Astronome - a night at the opera

[acephale]

Did anyone notice the forthcoming premiere of "Astronome - a night at the opera", which is a play by both Zorn and Richard Foreman ? When Astronome was released, back in 2006, Zorn wrote in the liner notes about his wish to collaborate with Foreman on some kind of histrionic project.



Richard Foreman and John Zorn join forces with ASTRONOME: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

This is the historic first time collaboration for two MacArthur geniuses who have, individually, challenged, enlightened and entertained adventurous audiences for years. ASTRONOME: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is a work dominated by ecstatic groans, grunts and babbling, and explores the initiation of a group of people into a world where ambiguous behavior alone leads to freedom--perhaps under the tutelage of the necessary "false messiah."

ASTRONOME: A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Plays February 5--April 5, 2009

more info here : www.ontological.com/RF/rfproductionfiles/2009astronome/index.html

[HolgerregloH]

Thanks for the information. Looks interesting.

I saw in your link that is a video live streaming on all wednesdays. But , oh wonder, no shows on wednesdays at all. Really bad.

[sarahv]

This is timed awfully well for a three-night weekend with the Bar Kokhba/Dreamers shows in February....

[King]

Yeah. This looks pretty incredible. WIll definitely be going soon. Wish I could make the Masada sextet show this weekend too, but can't really justify another trip into the city with the trickle of money I've got coming in at the moment.

[sarahv]

Well, I went to this last night. I didn't dislike it, but I was not terribly impressed, either. The music was just the music from the CD played over their sound system, so there is nothing new for JZ fans there - and I actually think that being familiar with the music in advance probably makes the whole thing much less interesting and impactful.

I'd say if you're just in it for the Zorn music connection, don't bother. If you're into the Foreman side of things, or you like abstract/avant garde theater, it's worth a look.

[sarahv]

Reviewed by the New York Times... theater2.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/theater/reviews/14bran.html

[Offering]

Feb 15, 2009 14:44:12 GMT -5 sarahv said:

Reviewed by the New York Times... theater2.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/theater/reviews/14bran.html

Thanks for the link Sarah, the pics make it look great!

Thanks for the heads up on the Masada Sextet show on dime too, yet to check it out though!

[King]

I saw this.

Disturbing.

Quite disturbing.

The morning after I realised that I quite enjoyed it.

[acephale]

it's a shame I can't afford a trip to NY !
did anyone buy the Richard Foreman dvd recently released on Tzadik ?

I just watched it, and it's truly good. At last, I get to see Foreman's performances.
There is one play from start to finish and then a 35 years compilation, along with audio commentaries. The play contains 20 minutes of commentaries from Zorn and Foreman.

[Deleted]

The name "Astronome" is a nod towards the Edgard Varese opera that was never finished