guerilla Opera, and the resident designer for New York companies Attic Theater and Exit, Pursued By a Bear. Previous opera work includes Clemency and La Traviata (Boston Lyric Opera); Bluebeard’s Castle (Opera Omaha); Madama Butterfly (El Paso Opera and Opera New Jersey); The Return of Ulysses (Opera Omnia); Sumeida's Song (Boston Opera Collaborative and Pittsburgh Opera); La Descente d'Ophee (Gotham Chamber Opera), Pedr Solis, Giver of Light, Gallo, No Exit (Guerilla Opera). Previous theatre work; These Seven Sicknesses and Restoration Comedy (Flea Theater); The Rocky Horror Show (Hangar Theatre). Read Noulin‐Mérat’s complete bio at: noulinmerat.com. DANIEL B. CHAPMAN (Lighting Designer) has designed for productions including New York: Restoration Comedy, Construction of the Human Heart (The Acting Company), Of Mice and Men, Damascus; Summer Theater of New Canaan: Twelfth Night; Opera Southwest: Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia; Ballet Repertory Theater of New Mexico: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Southwest Folktales, Beyond the Classics, Mythical Wonders. Chapman works as a freelance designer and software engineer. He is originally from New Mexico and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon. Read Chapman’s complete bio at: danielbchapman.com. NEIL FORTIN (COSTUME DESIGNER) is Guerilla Opera’s Costume Designer‐in‐Residence. He is a graduate of Boston University with an M.F.A. in costume production, and additionally holds a B.A. in history from Providence College. Fortin has most recently completed designing Guerilla Opera’s world premiere presentation of Let’s Make a Sandwich, and prior to that, he completed two women’s tailoring projects for the Commonwealth Shakespeare Com‐
pany’s Twelfth Night. Fortin also worked with Boston’s Huntington Theater Company during their 2013‐2014 season, including the new play by Melinda Lopez, Becoming Cuba and Chekov’s The Seagull starring Kate Burton. He has also worked with The Boston Conservatory, Actors Shakespeare Project, The Walnut Hill School, and the Metro Stage Company. Fortin excels in period tailoring as well as corsetry and period dressmaking. Millinery and crafts work are also in his arsenal, with attention to period and light‐handed detail. While Fortin enjoys costume production he also facile at design work, and understands that the way clothing is constructed affects the design‐driven outcome. CHERYL TURSKI (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/MOVEMENT CHOREOGRAPHER) is thrilled to be a part of Guerilla Opera. Choreography: Off‐Broadway: The Light Princess (New Victory) Regional: The Light Princess, Trojan Barbie, Alice v. Wonderland (A.R.T), The Winter's Tale, Love's Labours' Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival) Acting: International: America: An Ongoing Experiment (China Tour) Regional: The Donkey Show (A.R.T.) Miles and Ellie (The Purple Rose Theatre), The Explorer's Club, The Game's Afoot, The Constant Wife (Meadow Brook Theatre), Proof (Seacoast Repertory Theatre), Hay Fever (Boston Publick Theatre). She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.F.A. in Acting from the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard, which also included a semester studying at the Moscow Art Theatre School. In addition, she holds a C.M.A. (Certified Movement Analyst) from the Laban/
Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies. She is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Wayne State University specializing in Movement, Voice, and Acting. KEITHLYN PARKMAN (ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER/MASTER ELECTRICIAN) is a recent graduate of the Boston University School of Theatre Lighting Design Program. She is thrilled to be working with Guerilla Opera for the fifth time, already having participated in pieces such as Pedr Solis, No Exit and Gallo. Her most recent assistantship credits at BU are Massanet's Cendrillon and The Human Comedy, the Musical. ELISE NAPOLI (STAGE MANAGER) Past productions include: Odyssey Opera’s Sir John in Love (second assistant stage manager), Speakeasy Stage Company Tribes (production assistant). New York: Theater 80 Silence: the musical (production assistant), Marymount Manhattan College Bald Soprano (assistant stage manager), New World Stages Freckleface Strawberry (production assistant), Savannah Children’s Theater High School Musical 2 (production stage manager), Marymount Manhattan College Girl Gone (assistant stage manager), York Theater Workshop Bluesbird (production stage manager), Marymount Manhattan College Spring Dance (production stage manager). Elise received her B.F.A. in theater from Marymount Manhattan College with a