American Premiere! A House in Bali
Music by Evan Ziporyn
Libretto by Paul Schick (after Colin McPhee)
Directed by Jay Scheib
Staging & Choreography by Anne Harley &
Dewi Kadek Aryani
Bang on a Can All-Stars & Gamelan Salukat
Musical Direction by Evan Ziporyn &
Dewa Ketut Alit
Featuring:
Marc Molomot, tenor;
Anne Harley, soprano;
Timur Bekbosunov, tenor;
Kadek Dewi Aryani;
Nyoman Triyana Usadhi;
Desak Made Suarti Laskmi;
I Nyoman Catra
Bang on a Can All-Stars:
Evan Ziporyn, conductor
David Cossin, percussion;
Robert Black, bass;
Ning Yu, keyboard;
Felix Fan, cello;
Todd Reynolds, violin;
Derek Johnson, guitar;
Andrew Cotton, sound
Gamelan Salukat - Dewa Ketut Alit, music director
This magnificent new dance-opera by acclaimed composer Evan Ziporyn features an international cast of vocalists, dancers, and musicians. Tracing the roots of the West's century-long infatuation with Bali, the work tells the engaging stories of three westerners—composer Colin McPhee, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and artist Walter Spies—during their 1930s sojourn in Bali. The American premiere of this stunning, multimedia spectacle staged by director-designer Jay Scheib, brings together the finest artists of East and West: a 15-piece gamelan orchestra led by Balinese master Dewa Ketut Alit, the Bang on a Can All-Stars with guest violinist Todd Reynolds, captivating Balinese choreography by Kadek Dewi Aryani, and some of the finest operatic and Balinese voices working today. Through it all, visually stunning projections converge, pushing all boundaries of theatrical innovation.
Produced by Bang on a Can in association with Airplane Ears Music
Patron Sponsors Liz and Greg Lutz
Education/Community Events Campus and Community Residency
Sept 18-26, 2009
Composer Colloquium
Fri, Sept 18, 3-4:30 pm, 125 Morrison Hall
Composer Evan Ziporyn — UC Berkeley Ph.D, Bang On A Can All-Stars member, and MIT Professor — talks about his work.
Balinese Dance Demonstration
Mon, Sept 21, 5:30-7 pm, Hertz Hall
Dancer-choreographer Dewi Kadek Aryani and dancer Desak Made Suarti Laksmi demonstrate Balinese dance forms.
Gamelan Master Class
Tue, Sept 22, 5:30-7 pm, 250 Morrison Hall
Musicians of the Balinese ensemble Gamelan Salukat coach UC Berkeley students in the Gamelan program at the Department of Music. Observers are welcome.
Crossing Cultures: Behind the Scenes
Artist Talk
Fri, Sept 25, 4-5:30 pm, Zellerbach Hall Lobby Mezzanine
Evan Ziporyn discusses the challenges of creating a staged work with artists of vastly different training and cultural experiences, with a brief look at a rehearsal in progress.
Education and Community programs presented in conjunction with the American Premiere of A House In Bali are sponsored by Cal Performances in association with the UC Berkeley Department of Music and Center for Southeast Asian Studies and Gamelan Sekar Jaya.
Sightlines Sat, Sept 26, 7-7:30 pm, Zellerbach Hall
Pre-performance talk with composer Evan Ziporyn and director Jay Scheib. This Sightlines event is free to all event ticket holders.
Program Notes
Program notes are available online. [PDF]
Video Clips
View video clips from the June 2009 world premiere of A House in Bali at the outdoor Water Palace Theater at the gate of Puri Saraswati, the king's residence, in Bali. Aspects of the production viewed here will change as the American premiere will take place on the Zellerbach Hall stage, where real-time video technology will be used to create a "wider-ranging, more dream-like set," according to director Jay Scheib.
calperfs.berkeley.edu