Classical Sunday
Presented by Sparks & Wiry Cries’ Casement Fund Song Series and in Partnership with GLMMR
Book of Dreams: Chapter Sand
Sunday, Dec. 17th – 4pm
Tickets
About the Show
Contemporary Classical
World premiere of ‘Book of Dreams’ by GLMMR and David T. Little, performed by David Adam Moore.
In collaboration with National Sawdust and GLMMR, Sparks Commissions presents the world premiere of a new song cycle. The Book of Dreams: Chapter Sand is an electroacoustic song cycle that pushes the boundaries of traditional art song by fusing unamplified operatic vocals with digital sound design. The result is a delicate, yet rich tapestry of human and machine sounds.
Based on the work of surrealist poet Sonja Krefting, the cycle combines an original vocal composition by acclaimed composer David T. Little with an electronic realization composed by Metropolitan Opera baritone and digital media artist David Adam Moore.
Commissioned by Sparks & Wiry Cries, performed by David Adam Moore, directed by Vita Tzykun, with visuals by GLMMR, sound engineering by Garth MacAleavey, and narration by Beth Morrison.
Immediately following the performance, stick around for a fascinating discussion with David Adam Moore and David T. Little. They will discuss one of the distinguishing features of “Book of Dreams:” the symbiosis of un-amplified vocals with electronic accompaniment. Discussion will be moderated by Martha Guth.
About the Artists
David T Little
David T. Little is “one of the most imaginative young composers” on the scene (The New Yorker) with “a knack for overturning musical conventions” (The New York Times). His operas Soldier Songs (PROTOTYPE Festival) and Dog Days (Peak Performances/Beth Morrison Projects) have been widely acclaimed, “prov(ing) beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future” (NYTimes). Recent/upcoming works include AGENCY (Kronos Quartet), CHARM (Baltimore Symphony/Marin Alsop), Hellhound (Maya Beiser), Haunt of Last Nightfall (Third Coast Percussion), the opera JFK with Royce Vavrek (Fort Worth Opera/ALT), a new opera commissioned by the MET Opera/Lincoln Center Theater new works program, and the music-theatre work Artaud in the Black Lodge with Outrider legend Anne Waldman (Beth Morrison Projects). His music has been heard at Carnegie Hall, the Park Avenue Armory, the Bang On A Can Marathon and elsewhere. Educated at University of Michigan and Princeton, Little is co-founder of the annual New Music Bake Sale, has served as Executive Director of MATA and is currentlyDirector of Composition at Shenandoah Conservatory and Composer-in-Residence with Opera Philadelphia. The founding artistic director of the ensemble Newspeak, his music can be heard on New Amsterdam and Innova labels. He is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
David Adam Moore
With over 60 principal roles to his credit, David Adam Moore is a highly sought-after leading baritone by major opera houses and orchestras worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Salzburg Festival, Carnegie Hall, Théâtre du Châtelet, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Israeli Opera, New York City Opera, Bunkamura (Tokyo), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, LA Phil, Staatsoper Hannover, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He has recorded for Innova, GPR, and BMG records, with broadcast credits including BBC, Arte, NPR, Radio France, RAI, and Radio Netherlands.
A celebrated interpreter of contemporary music, he has created roles for some of today’s most important living composers, including Thomas Adès, Peter Eötvös, and David T. Little, while simultaneously garnering critical acclaim for his interpretations of classic works from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, most notably Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Figaro (Barbiere), Billy Budd, Count Almaviva, and Carmina Burana.
Also known for his work as a stage director, composer, and video designer, Moore co-founded two NYC-based arts collectives – GLMMR and Choreo Teatro – with whom he has created music, video, and performance works in venues including the 92nd St. Y, .NO Gallery, and The Cell. Most recently, his multimedia production of Schubert’s Winterreise, with visuals by GLMMR, was enthusiastically received at venues throughout the U.S. including National Sawdust (NYC), Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Anchorage Opera.
Also with GLMMR and his artistic partner, the renowned stage/film designer Vita Tzykun, Moore directed and designed the world’s largest-scale production of Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat for Indianapolis Opera, and designed sets, costumes, and projections for a new production of David T. Little’s Soldier Songs at Atlanta Opera and San Diego Opera.
As a performance artist, David has collaborated with Holly Herndon in Blood Makes Noise at the Guggenheim Museum and Nick Hallett at NYC’s Town Hall.
Sonja Krefting
Sonja Krefting (1978-2001) was a prolific writer of short stories, poetry, and erotic fiction who left behind a large body of written work after her early death from cancer at age 25. A graduate of Oberlin College with a B.A. in Creative Writing and Anthropology, she was also active as a performance artist, dancer, competitive gymnast, and model. In both her life and work, she was obsessed with exploring the boundaries of consciousness, particularly as expressed in ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology. This led her to seek out a variety of experiences, including participating in an archeological dig on the site of an Etruscan temple in Italy and serving as a priestess in the Order Templi Orientis. Book of Dreams: Chapter Sand marks the public debut of her work.
Vita Tzykun
Victoria (Vita) Tzykun [tsee-‘koon] has designed sets, costumes, and projections for companies such as The Bolshoi Theater (Russia), Norwegian Opera, Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, and Wexford Opera Festival (Ireland) among others. Her numerous film and tv credits include art direction for Lady Gaga’s ABC Thanksgiving Special, production design for several award winning feature films and shorts, and commercials for leading entities such as PBS, DirectTV, Axe, Bulova, and Qualcomm.
Her recent projects include set design for the critically acclaimed World premiere of the (R)Evolution of Steve Jobs at Santa Fe Opera, costume design for the World premiere of Dinner At Eight at Minnesota Opera, and costume design for the Russian premiere of The Passenger at the Yekaterinburg State Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
Upcoming, is set and costume design for Faust at Lyric Opera of Chicago in collaboration with the renowned sculptor and animator John Frame.
Tzykun is a founding member of GLMMR – an NYC-based interdisciplinary art collective that fuses the worlds of fine art, audiovisual technology, and live performance. Her work was recently showcased in a solo exhibition at the National Opera Center in New York, and in 2016, the International Opera Awards nominated her for Best Design.