concentration in stage management. BRUNO BAKER (ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER) is a junior studying theater at New York University Tisch School of the Arts in the Playwrights Horizons Studio with a concentration in directing, devising, and choreography. He is currently an intern at Noulin‐Merat Studio and will be working on 12 productions with them. Recent works: Assistant Director and Stage Manager Loft Opera's Lucrezia Borgia and Il Barbie Di Siviglia, Director Hedda Gabler at Concord Academy. MARK DIGIOVANNI (TECHNICAL DIRECTOR) began his collaboration with Julia Noulin‐Mérat seven years ago while working on Memory House, and they have worked on more than 30 shows since. DiGiovanni’s technical directing credits include Dark Rapture, Kenny and the Virgin Mary, Cosi fan Tutte, Lucia di Lammermoor, Xerxes, Carmen, A Little Night Music, Alcina, Carmen, The Visit and The Lady is not for Burning. Mark has a M.S.M.E. from Penn State and a B.S.M.E. from Maine. TAE KIM (REHEARSAL PIANIST) Hailed as a "highly skilled improviser" by The New York Times and "prickly and explosive" by The Montreal Gazette, Kim's rare blend of rigorous execution and whimsical styling creates an interpretation of the classical repertoire all his own. Kim (Boston Conservatory B.M. ’05; New England Conservatory M.M. ’08) has gained widespread recognition as a classical pianist and improvisational artist. Part of the ongoing Piano at South Station, Kim regularly plays on Thursdays in what is considered "Boston's living room." He has performed as a soloist with many ensembles including Cambridge Philharmonic, Yurodivy Chamber Orchestra, The Boston Conservatory Hemenway Strings, and The Boston Conservatory Orchestra. The Boston Globe praised his "sparkling performance" of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with the The Boston Conservatory as a "glimpse of radiant talent." An avid collaborator, Kim regularly performs with Aliana de la Guardia (Guerilla Opera), Andrew Eng (A Far Cry), and Augustine Gonzales (from award‐winning Gonzales/Kim Duo). His unique talent for classical improvisation led to his partnership with "America's most wired composer," Tod Machover in such productions as Central Square Theatre's 2012 play Remembering H.M., part of the 2013 Edinburgh Festival's "Repertoire Remix" and recently as one of the presenters in "Reconstructing Beethoven's Improvisations." Kim's teachers include Jonathan Bass, Bruce Brubaker, Janice Weber and Patricia Zander. Read Kim’s complete bio at: taekimpiano.com. GUERILLA OPERA WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
The Boston Conservatory: Richard Ortner Abra K. Bush Andy Vores Peyton Pugmire Andrea Di Cocco Danielle Kahn Taylor Crichton Andrew Chandler Noulin‐Mérat Design Studio CBS Broadcasting Mark DiGiovanni Audrey Kimball Holly Gordon at Vale Hill Creative Mischa Salkind‐Pearl would like to thank: Frederick Choi, Marti Epstein, and Masako Kunimoto DONORS
PARTNERS Silken Audio Liz Linder Photography IN‐KIND The Boston Conservatory PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($10,000 <) Timothy and Jane Gillette ASSOCIATES CIRCLE ($1,000 <) Elizabeth Boveroux PATRONS ($500 <) Mark DiGiovanni John M. Loder Susan Porter Tall SUPPORTERS ($250 <) Karen Oakley FRIENDS Anonymous (1) Amy Advocat Charles Anderson John Berg Dr. Alina Betancourt Mary Chamberlain Dr. Elaine S. Otsuka Hilary Poriss Dee Sagar Alan Surrain MAY 2016
GUERILLA OPERA PRESENTS: BEOWULF
MUSIC AND LIBRETTO BY HANNAH LASH DIRECTED BY ANDREW EGGERT ABOUT GUERILLA OPERA
Guerilla Opera is a collaborative performing ensemble and independent 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to commission new chamber operas written specifically for their ensemble of artists, to perform in intimate theatrical settings and to perform in a highly collaborative environment resulting from the direct communication between performers without a conductor or formal music director. The ensemble envisions a national community where serious new chamber opera and ensemble performance are valued and enjoyed. They will bring exciting new works to Boston and beyond, connect with communities nationwide and reinvigorate the concert‐going public’s love for new opera. Guerilla Opera is an Ensemble‐In‐Residence at The Boston Conservatory For more information please visit guerillaopera.com. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Williams, President Rudolf Rojahn Aliana de la Guardia Timothy Gillette Sanford Sylvan BOARD OF ADVISORS Carole Charnow Richard Ortner Jill S. Silverstein Andy Vores Peter J. Wender Copeland Woodruff GUERILLA OPERA PO Box 230486│Boston, MA 02123│866.615.2723 email: [email protected]│www.guerillaopera.com