Next month, Like Flesh will receive its world premiere at Opéra de Lille, and little by little I’m starting to introduce it to the world. In this interview for Opéra Magazine, I sat down with journalist Marguerite Haladjian to discuss my inspiration, work-process, and much more. I invite you to read it here.
The Song About the Child, my choral piece with Palestinian poet Salman Masalha, is one of those unique works that enjoy yearly resurrection. Last month it was thanks to Coro Allegro, who performed it at Boston Symphony Hall as part of the Terezin Music Foundation’s annual gala. The Boston Musical Intelligencer called it “gorgeous” and “beautifully keening,” and the whole evening “meaningful and poignant”. Check out the full review HERE.
After Arethusa, my latest choral work, had its public world premiere at the Venice Biennale last month. Marcus Creed led the performance by accentus choir, with countertenor Guilhem Terrail as soloist. It was joyful to have Cordelia there with me: you can read her text HERE, and an interview with Accentus HERE. The next stops on accentus’ tour: November Music Festival in the Netherlands, Corneille Chapel in Rouen, and the Louvre Auditorium in Paris.
The group exhibition Sur Papier opened on May 8th at the Museum of Art and History in Neuchâtel, and the exhibition book Sur Papier. Su Carta (published by Scheidegger und Spiess AG, Verlag) was just released to accompany it. It contains a specially-commissioned article by musician and scholar Madison Greenstone, titled Space, Time, Surface, Perspective, in response to my installation Papier Sonore | Pigments Vivants. It is available for purchase HERE.
Ted Huffman and I were back at Montpellier Opera last month to oversee the production of six new operatic miniatures created by young artists in our workshop Words and Music. The concert was beautifully filmed, and will be broadcast next Spring. Other teachings this month included a guest lecture in Katie Mitchell’s Women Opera Makers Workshop at Festival d’Aix (where I also serve as mentor), a guest lecture at Thailand’s Mahidol University, and an upcoming guest lecture at UC Santa Cruz.
Six incredible weeks at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation just came to an end, giving birth to a new scene from Like Flesh, new friendships and collaborations, and a few very memorable encounters with Piero della Francesca.
I am thrilled to announce that Like flesh, my new opera with writer Cordelia Lynn, director Silvia Costa, and Le Balcon ensemble, commissioned by Opéra de Lille and IRCAM, is the winner of the 2021 Fedora Opera Prize. The official announcement is available here. A short press video about the opera is available here.
This evening, my composition Heave will open IRCAM’s 2021 ManiFeste Festival at the Pompidou Center. To mark the event, I sat down with Transfuge Magazine to discuss my past and present work at IRCAM, and much more. You can read the full portrait article here.
In October I was commissioned by the Museum of Art and History (MahN) to create an installation for their new exhibition Sur Paper. After a period of planning and tests in collaboration with IRCAM computer music designer Augustin Muller, I was thrilled to be in Neuchâtel last week for the building phase. The exhibition opens to the public on May 9th, and will run until September 5th. Full information here.
I’ve been at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis for a month now working on my opera Like Flesh. It’s been a real gift of time and space, as well as a nourishing community of fellow artists and scholars. A big thank you to Camargo’s partner institutions - the Royaumont Foundation and Lille opera - for making this possible.
I was at Montpellier Opera last weekend for performances of two of my works - one for choir, one for orchestra - under the baton of Rebecca Tong. The concert was expertly filmed, with short interviews woven in about each work with Benjamin François of France Musique. You can watch the interview here and the concert here from June-November 2021.
Like flesh, my new opera with writer Cordelia Lynn, director Silvia Costa, and Le Balcon ensemble, is one of nine new operas shortlisted for the 2021 Fedora prize. It’s a great honour to be nominated alongside composers Kaija Saariaho, Olga Neuwirth, and Jamie Mann, among others. I invite you to read more about the project and vote for us here.
Once Loved, for two voices and accordion, was commissioned by Musicatreize ensemble and Philharmonie de Paris in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. The premiere has been rescheduled for May 2021, but you can read about the composition here, and also discover the story behind this ambitious project by Musicatreize involving twelve composers from across Europe.
