Zeitgeist's annual New Music Cabaret welcomes performers from the fringe of the Twin Cities music scene to present the eclectic variety of new music in our community. This year, Nautilus Music Theater will take the stage on Thursday, Nov. 6th to present selections illustrating storytelling through music, including excerpts from Locket Arias, a new opera by composer Phil Fried. Phil kindly offers some insight and background to his new work.
“Locket Arias” is an operatic setting of a play of the same title by Ruth Margraff. The work is a series of tableaux featuring six famous 19th century courtesans set as six arias. I saw the work as cinematic, and thought it best to set the text in musical styles of the past with all the trappings of mainstream opera including catchy tunes, vocal display, and arch form. This stylistic choice has been utilized by other theatrical composers. Even 20th century atonalist Hans Werner Henze (“The Prince of Homburg”) assigned distinct musical styles to individual characters. I avoided direct musical quotations from the period, but inhabited the musical world of the opera's subjects. One was very likely to find these women at the opera house; Cora Pearl herself performed as Cupid in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld.
I read Ruth's play through many times, decided not to change her prose into rhyming verse, but added a few pronouns to keep the scansion for the musical line. Rhyme was a frequent convention of 19th century opera, but Ruth's prose has revealing power. The music and words together fashion a mask and vision of these women: their character, emotions, and experience.
--Phil Fried
Nautilus Music Theater presents "Locket Arias"
at Zeitgeist's 6th Annual New Music Cabaret
Thursday, Nov. 6 at 9:30 p.m.
(preceded by Zeitgeist, Enkidu String Quartet, and the Young Performer Showcase)
Studio Z, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200
St. Paul
$10
Tickets and Festival Schedule
Nautilus presents selections illustrating STORYTELLING THROUGH MUSIC: "Amelia’s Song" (Reichard/Metzger), “Three American Songs” (Taylor/Springsteen/Simon), Excerpts from LOCKET ARIAS (Margraff/Fried), and “How Glory Goes” from FLOYD COLLINS (Landau/Guettel) — featuring Kym Chambers, Janet Fried, and JP Fitzgibbons, with Jill Dawe on the piano.
A four-day festival of new music from multiple genres, Zeitgeist’s 6th Annual New Music Cabaret highlights cutting-edge performances from the fringe of the Twin Cities music scene. An eclectic mix of the music of our time, this year’s cabaret includes performances by Zeitgeist, ANCIA Saxophone Quartet, Nautilus Music Theater, Steve Kenny Quartet, Ted Moore’s Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and more. Attend one or all shows for $10 per night.
“Locket Arias” is an operatic setting of a play of the same title by Ruth Margraff. The work is a series of tableaux featuring six famous 19th century courtesans set as six arias. I saw the work as cinematic, and thought it best to set the text in musical styles of the past with all the trappings of mainstream opera including catchy tunes, vocal display, and arch form. This stylistic choice has been utilized by other theatrical composers. Even 20th century atonalist Hans Werner Henze (“The Prince of Homburg”) assigned distinct musical styles to individual characters. I avoided direct musical quotations from the period, but inhabited the musical world of the opera's subjects. One was very likely to find these women at the opera house; Cora Pearl herself performed as Cupid in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld.
I read Ruth's play through many times, decided not to change her prose into rhyming verse, but added a few pronouns to keep the scansion for the musical line. Rhyme was a frequent convention of 19th century opera, but Ruth's prose has revealing power. The music and words together fashion a mask and vision of these women: their character, emotions, and experience.
--Phil Fried
Nautilus Music Theater presents "Locket Arias"
at Zeitgeist's 6th Annual New Music Cabaret
Thursday, Nov. 6 at 9:30 p.m.
(preceded by Zeitgeist, Enkidu String Quartet, and the Young Performer Showcase)
Studio Z, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200
St. Paul
$10
Tickets and Festival Schedule
Nautilus presents selections illustrating STORYTELLING THROUGH MUSIC: "Amelia’s Song" (Reichard/Metzger), “Three American Songs” (Taylor/Springsteen/Simon), Excerpts from LOCKET ARIAS (Margraff/Fried), and “How Glory Goes” from FLOYD COLLINS (Landau/Guettel) — featuring Kym Chambers, Janet Fried, and JP Fitzgibbons, with Jill Dawe on the piano.
A four-day festival of new music from multiple genres, Zeitgeist’s 6th Annual New Music Cabaret highlights cutting-edge performances from the fringe of the Twin Cities music scene. An eclectic mix of the music of our time, this year’s cabaret includes performances by Zeitgeist, ANCIA Saxophone Quartet, Nautilus Music Theater, Steve Kenny Quartet, Ted Moore’s Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and more. Attend one or all shows for $10 per night.
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