THE DALLAS OPERA PRESENTS OPERA ON A WORLD STAGE! Death and the Powers: THE GLOBAL INTERACTIVE SIMULCAST ~~~~ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2014 AT 2:00 P.M. (Central Time) THE MARGOT AND BILL WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE AT THE AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DALLAS TX ~~~~ Remote locations throughout …
In Opera News
Here's an insightful article about Tod Machover in the October issue of Opera News. Written by Philip Kennicott, Pulitzer prize-winning critic for the Washington Post, the article delves into the evolution of the music and gets to the heart of what the operas are about. Refreshing! Some great quotes: "…Machover, voluble and friendly in person, confounds expectations. Valis, …
Resurrection: Act 1 Scene 1, “Is this a dream?”
Resurrection captures an unusual love story between Prince Nekhlyudov (Scott Hendricks) and the serving girl Maslova (Joyce DiDonato). Though divided by class, their fates become intertwined when the Prince sits on the jury that unjustly condemns the young woman to prison. Despite a merciless justice system that does not allow for second chances, an amazing story of courage and redemption …
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Resurrection: Introduction and Act 1 Scene 1, “May Day”
"Machover has a gift for making music that is direct and complicated at the same time, for mixing popular and arcane elements. The vocal writing [of Resurrection] often dazzles with grand melismatic flourishes; jazz tumults through the brutish seduction scene; a gripping rhythmic pulse catapults through ever-changing meters." - Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times Commissioned and premiered in …
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The Scotsman reviews “Festival City”
"Festival City", which received its world premiere on August 27th at Edinburgh's Usher Hall, garnered a favorable notice in The Scotsman: Machover’s new work – a moody soundscape combining recorded audio bites of Edinburgh with bristling, atmospheric live orchestral impressions, and created from material submitted over the internet – was anything but gimmicky. Driven by …
BBC report on “Festival City”
Last night's world premiere of "Festival City" went off without a hitch. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra players were on fire, and the acoustics in Usher Hall were excellent. Kudos too to the Edinburgh International Festival audience for their commitment and enthusiasm to new work. Check out this BBC report from the rehearsal, including a …
Rehearsing Festival City
From Tod Machover's Facebook page: Exciting first rehearsal yesterday with full orchestra of FESTIVAL CITY. Here's the Royal Scottish National Orchestra trying out the piece for the first time, in their rehearsal space in Glasgow. On my way back there now for more rehearsing. More pictures soon.
Play the Cauldron Connector game!
Play Cauldron Connector to win two free tickets to Tod Machover's "Festival City" premiere at the EIF's "City Noir" concert on August 27 How's your auditory and musical acumen? Test it out with the Cauldron Connector quiz designed by Akito Van Troyer and Tod Machover at the MIT Media Lab. Correctly traverse your way through the sounds of Machover’s "Festival City", and your name …
Repertoire Remix: Q&A
The MIT Media Lab has posted a terrific interview with Tod Machover and pianist Tae Kim that takes us deeper inside the collaborative process of creating "Festival City". In the interview, Tod also speaks about how the experience is changing him: For Festival City, I have taken a big risk by opening up the compositional process to …
The Scotsman previews “Festival City”
This nice article popped up in The Scotsman! We like this quote: Machover’s Edinburgh project has embraced online participation as far afield as China, Turkey and Thailand. “It’s been a marvellous way of encouraging people to listen to the world around them.” How very John Cage. “Not quite,” Machover argues. “I think what Cage did …
Opera of the Future 