Emmeline takes off at Manhattan School of Music.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
Composer Tobias Picker returned to his alma mater, the Manhattan School of Music last week bringing a new staging of his first opera, Emmeline. A searing re-telling of the Oedipus myth among the hardscrabble folks of a small New England town, this opera helped put the Santa Fe Opera Festival on the map. Here, the work received a new staging from director Thaddeus Strassberger, and an update to the libretto to better reflect the troubled 21st century. Touches like home shopping channel footage and even texting (used brilliantly in the projected titles at one point made the whole show a reflection on the current screwed-up state of affairs in this country.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
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| Living in her lonely world: Blair Cagney as Emmeline. Photo by Carol Rosegg for the Manhattan School of Music. |
