American Modern Opera Company at Zellerbach Hall Auditorium, September 27, 2024

Cal Performances presents the U.S. premiere of American Modern Opera Company dramatic reimagination of Olivier Messiaen: Harawi, featuring Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305 USA
8:00 PM, Friday, September 27, 2024

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Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992): Harawi (1945), Chant d'amour et de mort (A Song of Love and Death)

[8:11 PM] {lights down}

1. [8:11 PM] La ville qui dormait‚ toi
2. [8:13 PM] Bonjour toi‚ colombe verte
3. [8:16 PM] Montagnes
4. [8:20 PM] Doundou tchil
5. [8:23 PM] L'amour de Piroutcha
6. [8:27 PM] Répétition Planétaire
7. [8:34 PM] Adieu
8. [8:42 PM] Syllabes
9. [8:47 PM] L'escalier redit‚ gestes du soleil
10. [8:54 PM] Amour oiseau d'étoile
11. [8:59 PM] Katchikatchi les étoiles
12. [9:01 PM] Dans le noir
    [9:08 PM] {applause at end of cycle}
    [9:10 PM] {show ends}

American Modern Opera Company

• Julia Bullock: soprano vox;
• Conor Hanick: piano;
• Or Schraiber: dancer, choreographer;
• Bobbi Jene Smith: dancer, choreographer;
• Zack Winokur: director.

Roland Penrose: Seeing is believing

Messiaen identified Seeing is believing, a surrealist painting by Roland Penrose, as “the symbol of the whole of Harawi” – “Two male hands reaching out, then a woman’s head upside down, her hair spreading out upwards from below, her brow, her eyes, her face, her neck, and then the rest of the woman is missing, or rather, she is continued in the sky and the stars.”

I was unfamiliar with this Messaien work, but as an admirer of his compositions, a fan of Julia Bullock and a sucker for premieres, it didn't take long to decide that I should attend this show. While the dramatic staging was incredibly sparse, I thought the presentation did well to emphasize the musical aspect of the show over the newly added dance elements (the premiere part of things). And although the dancing was certainly excellent, it didn't move me enough to recommend seeing this production over a more straightforward recital.

Program Notes or program notes

Lou Fancher posted a short promo article for this performance with Bay City News. SFGate seems to have a longer version of the article, but without photos.

Tom Jacobs posted a similar promo article with SFCV.

Amy Moore posted helpful program notes on a page that also includes Youtube links to her 2020 performance of Harawi.

The writeup in Wikipedia includes detailed descriptions of many of the individual songs, as well as English translations of all of the song titles.

Lisa Hirsch posted a positive review of the show with SFCV that includes plenty of production photos.

Joshua Kosman posted a review on his blog that includes photos from tonight's performance.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!