Two Operas, Two World Premieres

We are proud to announce two landmark opera premieres in April, 2011 by two of the most prominent living composers of our time, Bernard Rands and Gerald Barry. On Friday, April 8, Indiana University Opera Theatre presents the world premiere of Bernard Rands' Vincent, a two-act opera based on the life and work of Vincent van Gogh with a libretto by celebrated American poet J.D. McClatchy. On Thursday, April 7, Gerald Barry sees the premiere of his opera The Importance of Being Earnest, a two-act operatic adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play with a libretto fashioned by the composer, presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted by Thomas Adès.

The premiere run of Vincent brings to fulfillment Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands' long-held wish to write an opera on Van Gogh's life. Rands' inspiration was originally sparked in 1973 when he was one of the first to enter the new Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Though familiar with much of Van Gogh's work at that time, Rands was nonetheless overwhelmed by the experience and in particular the top floor of the museum which exhibited all of the artist's drawings in pencil, charcoal and gouache. Rands began reading, researching, and sketching for the new opera at that time; one such sketch developed into the beautiful and ethereal Le Tambourin Suites 1 & 2, recorded by Riccardo Muti and The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1995. Rands comments further:

Based on an original libretto by American poet J.D. McClatchy (which draws on the letters of Van Gogh) the two-act opera unfolds as a succession of ‘tableaux' placing Vincent in the context of real-life experiences and thus revealing his complex character: that of genius artist, religious fanatic, alcoholic, epileptic, and unstable of temperament resulting in behavior ranging unpredictably between affability and violent aggression.

The scenes suggest a more-or-less chronological outline of his late years: a transition from the 'dark' environment of his early years, full of positive enthusiasms amid the dark surroundings, to the darkening of his inner light amid the brightness of "the south."

Vincent explores the drama of Van Gogh’s private vision and the extremes to which it drove him, culminating in his haunting madness, as well as in his triumph as an artist who gave the world a new image of itself. Vincent Liotta directs the premiere production and Arthur Fagen conducts. The title role is taken up by David Adam Moore and Christopher Burchett in alternating casts. Costume Designer Linda Pisano, Production Designer Barry Steele and Choreographer Michael Vernon round out the creative team. Repeat performances are scheduled for April 9, 15 and 16.

More on Vincent can be found at www.bernardrands.com and www.music.indiana.edu.

"My favorite living composer, Irish composer Gerald Barry, finds the hilarious musical equivalent for Oscar Wilde's perfect absurdist paradoxes in his riotously outrageous and funny new setting of The Importance of Being Earnest."
- Thomas Adès

Gerald Barry's passionate relationship with text, whether portraying Beethoven in his letters or Strindberg's nervous pathological protagonist in his previous opera La Plus Forte, is given full reign in his adaptation of Oscar Wilde's iconic play The Importance of Being Earnest. The composer explains:

I know of nothing like The Importance of Being Earnest - though perhaps it shares a subversion with Alice in Wonderland. The text revels in anarchy, and a delight in the absurd, to the point of ecstasy. The structure of the play is so strong, it stands even in my heavily cut version. If you didn't know the original, you wouldn't know anything was missing. It remains untamed.

Thomas Adès leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the premiere run of The Importance of Being Earnest in concert performances on April 7 and 8, 2011 which features tenor Gordon Gietz, soprano Hila Plitmann and mezzo-soprano Katalin Károlyi.

Find out more on the world premiere of The Importance of Being Earnest at www.laphil.com.

Bernard Rands
Vincent (2010)
opera in two acts
libretto (En) by J.D. McClatchy
Commissioned by the Board of Trustees of Indiana University, in honor of the Jacobs School's 100th anniversary as a department.
for 2 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, countertenor, 2 baritones, 3 basses and SATB chorus
3(3.pic.afl).2.3(3.bcl).2-4.3.2.btbn.1-timp.2perc-hp.cel.acc.pno-str
110'

Gerald Barry
The Importance of Being Earnest (2009-2010)
opera in three acts based on the play by Oscar Wilde
libretto (En) prepared by the composer
Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director, and the Barbican Centre, London.
for soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, bass-baritone, 2 basses and male chamber choir, pre-recorded or live
1(pic).1(ca).1.bcl.2(2.cbsn)-2.2(1Dtpt).1.1-2perc-pno-str(1.1.1.1.1)
90'