ORATORIO: The Conference Of The Birds Comes to The Broad Stage This Month

The Broad Stage presents The Conference of the Birds, a new oratorio based on Sufi mystic poet Attar's seminal text about the journey of the soul as it seeks union with the Divine. It is composed by Fahad Siadat with a libretto by Sholeh Wolpé and directed/choreographed by André Megerdichian. It features an acapella choir and seven soloists acting narratively and orchestrally, accompanied by a dancer.

Wolpé said, "We are the birds in the story. All of us have our own ideas and ideals, our own fears and anxieties, as we hold on to our own version of the truth. Like the birds of this story, we may take flight together, but the journey itself will be different for each of us. Attar tells us that truth is not static, and that we each tread a path according to our own capacity. It evolves as we evolve. Those who are trapped within their own dogma, clinging to hardened beliefs or faith, are deprived of the journey toward the unfathomable Divine, which Attar calls the Great Ocean."

The Conference of the Birds, a shared world premiere with Scripps College and A Noise Within, is performed twice, June 18 and 19, on the main stage at The Broad Stage. Tickets beginning at $35 are available at thebroadstage.org.

The cast features Anne Harley, "Hoopoe"; Fahad Siadat, "Narrator"; Catalina Jackson-Urueña and Tippy Dringman, Dancers; HEX Ensemble, soloists; and C3LA: The Contemporary Choral Collective of Los Angeles, ensemble.

Using birds as a metaphor for those on the Sufi path, the story follows the birds of the world who embark on a journey to find their king, the Simurgh, a divine, mythical creature. Traveling through the Seven Valleys, the birds follow the spiritual trials of the Sufi path as they journey to the Simurgh's door. Each story cuts through the dogmatic teachings of religion exposing the broader pitfalls and yearnings of the spiritual journey and emphasizing the shared values between spiritual traditions.

The Conference of the Birds is in the form of an epic poem utilizing a structure found in medieval Islamic literature, the embedded narrative. In an embedded narrative a series of smaller tales and parables nestle within a larger narrative that illustrates and distills the core tenets of the Sufi spiritual path and philosophy, a tradition often considered the mystical branch of Islam.

Composer Fahad Siadat said, "We have written and composed The Conference of the Birds in a way for many in the audience as an entry point to share a spiritual tradition that illustrates, rather than narrates."

Rather than using instruments for additional symphonic and timbral color as is typical for an oratorio, the a cappella choir both narratively act as the birds on the journey as well as musically function as the 'orchestra' to support arias and recitatives, utilizing a collection of alternative vocal techniques not typically found in choral music.

Siadat continues, "We are hoping that the audience finds itself in a relationship between the music and an ecstatic experience within Sufi religious practice, especially the experience of deindividuation - where individuals take on the identity of the group -- a core aspect of Sufi practice. While Sufi music has its own structures and idioms, the specific musical aspects of Sufi compositions, like rhythmic cells or harmony structures, are not in and of themselves considered sacred nor to have mystical properties that bestow on the listener an ecstatic experience."

Tickets:

Prices Start at $35 (Prices subject to change)
Online www.thebroadstage.org
Phone Box Office at 310.434.3200
In Person Box office at 1310 11^th St. Santa Monica CA 90401
beginning two hours prior to performance.

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