Phoenix
Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 5:30 pm
“Oppressed people must shout together, louder and more vividly so that our shared struggle cannot be ignored.”
- composer Sahba Aminikia
Two World Premieres! Iranian American composer Sahba Aminikia and librettist Zara Houshmand’s Phoenix – a powerful statement about the current women’s rights struggle in Iran told through three voices representing different generations of Iranian women. And new dances from Spectrum Dance Theatre’s Donald Byrd for The Golem, a medieval Jewish legend that has fascinated many generations as a complex metaphor for the struggle to survive during times of persecution. Plus Carlos Simon’s An Elegy – A Cry from the Grave and Lori Laitman’s song cycle In Sleep The World is Yours. Featuring Music of Remembrance’s stellar instrumental ensemble drawn from the ranks of the Seattle Symphony with guest artists soprano Vanessa Isiguen and mezzo-soprano Rachel Hauge.
Full Program:
Carlos Simon
An Elegy - A Cry from the Grave
Sahba Aminikia, music Zara Houshmand, libretto
Phoenix
World Premiere
Commissioned by Music of Remembrance
Lori Laitman
In Sleep The World Is Yours
Premiere of new arrangement for Voice, Clarinet, and Piano
Betty Olivero
"Zeks Yiddishe Lider un Tantz" from The Golem
World premiere of choreography by Donald Byrd
Spectrum Dance Theater
Music of Remembrance Ensemble
Laura DeLuca, clarinet; Mikhail Shmidt, violin; Artur Girsky, violin; Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola; Walter Gray, cello; Jonathan Green, double bass; Mina Miller, piano
Soloists: Vanessa Isiguen, soprano; Rachel Hauge, mezzo-soprano