Catch a sneak preview of the new chamber opera The Echo Drift followed by a moderated panel discussion with composer Mikael Karlsson and librettist Elle Kunnos de Voss. The complete opera will premiere as part of the celebrated PROTOTYPE Festival in January 2018.
Convicted murderer Walker Loats is trapped in a timeless prison. Unexpectedly befriended by a moth with an offer of a perceived way to freedom, Walker must choose between paying her dues or taking a shortcut that offers to rig the game in her favor.
Oscillating between the confines of a tiny cell and an expansive visual world of animation, The Echo Drift unravels a cycle of deceit, temptation, seduction, and fantastical perception. Featuring a live chamber ensemble, electronics, and a six-channel surround sound system, this world premiere opera explores the freewheeling nature of the mind when it is robbed of external stimuli and questions, when in extreme circumstances, is it possible to act in a way that goes against one’s nature?
About Mikael Karlsson
Mikael Karlsson (Composer) writes music ranging from orchestral compositions, full evening modern ballets at major opera houses to chamber music, chamber operas and the occasional pop song. In 2014, he was awarded the Lakond Award to “an exceptional mid-career composer” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Mr. Karlsson’s music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, (le) Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center, MoMA, and as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall.
His commissions for dance include works for Nederlands Dans Theater, the Paris Opera, The Vienna State Opera, Ailey II, the Royal Swedish Opera and Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Semperoper (Dresden) and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. He has worked with major contemporary music ensembles in the US (International Contemporary Ensemble, American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) and Europe (Dahlkvist Quartet) and enjoys an ongoing collaboration with celebrated choreographer Alexander Ekman. Mr. Karlsson lives in Harlem, New York City, and has released twelve albums to date.
About Elle Kunnos de Voss
Elle Kunnos de Voss (Co-librettist & Environment Designer) is a New York-based Swedish artist and designer. Her work includes creative writing, graphics and illustration, production design, set and costume design, and architecture. Kunnos de Voss holds an M.A. from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Design. After graduating in 2004, she moved to New York City and has since completed production design for films, designed sets and costumes for performing arts productions in Europe and the U.S. and is currently developing an opera with L.A. based composer and artist Micah Silver.
For her work on The Echo Drift libretto she received the Opera Genesis Fellowship, alongside composer Mikael Karlsson. In Sweden she recently developed Justine, a theatrical dance piece, with choreographer Charlotta Öfverholm. The piece celebrates individuality and deals with justice, in a story of how imagination triumphs over oppression.
About Kathryn Walat
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Image By Elle Kunnos De Voss
THU—10-5-2017—7 PM
$10 ($7 ASF Members)