Divamensch

Liz, David, and I saw *Six. Twenty.  Outrageous.* at Symphony Space on 2/9/18.  It was a new opera with music by Daniel Thomas Davis and a libretto by Adam Frank, adapted from three short plays by Gertrude Stein.  It was the Stein element that got me there.

 

The three plays were "Photograph" and "Captain Walter Arnold" on the first half and "The Psychology of Nations, or What Are You Looking At" on the second half.  The music was generally tonal and generally amusing.  The text setting and vocal writing were first class.  The composer (possibly in collaboration with the librettist) integrated the members of the string quartet and the pianist into the action - - they sometimes acted, sang, or recited.  That was maybe the most delightful element of the show, seeing these theatrical greenhorns strutting their stuff.  The composer appeared to be quite young, probably somewhere between thirty and forty.  I'd be interested to hear more of his music.

 

I'd like to mention the two strongest singers of the ensemble, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek (a former member of Anonymous 4, playing a riff on Stein) and Andrew Fuchs (playing a riff on Alice B. Toklas, but without her mustache).  They sang well, and more importantly in a new work, sang with conviction and flair.

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