THE ECHO DRIFT
Image by Elle Kunnos de Voss
CREATIVE TEAM
music by MIKAEL KARLSSON| libretto by ELLE KUNNOS DE VOSS & KATHRYN WALAT
directed by MALLORY CATLETT | conducted by NICHOLAS DEMAISON
environment design by ELLE KUNNOS DE VOSS | projection design by SIMON HARDING
Featuring the INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE (ICE) and pianist AARON LINISS
Starring
BLYTHE GAISSERT as Walker Loats
JOHN KELLY as Governor & The Moth
2018
PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL
BARUCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER - WORLD PREMIERE
January 9-14, 2017
TICKETS AND INFO AT prototypefestival.org
ABOUT
Convicted murderer Walker Loats is trapped in a timeless prison. Unexpectedly befriended by a moth with an offer of a perceived way to freedom, Walker must choose between paying her dues or taking a shortcut that offers to rig the game in her favor. Oscillating between the confines of a tiny cell and an expansive visual world of animation, The Echo Drift unravels a cycle of deceit, temptation, seduction, and fantastical perception. Featuring a live chamber ensemble, electronics, and a six-channel surround sound system, this world premiere opera explores the freewheeling nature of the mind when it is robbed of external stimuli and questions, when in extreme circumstances, is it possible to act in a way that goes against one’s nature?
SUPPORT
The Echo Drift was originally developed by Mikael Karlsson and Elle Kunnos de Voss in a full-length workshop presented by the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC in 2014. The Echo Drift was commissioned, developed and produced by Beth Morrison Projects, HERE, and American Opera Projects.
Produced in association with Baruch Performing Arts Center.
PRESS
“Everything about this presentation was virtuoso...”
– The New York Observer
“Stark and intricate, propulsive and a little film-noir, 'The Echo Drift' is most exciting when it is fast and cacophonous, nearly overwhelming the senses...what the eye sees is just as complex and alluring as what the ear hears.”
– The New York Times
"...The Echo Drift is surprisingly accessible...balanced an immersive multidimensional experience with a refreshing affirmation of human solidarity.”
– I Care if You Listen