LA Opera's Off Grand Series Presents SONG FROM THE UPROAR Tonight

LA Opera's 30th Anniversary Season will include the west coast premiere of Song from the Uproar, a new multimedia opera by Brooklyn-based composer Missy Mazzoli. This compelling new work is presented under LA Opera's Off Grand banner, which complements the company's mainstage programming through a wide variety of forms of artistic exploration. A unique combination of live music and original film, Song from the Uproar was inspired by the life and writings of early 20th-century explorer Isabelle Eberhardt. The audience witnesses key moments in her life: the death of her family, her journeys in the North African desert, her ecstatic religious conversion and, ultimately, her tragic drowning in a flash flood at the age of 27.

Hailed by The New York Times as "a visually and aurally ravishing chamber opera...a captivating multimedia spectacle," Song from the Uproar plunges the audience into a series of surreal episodes from this remarkable adventurer's life. The libretto was co-written by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek.

Song from the Uproar will have four performances at REDCAT (631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012) from tonight, October 8, through the 11th, 2015. The presentation is part of a multi-season collaboration between LA Opera and Beth Morrison Projects to present cutting-edge contemporary works. LA Opera's presentation of Song from the Uproar is made possible by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About Isabelle Eberhardt
Isabelle Eberhardt was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1877. At the age of 19, after the death of her father, mother and brother in quick succession, she travelled alone to Algeria. She dressed as a man, converted to Islam, roamed the desert on horseback and fell in love with an Algerian soldier. After surviving an attempted assassination and a failed suicide pact with her lover, she drowned in a desert flash flood at the age of 27. Her journals were salvaged from the wreckage.

About Missy Mazzoli
Deemed deemed "one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York" by The New York Times, Missy Mazzoli is composer-in-residence with Opera Philadelphia, Gotham Chamber Opera and Music Theatre-Group. Her music has been performed by the Kronos Quartet, pianist Emanuel Ax, the Detroit Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, New York City Opera, Dublin's Crash Ensemble and the Sydney Symphony, among others. "The story of Isabelle Eberhardt is so fascinating and so strange, it's shocking to me how few people know who she was," says Ms. Mazzoli. "I wanted to evoke her spirit and intense passions. I wanted to immerse the audience in the landscapes of her life and the beauty of her writing." For more information, visit MissyMazzoli.com.

About the Cast and Creative Team
Song from the Uproar was created by composer Missy Mazzoli in collaboration with librettist Royce Vavrek, stage director Gia Forakis, conductor Steven Osgood, filmmaker Stephen Taylor and NOW Ensemble. The cast is led by mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer, who created the role of Isabelle Eberhardt in the 2012 world premiere of Song from the Uproar at The Kitchen in New York. The vocal ensemble features sopranos Celine Mogielnicki and Amelia Watkins, mezzo-soprano Kate Maroney, tenor Tomás Cruz and baritone Wayne Arthur Paul.

For additional information, click here.

Performance Dates and Times
There will be four performances of Song from the Uproar at REDCAT:

• Thursday, October 8, 2015, at 8pm
• Friday, October 9, 2015, at 8pm
• Saturday, October 10, 2015, at 8pm
• Sunday, October 11, 2015, at 2pm

Tickets
Tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $69 and can be purchased in person at the LA Opera Box Office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, by phone at 213.972.8001 or online at LAOpera.org. For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

To download production and artist photographs for Song from the Uproar, click here.

About LA Opera Off Grand
Song from the Uproar is presented through LA Opera's Off Grand initiative, created to expand the range of experiences available to the company's audiences and to reach new audiences. "One of LA Opera's goals is to expand the definition of what an opera company is, and who it is for," said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera's President and CEO. "Our Off Grand programming helps us diversify repertory and provide access points for new audiences to experience opera on our stage."

About Beth Morrison Projects
Song from the Uproar is part of a multi-season partnership with Beth Morrison Projects to support today's most creative talents in the fields of opera and music-theater. The partnership, which began with last season's west coast premiere of David T. Little's Dog Days, will continue with the world premiere of David Lang's Anatomy Theater in June 2016.

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) encourages risk-taking, creating a structure for developing new work that is unique to each artist, giving them the time and space to experiment and push boundaries. To date, the company has commissioned, developed and produced more than 40 premiere opera and music-theatre works that have been performed around the globe. "Beth Morrison Projects is breaking out as a national brand poised to place cutting-edge opera center stage" (Opera News). For more information, visit BethMorrisonProjects.org.

About REDCAT
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) is a contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. REDCAT has its own street entrance at 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, at the northeast corner of the intersection of West 2nd and Hope Streets. For more information about REDCAT, please click here.

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