I Fioretti in Musica-Opera in Danza Plays La MaMa E.T.C. 9/30-10/17

"I Fioretti in Musica-Opera in Danza" (Little Flowers in Music, an Opera in Dance) is an original opera with concept, libretto, direction and sets by Gian Marco Lo Forte and an acoustic score for five voices composed by Sasha Zamler-Carhart juxtaposed with an electronic score consisting of fixed electro-acoustic sound and live vocal processing by Ryan Carter. The piece is based on The Miracles of St. Francis immortalized in the 14th-century book of poems, I Fioretti Di San Francesco. La Mama E.T.C. and Instituto Italiano di Cultura di New York will present the opera's world premiere, performed by Pioneers Go East Co. (La Compagnia Teatrale I Pionieri dell'Est), from September 30 to October 17, 2010 in La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theater. The piece will be performed in Italian with English subtitles.

The opera imagines St. Francis living homeless today in New York City, seeing treasures in the trash, speaking words of compassion to all he meets and championing the values of peace and brotherly love. The action is staged with puppets made of recycled materials from the streets, brought to life by dancers and singers who, in the style of Commedia Harmonica, perform in concerto. The opera adapts four episodes from the legend of the saint that depict his miracles and significant events of his life: Assuming a Life of Simplicity, Preaching to the Birds, Taming a Wolf and Welcoming Thieves to the Monastery. Although the setting is modern, there is an atmosphere that conveys the early Franciscan spirit of childlike faith, making the piuece a reflection on the religious life of the Middle Ages. The audience sits in close proximity to the performers' action, generating an intimate opera experience.

The libretto is written in a distinctive and genuine theatrical vernacular inspired by medieval folk and religious festivals such as Le Infiorate in Spello and La Corsa dei Ceri di Gubbio, spectacles of ancient origin which can be still experienced in Umbria, Italy today. The opera's source work, "I Fioretti," was written in vulgar Italian of 15th century. This unique locution lives on today in the dialect of Umbria, which is Gian Marco Lo Forte's home region. Such a linguistic concept could not have been fulfilled without Sasha Zamler-Carhart's expertise in writing music for Early Italian and Latin, making him an ideal composer for this work.

The singers are Megan Schubert, Patrick Fennig, Charles Matthew Hill, Mathew Knickman, and Raymond Bailey. The puppeteers and dancers are Laura Arend, Courtney Dana Baron, Spencer Bazzano, Kimberly Diamond, Silvia Giampaola, Dorothy James Loechel, Dana Marcolina, Kayla Mason, Emanuele Nigro, Miriam Rosenberg, Bradley Williams, and Jason Zeren.

The opera's visual world includes costumes by award winning designers Angela Wendt ("Rent" on Broadway) and Gabriel Berry; puppets by Jane Catherine Shaw (Co-Artistic Director, Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival) and Abby Felder, masks by Jane Catherine Shaw; projections of drawings and paintings by Mark Tambella; choreography by Philip Montana; lights and projections by Ji-youn Chang and additional projections by Ioannis Sochorakis. Production advisor is George Drance; production consultant is Elizabeth Inserra.

Pioneers go East Co. (www.pioneersgoeast.org), founded in 2005, is committed to enriching the contemporary American Theatre by telling the stories of illustrious Italians who led our society to progress in Art, Science and Religion. It is a vital company in residence at La Mama E.T.C., dedicated to bringing International Artists together to develop theatre ventures which embrace diverse cultures and traditions, using theatre and design to overcome limitations of language, cultural differences and theatrical conventions using live music performance.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Gian Marco Lo Forte (director, libretto, concept, set design) is a artist-in-residence at La MaMa, where he founded Pioneers Go East Co. His last production three with this company was "Caravaggio Chiaroscuro," an Italian opera. He has worked as a director and set designer in NYC and Italy for the past ten years. His directing credits include "Bastiano e Bastiana" in Perugia (2000) and a dance piece based on "The Seagull" at La MaMa (2003). He wrote, designed and directed "Butter Melts Away," a dance theater piece at La MaMa in 2005. He has collaborated with visual artist Sam Samore on "Love, Beauty" (Pitti Immagine, Firenze). He has designed for SLANT, Watson Arts, Pan Asian Rep. and for Great Jones Rep. at Biennale di Venezia. He has toured as an actor to Poland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy.

Sasha Zamler-Carhart (composer) is founder and director of the medieval music ensemble "The Ascoli Ensemble," renowned across Europe for its vocal quality and scholarly approach to early repertoires. His compositions are typically large theatrical cycles on spiritual themes, including "The Death of the King of Bandjoun," a madrigal comedy for percussion and tape on a Central African subject; "Le Roman de Fauvel," a medieval play about the Antichrist recomposed into a Calvinist crusade against sin, and "The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp," an oratorio on one of the earliest Christian martyrs. He has done ethno-musicological research in various parts of Africa, and currently teaches medieval music and Latin at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. (sasha.zamler-carhart.com)

Ryan Carter (composer) has had works performed throughout Europe and North America by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Nieuw Ensemble, NOW Ensemble and Margaret Lancaster. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, Present Music, The Milwaukee Children's Choir, and the Calder Quartet, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet the Composer. His awards include the Lee Ettelson Award, the Aaron Copland Award and the ASCAPlus Awards. (www.ryancarter.org)

Angela Wendt (costume design) was costume designer for Broadway's "Rent," for which she received an American Theatre Wing Design Award for Best Costume Design. Her film credits include Adrian Lynne's "Jacob's Ladder" and Uli Edel's "Last Exit To Brooklyn." Her other theatre credits include Barry Edelstein's "Race" at CSC, "Julius Caesar" at NYSF and Michael Greif's "Marisol" at NYSF. (www.angela.wendt.net)

Gabriel Berry (costume design) has extensive credits in opera including productions at LA Opera, the Boston Lyric, Glimmerglass, Metropolitan and San Francisco Opera. Her extensive credits in NY include "Aftermath" (NYTW); "Henry IV (parts I and II)" and "Woyzeck" (both directed by JoAnne Akalaitis at The Public); Meredith Monk and Ann Hamilton's "Mercy" at BAM; Andre Serban's production of "Pericles" at American Repertory Theatre and Will Power's "Flow" for the New York Hip Hop Festival.

Jane Catherine Shaw (puppet design) is the co-founder/co-director (with Sarah Provost) of the Voice 4 Vision Puppet Festival (www.voice4vision.org) at Theater for the New City, which was presented for the fifth time last fall. Shaw also has deep roots at La MaMa, which has presented the NY premieres of all her major full-length works for adult audiences, many with scientific themes. These include "The Lone Runner," "Bed of Light" (an exploration of recurring dream imagery from anonymous sources worldwide), "Universe Expanding, "a piece that explored physics, myth and religion and "Thirst: Memory of Water." (www.janecatherineshaw.com)

Philip Montana (choreographer) has danced for Tatiana Bagonova, Michael Foley and Shapiro & Smith Dance. He was a company member of the world renowned Shen Wei Dance Arts. He is currently performing with Liz Gerring Dance Company, Adele Myers and Dancers, Christopher Williams and Mark Dendy Dance Theater. He is Artistic Director and founder of PM Dance Co. His works have been presented at WAX, Pier 63, Galapagos Art Space, New York University, the American Dance Festival and Dance Theater Workshop.

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