Roulette: Experiments in Opera & Restless NYC Present 'Rainbird'
Free (Free ($20-$25 in person))
Gelsey Bell, voice
Jeffrey Gavett, voice
Katie Geissinger, voice
Shurmi Dhar, voice
Dave Ruder, voice
Tariq Al-Sabir, keyboards
Andie Springer, strings
Sae Hashimoto, percussion
Aaron Siegel – Rainbird (premiere of concert version)
An opera collaboration between director/librettist Mallory Catlett and composer Aaron Siegel, Rainbird is an adaptation of the novel Yellow Flowers in the Antipodean Room by the celebrated New Zealand author Janet Frame. Rainbird tells the story of a middle-aged family man in New Zealand named Godfrey Rainbird who gets hit by a car and is pronounced dead. After the funeral arrangements have been made and his belongings have been cleared from the house, he wakes up in the morgue. What ensues is the emotional struggle of the Rainbird family, not in accepting Godfrey’s death, but, rather, his resurrection. Now a symbol of death, he is ostracized by his community and his family destroyed.
Mixing improvised arias over minimal loops, original folk songs, and textural spaces to create a sense of disorientation and emotional intensity; this performance features the premiere of the concert version of this work, with video contributions by Andrew Denton and a full cast of five singers and three instrumentalists. An early performance of songs from Rainbird was featured in an Experiments in Opera concert at Roulette in November 2018.
The livestream will take place at 8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific.
Attending in person: Proof of vaccination will be required to attend this performance in person. All tickets must be purchased in advance of the performance. No tickets will be available for purchase at the door. Doors will open one hour before the performance. Please arrive at least 20 minutes prior to show time and depart immediately afterward. Everyone entering Roulette must abide by the guidelines outlined here: http://roulette.org/safety
The performance will take place at:
Roulette
509 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(Entrance on the Corner of Third Avenue; Accessible Entrance on Atlantic Ave)
In-person tickets: $20 online, $25 at the door
Link to donate: https://roulette.secure.force.com/donate/?dfId=a0n3600000I68L9AAJ