The Dallas Opera has announced a new series of public conversations hosted in partnership with the Museum of Nature and Science which will feature contemporary music composers, beginning on May 24 with Tod Machover. Machover, a professor of music and media at MIT, will talk about is critically acclaimed opera Death and the Powers. Here’s the full release.
THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF
“COMPOSING CONVERSATIONS”
~~~~
Featuring Tod Machover, Composer of DEATH AND THE POWERS
~~~~
MAY 24, 2011 AT 7:30 PM
HAMON HALL, THE WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE
AT&T PERFORMNG ARTS CENTER
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE
DALLAS, APRIL 28, 2011 – The Dallas Opera, in partnership with the Museum of Nature & Science, is extremely proud to announce the first in an ongoing series of “TDO Composing Conversations” reflecting the company’s commitment to new works of opera and the advancement of the art form.
This free, hour-long public presentation will take place on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 7:30 PM in Nancy B. Hamon Hall (located in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas) and will feature special guest Tod Machover, a near legendary Professor of Music and Media at the MIT Media Lab (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as he explores and explains his groundbreaking, critically acclaimed new opera, DEATH AND THE POWERS.
According to The New York Times, “His mating of classical instruments with computer technology has led to developments like a hypercello played by Yo-Yo Ma, a hyperfiddle designed for the virtuoso Joshua Bell and the technology that helped create ‘Guitar Hero,’ the music video game.
“But over the same years, Mr. Machover has retained his enthusiasm for classical composition. From his 1987 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi classic “Valis” to his 1999 version of Tolstoy’s ”Resurrection” with a libretto by the American playwright Laura Harrington, Mr. Machover has searched like a scientist to find the right music to unlock each of his subjects.”
Jeremy Eichler of The Boston Globe says the sci-fi opera that premiered last year in Monte Carlo and was subsequently performed in Boston and Chicago “sets its gaze on subjects both ancient and ultra-modern. In the former camp is the question of whether the soul, or something beyond the body, can live after our death. In the latter camp is the question of the deeper meanings of our infatuation with technology — the way we experience our lives increasingly through its prism…That trailblazing technology is itself put to the service of exploring these points is one of the work’s many ironies that cumulatively leave you with plenty to think about after the robots have powered down for the night.”
The Chicago Tribune gave the new work four stars: “Death and the Powers is a must-see for anybody who cares about the exciting new techno-driven direction music theater is taking in the early 21st century.”
Enter the date and time on Outlook, your Smartphone, your alarm clock app, your Blackberry…and stick a Post ‘em on the fridge so you don’t miss this one-time-only TDO COMPOSING CONVERSATION with Tod Machover!
Seating is limited and RSVPs are required. To secure your seat for this extraordinary inside look at cutting edge opera-making, call 214.443.1044 or reserve your seat online at [email protected].
Image: Tod Machover via wiki.
