Acquanetta
In the new opera Acquanetta, the spirit of 1940s horror movies is turned inside out in a bravura, one-act deconstruction of the genre that explores how vision relates to identity. Characters include the mad scientist Doctor, the insistent Ape, the reluctant Brainy Woman, the visionary Director and the beautiful Acquanetta, aka Mildred Davenport, an actress who disguised her identity.
Acquanetta examines the ways the movie camera manipulates how we see and are seen. In soaring, sometimes comic and always indelible songs that capture the heightened drama of horror films, these vivid characters reveal their inner longings and emotional shadows in what is ultimately a haunting meditation on the meaning of identity, transformation, stereotypes and typecasting, set in the heyday of Hollywood gloss.
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Bang on a Can and Trinity Church Wall Street. The world premiere chamber version was commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects with lead commissioning support by Linda & Stuart Nelson. Additional support from Chris Ahearn & Marla Mayer, Miles & Joni Benickes, Stephen Block, Sarah Brown & Thomas P. Perkins III, Emilie Corey, Jeanne Fisher, Marian Godfrey, Joel Graber, Raulee Marcus, James Marlas & Marie Nugent-Head Marlas, Jill Matichak, Charles & Jane Morrison, and Anna Rabinowitz. Originally premiered in a Grand Opera form in 2006 in Aachen, Germany. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Made possible by PROTOTYPE 2018 sponsor, Meyer Sound and co-presented with Gelsey Kirkland Arts Center.
The opera turns the story of that campy film's star into a somberly ritualistic meditation on public versus private identities.
The one unmissable show I've seen so far was Acquanetta, the sublime horror-opera that opened the PROTOTYPE Festival.
It's energetic rhythms, highly amplified, electronic sound and rapidly changing harmonies, embroiled us in its excesses... It was an outrageous 75 minutes.
Creative Team
COMPOSER — MICHAEL GORDON
LIBRETTIST — DEBORAH ARTMAN
DIRECTOR — DANIEL FISH
CONDUCTOR — DANIELA CANDILLARI
SCENIC DESIGN — AMY RUBIN AND JIM FINDLAY
LIGHTING DESIGN — BARBARA SAMUELS
VIDEO DESIGN — JOSHUA HIGGASON
COSTUME DESIGN — TERESE WADDEN
SOUND DESIGN — GARTH MACALEAVEY
DRAMATURGE — MICHAEL JACKSON