Ecce Ensemble to Premiere SWITCH Opera, 2/12
By: Matt Smith Jan. 26, 2016
Cambridge, MA (FOR RELEASE 1.11.16) - As the 2015-16 contemporary music ensemble-in-residence at Cambridge's Le Laboratoire, the Ecce Ensemble premieres Switch, a contemporary opera written and composed by John Aylward, directed by Laine Rettmer (Loft Opera), and conducted by Jean-Philippe Wurtz (Ensemble Linea). Featuring two vocalists-Amanda DeBoer Bartlett (soprano) and Mikhail Smigelskii (bass-baritone)-backed by the Ecce Ensemble, Switch explores the relationship between an artist and his muse. In addition to two consecutive weekends of performances, Ecce hosts two free, complementary events open to the public at Le Lab: Re-Imagining Contemporary Opera, an artist talk with Aylward and Rettmer on February 3rd at 6:30 p.m.; and Composers' Reading Session, a workshop/presentation of young local composers' chamber works led by Wurtz on February 15th at 12:00 p.m.
Switch's rich, rhythmic fabric intertwined with the libretto tells the story of Henry, a young disillusioned playwright who, upon an artistic crisis, is visited by his muse Anne. These mysterious visitations are the theatrical device behind various explorations of the role of the muse throughout Western history. As the artist's guide, Anne coaxes surprising insights and illuminations toward self-realization but closer to the blurred edges of sanity and steps away from personal ruin. Finally, the muse takes on the guise of the artist's real life lover, destroying his ability to discern fantasy from reality.
According to John Aylward, Switch's librettist/composer, the libretto for Switch borrows from a variety of texts, including Hemingway, Calvino, Thomas Mann, D.H. Lawrence and Plato. "Because the libretto draws from ancient, Romantic and contemporary texts, I composed a sonic landscape that also employs a pastiche of vocal styles including Medieval chant and modal Renaissance counterpoint. Thanks to the vocalists' omnivorousness, I was able to explore a variety of unconventional uses of the voice. The vocalists' spoken word, movements and speech are choreographed so as to become extensions of the ensemble writing, combining dramatic expressivity with complex musical textures."
Taking Le Lab as its primary experimental workspace, Ecce "reimagines salon interactivity (Boston Globe)" by crafting a season of events dedicated to the interdisciplinary and exploratory. Each event searches for ways to connect contemporary music experiences to Le Lab's innovative gallery installations. The 2015-16 Ecce residency began September 29, 2015, with a musical installation inspired by Mark Dion's The Trouble With Jellyfish gallery, and will culminate with a May 6th concert. On December 4, 2015, Ecce's multidimensional performance of Earle Brown's December 1952 inspired by Max Rheiner's BIRDLY exhibit wowed audiences and critics alike. According to the Boston Globe, it was "far-out...a cornucopia of unusual, extended- technique sounds."
ABOUT ECCE ENSEMBLE
Founded in 2008, the Ecce Ensemble (John Aylward, Executive Director; Serafim Smigelskiy, cello; Artistic Director; Wei-Chieh Lin, Co-Artistic Director; Catherine Gregory, flutes; Vasko Dukovski, clarinets; Hassan Anderson, oboe; Doug Balliett, double bass; and Mike Truesdell, percussion) is a group of today's most accomplished performers who are committed to presenting captivating and visionary performances of contemporary music. Through concerts, symposia, and other community-centered events, Ecce shares new forms of engagement in modern music with a diverse international audience.
Ecce has realized personal and refined interpretations of works by composers such as Georg Friedrich Haas, Philippe Hurel, Lee Hyla, Helmut Lachenmann, Fabien Levy, Hanspeter Kyburz, Louis Karchin and many others. Every year, the ensemble deepens its relationships with prominent composers and brings their work to new audiences. Ecce's annual residency is the international Etchings Festival in Auvillar, France. There, the ensemble shares diverse contemporary repertoire, as well as new works by emerging international composers, with European audiences.
In addition to the Etchings Festival, Ecce continues to expand its residency and workshop programming, holding events at The Goethe-Institut Boston; The La Pietra Forum in Florence, Italy; the NEON Festival; Virginia Commonwealth University; and The University of Campinas at Sao Paulo, Brazil. These opportunities continue to connect Ecce with the most diverse cross-sections of society, sharing with them the profound aesthetic experience of contemporary music, and the joy of its creation. For more information on Ecce, visit: eccensemble.com.
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