We caught up with Charlie Christos, a singer-songwriter who performs in the on-stage band for Prometheus Bound. This brand-new incarnation of Aeschylus's ancient tragedy recast as a rock show is currently playing at the American Repertory Theater's Club Oberon in Cambridge. It was directed by Death and the Powers' Diane Paulus, with a fresh, lean …
Karole Armitage interview and dancing robots
In this delightful interview, celebrated choreographer Karole Armitage discloses how she thought about choreographing the movements for each character in Death and the Powers, including the operabots. You'll gain an appreciation for how she makes each personality vivid and convincing through movement. We include new footage of the Prelude and Nicholas (Hal Cazalet) cavorting with …
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Death and the Powers Preview Series
Here's the complete preview series in one convenient package. Each section includes a synopsis of that scene, a short video excerpt, and the full text of Robert Pinsky's libretto. These are a great way for audiences to prepare to see the live performance. Series Intro and Prologue Memory Download Scene 1: Simon and the System …
Preview: Scene 8 – Miseries, Memory, and Miranda
Miranda is surrounded by a parade of the world’s Miseries: the victims of famine, torture, crime, and disease. In the wake of the Miseries, the figure of Simon, in some version or simulacrum of his human body, emerges from the shadows. Miranda and Simon have a final confrontation, in which Simon explains why he chose …
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Preview: Scene 7 – Into The System
Everything—the walls, The Chandelier, the robots—is working together. Simon seems to be everywhere, inhabiting them all, omnipotent. Evvy finally removes the headphones and tells Nicholas and Miranda that she has been channeling Simon: “I’ve been listening to Simon. It’s like when we fell in love … You can jump. You can fall forever, and do …
Preview: Scene 6 – The World Reacts
A new, stranger atmosphere: Miranda, Nicholas, and Evvy are apparently accustomed to it. Evvy is now wearing headphones, swaying a little as if to music, nodding and tilting her head as though channeling Simon’s presence. A delegation from the outside world—composed of The United Way, The United Nations, and The Administration—arrives and wishes to speak …
Preview: Scene 5 – Nicholas and the Robots
Nicholas is in his lab, inhabited by the robots he has been building as part of The System. The robots start moving to the music emanating from the walls, then come to life and start dancing with Nicholas. Miranda is archiving and exploring The System, and is also reflecting on life outside the family compound …
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Preview: Scene 4 – Evvy’s Touch
It is the middle of the night. Evvy enters in a daze, as in a dream, sleepwalking. Simon now inhabits The Chandelier, which vibrates with delicate music. They share a memory. Evvy asks, “Simon, do you remember the first time we danced?” and vivid sensory details of the experience come flooding back to them both. …
Preview: Scene 3 – Getting to Know You
Time has passed. The System is humming—in quiet mode—resting. Miranda and Nicholas are in the room, as the walls continue to stir mysteriously, enticingly. It becomes an animated environment, expressive of Simon’s physical presence. Nicholas assures Miranda that it truly is Simon in The System. Nicholas displays his own mechanical arm and explains to Miranda …
Preview: Scene 2 – System Soliloquy
Simon gradually transmogrifies into The System. The physical environment subtly takes on many of Simon’s characteristics, moving and vibrating as if he were alive. Simon’s voice is heard in short phrases and fragments (“Remember. No matter the matter—I did that.”) that capture the essence of his life’s memories, feelings and experiences. By the end of …
Opera of the Future 