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CHRYSALIS : PRESS
view video excerpts
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| "Chrysalis"
unfolds in a series of neatly contained vignettes that shuttle Ellen
between bedroom, boardroom, barroom and shrink's office. The pacing
of the action is fluent and assured, thanks largely to the virtuosity
of Suprynowicz's music. An early scene in the therapist's office,
for instance, beautifully captures the rhythmic hesitancy and sudden
conversational flurries of a psychiatric session, while Suprynowicz's
delicately etched tonal harmonies convey the emotional undertow
of the dialogue. There are larger structures as well that tie the
piece together. One elemental melody, cast in different guises,
does multiple duty for Ellen's rapturous mirror gazing, for the
chattering of her customer base, and for the |
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tinny shriek of her phone. And when Suprynowicz goes all out with
lyrical, melodic writing, the effect is ravishing. The final duet
for Ellen and Nelle -- a sinuous weave of arching phrases and piquant
dissonances -- is all the more astounding for being so morally unsettling.
Joshua
Kosman SF Chronicle April 28, 2006 |
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Tiny,
gutsy Berkeley Opera served up another world premiere Saturday night,
an impressive, truly new opera, Clark Suprynowicz's Chrysalis ...
Chrysalis is an important event, signaling the arrival of a new,
fresh, authentic voice.
Janos Gereben
SF Classical Voice
April 22, 2006
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Clark
Suprynowicz's new opus -- unveiled April 22 at the Julia Morgan
Theater -- is a remarkable, arresting chamber opera for two lead
women, two supporting males, and a chorus of eight. Its salient asset
is the composer's superb understanding of and sympathy for the female
voice, with glorious vocalise for mezzo and soprano, as well as in
interwoven duets alluring enough to send shivers down your spine.
Paul Hertelendy artssf.com
April 23 - 30, 2006 |
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John
O'Keefe's libretto is wonderfully operatic, a modern Gothic tale of
frantic industry and repressed passion ... Wonderful melodic intervals
and tunes that are every bit the refreshing airs of true opera, not
academic echoing of famous arias ...The singers' excellence extends to
their acting, Baggott driven yet more and more haunted as executive
Ellen, and Breckenridge pert and insouciant, more kid sister than evil
twin.
Ken
Bullock Berkeley Daily Planet
April 25, 2006 |
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IS CLARK SUPRYNOWICZ ahead of his time?
With his latest work, "Chrysalis," the Berkeley-based composer may
have written the first opera about cosmetic surgery and genetic
manipulation. The subject is ripe for exploration, Suprynowicz noted
in an early morning interview last week. "I came to opera late," says
Suprynowicz, who grew up in Connecticut, went to college in
Massachusetts and came to the West Coast 25 years ago as a jazz
bassist. He has spent most of his professional life as a jazz man,
performing and recording with artists including John Zorn, Max Roach
and Tom Waits. "When people think of new music, it's usually
something disjointed and relentlessly dissonant," he says. "New music
has this agenda, to be in some way challenging and original. But it's
not challenging, and most of it is just sort of generic. In my mind,
the most original thing you can do these days is write music that
people actually enjoy."
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Unfortunately, he says, a lot of audiences -- especially younger ones
-- share his view. "I've talked to many people who feel the same way,"
he says. "They don't like opera, and I think that's a great place to
start. If you start breaking down their misconceptions -- the Bugs
Bunny cartoons that show fat ladies breaking chandeliers -- they start
to see that opera is a story told through songs. And most people are
really up for a riveting story and great songs."
Suprynowicz says he kept these things in mind as he was composing the
score for "Chrysalis." "I tried to write an opera that people would
enjoy, even if they think they don't like
opera," he says. "And John has done a great job of telling the story.
To us, the great works are the ones that sort of fold it all in --
there are parts that are funny, and stuff that's harrowing. I think
this piece does that. It's not afraid to be in earnest, and it's not
afraid to make a fool of itself. John is a very brave writer that
way, and I've tried to do that with the music as well."
GEORGIA ROWE: CLASSICAL NOTES Contra Costa Times April 20, 2006 |
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