Le Bestiaire

Le Bestiaire

Poulenc’s Le Bestiaire, Ravel’s Histoires Naturelles, and Caplet’s Trois Fables de Jean de la Fontaine, are all set in modern day New York City. With poetry by Renard, Apollinaire and Jean de la Fontaine, these songs take on a whole new meaning as neighbors explore their inner animal instincts.

Benjamin Britten’s Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, illuminated with projections inspired by Blake’s images, follows the journey of a man breaking with the church as he discovers what his new spirituality giveth and what it taketh away.

The Red House Collective is a new company, dedicated to theatrical presentations of small-scale classical vocal works and new operatic works. The company was founded when Amanda Consol and Michael Rau met working as Staff Directors at Glimmerglass Opera. Both directors have worked at The Bushwick Starr before and are excited to bring classical vocal works to an untraditional venue. Their goal is to bring an unfamiliar art form to the neighborhood, and to bring the neighborhood to some unfamiliar patrons.

Performers include:
Talya Smilowitz, soprano (Juilliard, Sheba Musical Ensemble)
Bo Cheng, mezzo-soprano (Ravinia Festival, Lucerne Festival)
Aaron Theno, baritone (Glimmerglass Opera Young Artist)
Lara Ianni, actor (Stolen Chair Theatre Company, Oberon Theatre Ensemble)
Jessica Chow, piano (Juilliard)
Saffron Chung, piano (Glimmerglass Opera)

Performances:
April 17 & 18, 2009; 8:00pm at The Bushwick Starr