It has been an incredible two weeks for writer/librettist Cristina Fríes and me. I am honored to share this kind review by Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle of our one-act chamber opera, Moon, Bride, Dogs. He writes,"If 'Moon, Bride, Dogs' emerged from the performance in San Francisco’s Taube Atrium Theater as the most richly satisfying experience on offer, that’s in part because its aesthetic is at once so strange and so accessible." You can read his full comments about our work and the other three beautiful pieces in his review of West Edge Opera's Snapshot concert here:
The cast, instrumentalists of Earplay, and musical director Jonathan Khuner gave a stunning performance.
As if that weren't enough, an extended/revised version of that piece, Bones of Girls, received its world premiere in Sacramento the week before in a truly beautiful and heart-wrenching production by Rogue Music Project, with Omari Tau both performing and directing. Anthony Barcellos wrote a great profile on the librettist and me in the Sacramento Bee. As a composer, I don't think I could have asked for stronger performances on both weekends.
A lot of people besides just Tina and myself were involved in the success of this piece, and we're both incredibly grateful to all of them. Here's what I wrote on Facebook:
Wow, what a weekend. I'm feeling so happy and grateful to so many people for a successful performance of "Moon, Bride, Dogs" in Berkeley/San Francisco this weekend under the West Edge Opera Snapshot Series. This opera had a lot of friends help it out, so apologies in advance for all the tags. First, thank you to Jonathan Khuner for his sensitive and attentive musical direction and all the tremendous singers and instrumentalists at Earplay New Chamber Music for their beautiful performance. Thank you to everyone at West Edge for believing in our piece and giving us this tremendous opportunity, and thank you to Russ Irwin and all those including my family and friends who supported me and attended this event. Thank you to my fellow composers/librettists for their beautiful pieces as well.
Thank you to the creative team and cast at NANOWorks Opera Workshop in Atlanta who last year helped us refine this piece and make it the best it could be. Their mentorship and feedback made this piece what it is now. Thank you to my profs at UCD Kurt Rohde, Pablo Ortiz, and Laurie San Martin for their feedback from the piece's humble beginnings. Thank you to my wife and best friend, Sakurako Kanemitsu for her TREMENDOUS patience and support of me in general and for her shrewd insights on this piece and life in general. Thank you to Rogue Music Project for their ABSOLUTELY STUNNING premiere of an extended version of the piece called "Bones of Girls" in Sacramento earlier this month.
And finally, thank you to my artistic partner in crime Tina Fríes for a beautiful, surreal, and meaningful libretto that inspired me from the very beginning. It's been a trip. Hope for more in the future.
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