ANGEL'S BONE
The 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner Angel's Bone follows the plight of two fallen angels whose nostalgia for earthly delights finds them far from heaven. They are found battered and bruised by a man and his wife, known only as Mr. and Mrs. X.E., who have longed for a better life than their modest middle-class status. Nevertheless, Mr. and Mrs. X.E. set out to nurse the wounded angels back to health: they bathe them, wash the dirt from their nails... then lock them in a room, leaving them a claw foot bathtub for a shared bed, and decide to exploit these magical beings for wealth and personal gains.
Angel's Bone melds chamber music, theatre, pop music, spoken word, opera, cabaret, and electronics, exploring the dark effects and motivations behind modern-day slavery and the trafficking industry.
Commissioned by the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia. Completion co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and HERE Arts Center. World premiered at PROTOTYPE Festival 2016 and was produced in association with Trinity Church Wall Street.
Tour produced by Beth Morrison Projects and supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Howard Gilman Foundation. Additional performances have included Beijing Music Festival and LA Opera - The Broad Stage.
Intriguing in its mix of musical styles and its fantasy.
…cutting-edge… to whom the term ‘young composer’ could hardly do justice…
An opera about human trafficking which seamlessly merges medieval polyphony, indie rock, and even a bit of Darmstadtian modernism.
Creative Team
COMPOSER — DU YUN
LIBRETTIST — ROYCE VAVREK
DIRECTOR — MICHAEL JOSEPH MCQUILKEN
SCENIC AND LIGHTING DESIGN — MARUTI EVANS
PROJECTION DESIGN — MICHAEL JOSEPH MCQUILKEN
BASED ON ORIGINAL PROJECTIONS BY — HANNAH WASILESKI
COSTUME DESIGN — KATE FRY
CHOREOGRAPHY — JENNIFER NEWMAN
FEATURING — KYLE BIELFIELD, ABIGAIL FISCHER, ROSIE K, KYLE PFORTMILLER