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Posts tagged 'Christopher Cerrone'

Christopher Cerrone's "Invisible Cities" in LA's Union Station

by Ted Gordon on Oct. 28, 2013, 4:28 p.m.

Invisible Cities, an opera by Christopher Cerrone, has gained a lot of press attention since its October 19th premiere-- including a review in the LA Times, television, blog and radio coverage, and hundreds of photos on Instagram. Produced by The Industry and the LA Dance Project, Invisible Cities is being performed in Los Angeles' historic Union Station, with the sound of the orchestra and singers sent to wireless headphones, which are distributed to the audience and provided by Sennheiser.

During the seventy-minute work, two hundred audience members are given headphones and allowed to roam the train station, which in addition to the opera's eight singers and eleven instrumentalists, is also open to the commuting public. Based on Italo Calvino's novel of the same name, the opera explores Marco Polo's travels to lands of increasing virtual potential through conversation with Kublai Khan, a magical realist imagining of the limitless possibilities afforded by travel, both real and imaginary. Set in a regional center for inter-city travel, Invisible Cities blurs the line between personal and collective reality, taking over the audience's sense of hearing while leaving the rest of their body to explore a space both real and imaginary at the same time.

Cerrone's music, with its inward focus, use of electronics, and deep sense of magical reality, is a perfect fit for this production, which embodies and aesthetic developed in other works like The Night Mare and How to Breathe Underwater. Other works, such as Hoyt-Schemerhorn and Harriman, both for piano and electronics, lend themselves to headphone listening: using field recordings and other techniques to evoke a sense of place, they position the listener both within the composition's imagined space and without it, an ephemeral, un-rooted experience similar to that of experiencing Invisible Cities.

The opera’s run was extended by five performances, all of which sold out, but two shows have been added for Sunday, November 3, including a free performance. Be sure to keep an eye out for audience members' social media on Instagram, Vine, and Twitter. Also, check out this documentary by Artbound for a behind-the-scenes look at this production of Invisible Cities.

Tags: Christopher Cerrone Invisible Cities LA Dance Project The Industry

Christopher Cerrone's Invisible Cities at Los Angeles' Union Station

by Ted Gordon on June 21, 2013, 11:19 a.m.

Los Angeles' Union Station, built in 1939, is one of the last great railway stations in the United States. Its resonant acoustics and beautiful glass ceiling are remnants of an older era of American industry, a faded optimism built on steel, electricity, and the hard work of a city full of laborers. Linked to other Union Stations by rail, it is the gateway for exploration, a poetic marvel on the path across the West coast. An early-20th Century traveller, like Marco Polo, might have seen it as a metonym for an entire city, one made of glass and steel.

Christopher Cerrone's opera, Invisible Cities, based on the Italo Calvino novel of the same name, has seen several productions in recent years, but none of them has taken place in a space so appropriate to both the novel and to Cerrone's meditative, powerful music. On October 19th, 2013, Invisible Cities will begin its limited run in Los Angeles' Union Station, with a full orchestra and cast, and an audience of 150-- all wearing wireless headphones. The project, co-presented by Los Angeles' avant-garde production group The Industry and the Los Angeles Dance Project, is also sponsored by Sennheiser, who will provide all of the technology needed to bring this remarkable idea for a project into life.

Cerrone's team have started a Kickstarter to help with the costs of this large-scale, technologically-advanced project. Along with the chance to be a supporter of this cutting-edge project, patrons can also choose from a wide variety of rewards for their donations, including a new song by Cerrone based on the text of the patrons' choice.

Also, for those in New York today, be sure to check out Martha Mooke, electric violist, who will be performing works by Alvin Singleton at the New York Public Library, Riverside Branch as a part of today's Make Music New York festival! Mooke will perform her eponymous Mookestück, written for her by Singleton in 1999.

Tags: Alvin Singleton Christopher Cerrone

The Living Earth Show Plays Adrian Knight, Timothy Andres, and Christopher Cerrone!

by Ted Gordon on May 13, 2013, 9:14 p.m.

New Yorkers have all the fun, don't they? Those lucky enough to be in Manhattan have witnessed the TriBeCa New Music Festival at The Cell in Chelsea, the finale of which consisted of The Living Earth Show performing works by Adrian Knight, Timo Andres, and Chris Cerrone! Could it get any better?

For those uninitiated, this is The Living Earth Show, a Bay Area-based duo of guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andrew Meyerson:

The Living Earth Show performed the piece in the video above, "You Broke It, You Bought It," by Timo Andres, Adrian Knight's "Family Man," and Chris Cerrone's "Double Happiness." Have a listen to the first movement of "Double Happiness" below and check out Timo's, Adrian's, and Chris' other works to get a sense of what these premieres might have been like. And keep your eyes peeled to our blog for announcements of new publications!