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THE LARIAT to Premiere at San Fran's Thick House Theater, Through 1/31

By: Jan. 26, 2015
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA- ScolaVox (scolavox.org) and Thick House Theater (thickhouse.org) are proud to present the World Premiere of The Lariat, a dark comic opera by composer Lisa Scola Prosek, based on the 1927 novella by the poet and anthropologist Jaime de Angulo. This production will take place January 23-31, 2015 at Thick House Theater in San Francisco.

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Winner of the NY Center for Contemporary Opera "Atelier" Award, The Lariat tells the story of the colonial Spaniards' drive towards self-destruction, as they took the California Native American world down with them- a prescient story of a culture clash where neither culture is a winner, when simple reason is abandoned for religious and social dogma.

Set in the 1790's, Father Luis (portrayed by Philip Skinner) is a Franciscan friar obsessed with learning the Esselen language to better convert the Big Sur tribe to Christianity. His plan becomes more complicated when he falls in love with a young Esselen woman named Ishka (Crystal Philippi) who has abandoned her shaman husband and found refuge in the Carmel Mission. The brokenhearted shaman (Clifton Romig) puts a curse on any future suitors, tormenting them with dreams of wild animals and death. Human relationships become a metaphor for tensions in the interactions between the Spaniards and the Esselen. This eventually becomes personified as a love triangle between Father Luis, Ishka and Kinikilali (Mark Hernandez), a handsome vaquero that she falls in love with. Father Luis' consciousness is a lethal mix of Catholic "correctness" and repressed sexuality. When he falls in love with Ishka, his self-torment is heightened by an irrepressible curiosity for "primitive" shamanistic ritual. Luis lusts not only for the girl, but for power and magic, and a tangible religious experience. Meanwhile, his Franciscan counterpart, Father Bernardo (Joe Meyers), is busy exploiting the Esselen Natives, with his God-given sense of duty and righteousness, for if he feeds them, he can exploit them.

The opera reveals intimate cultural details and beliefs of the Esselen tribe as its people face the influx of Spanish Missions towards the end of the 18th Century. It describes the difficult relationships between the Missionaries and the Esselen and the gulf between the two religious worlds. The exacting spiritual practices of both cultures are shown to be similar yet irreconcilable.

The writer of the novella, Jaime De Angulo, documented many types of indigenous songs. These archives form the source for the opera score. The music is lush and melodic, with California bird songs notated into the wildlife scenes. The arias combine a rich tapestry of allusions to Classical Spanish dances and Gregorian Chant. When these are superimposed on California Native songs notated by De Angulo, the culture clash becomes a dramatic and musical experience. This work is orchestrated for chamber ensemble.



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