Vespers 1610, An Early Music Blog

I’m really excited about an upcoming production of Rameau’s Pigmalion by the Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble. This should be quirky fun with an extremely clever take on the always fascinating French composer’s work. I quote from the company’s press release:

“Rameau’s music stunned its original auditors with its dissonance and innovation. In order to capture his daring for modern ears, the evening’s curtain-raiser features performance artist Lynn Book in preview scene from “The Annotated Hippolyte et Aricie.” In this trans-media treatment of the Prologue from Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, Book creates an alternative narrative and sonic world to the opera scene that includes video by media artist Robin Starbuck and music composed by Katharina Klement (who will appear live from Vienna via Skype). The precedent for this format is taken from a March 20, 1754 revival of Pygmalion performed alongside the Prologue from his Platèe. “

This is going to be very hip. Also very “HIP” as in “historically informed performance” because the outstanding baroque violinist Robert Mealy is leading the period instruments of the Sinfonia New York.

Pygmalion: My Unfair Lady (Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Pigmalion, 1748) is being performed on May 13, 2010 at 7:30 PM at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater.

For more information visit Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble at their

This entry was posted on April 27, 2010 at 5:43 and is filed under News with tags Dr. Mark Pottinger, Gina Crusco, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Katharina Klement, Lynn Book, Pigmalion, Robert Mealy, Robin Starbuck, Sinfonia New York, The Annotated Hippolyte et Aricie, Underworld Productions Opera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.