CONTACT
Billy Tierney
, Marketing Director
Office: (360) 221-8269
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WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRESENTS
“THE PHOTOGRAPHER,” AN OPERA BY PHILIP GLASS
Love. Murder. Madness.
LANGLEY, WA (February 25, 2020) - Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) presents Philip Glass’ experimental opera,
"The Photographer," March 20-22, 2020.
The 1982 opera, featuring a live orchestra, modern dance, and multi-media focuses on the story of photographer Eadweard Muybridge whose motion studies of people and animals made him famous, and whose murder of his wife’s lover made him notorious.
The act of violence and its aftermath were never the emphasis of the original opera, although all the elements were included. Director Tim Everitt re-organized the original material to create a linear story of Muybridge’s obsession that led to his mental collapse, all without changing the music or the essential three act structure of the opera. “Tim has done a beautiful job working with the visual elements and staging to tell the story, the huge, tragic love story that so many operas have,” says WICA Artistic Director Deana Duncan. “Snippets of the story are now spread through the piece, and suddenly there’s a narrative thrust that the original staging never had.”
“Whidbey Island is the perfect incubator for this project,” says Everitt. “The most devoted of opera fans will make the effort to take the easy commute from the metro areas for something unusual and exciting. Locally, Whidbey itself is home to a world-class audience, which has been cultivated by decades of intelligent programming from Whidbey Island Center for the Arts and the Saratoga Orchestra, both well known for quality performances.”
“If you like opera, you'll love 'The Photographer.' If you don't like opera, this will be the piece that changes your mind,” says Duncan.
The production is directed by Tim Everitt, conducted by Erik Ibsen-Nowak, and choreographed by Megan Moore. "The Photographer" runs March 20-22, 2020 in Langley, WA.
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Date and Time:
March 20-22, 2020
Friday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
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Tickets:
Friday - Saturday
$30 all seats |
ages 18 and under free
Sunday
$25 all seats |
ages 18 and under free
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Venue:
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts
565 Camano Avenue
Langley, WA, 98260
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EXPANDED CONTENT
“'The Photographer' has always been a rare opera to produce, due to its challenging structure. Traditionally, the first act is an abstract play, the second act is a concert with multi-media projections, and the third act is a dance,” says director Tim Everitt. “But, we have decided to emphasize the tragic narrative of the story of photographer Edward Muybridge, who murdered his wife’s lover in 1875. Claiming a crime of passion, and declaring that ‘no right minded people would convict me,’ he was acquitted at trial, and continued his career, ultimately creating the world’s first moving pictures. But the thought of his wife’s infidelity and of the murder drove him to madness.”
This classic story arc was never the emphasis of the original opera, although all the elements were included. Everitt re-organized the material to create a linear story of Muybridge’s obsession that led to his mental collapse, all without changing the music or the essential three act structure of the opera. “Tim has done a beautiful job working with the visual elements and staging to tell the story, the huge, tragic love story that so many operas have,” says WICA Artistic Director Deana Duncan. “Snippets of the story are now spread through the piece, and suddenly there’s a narrative thrust that the original staging never had.”
The third act is still a dance, with Seattle- based choreographer Megan Moore designing the movement. “Megan is known for concert dance pieces that bare the raw humanity of the players through edgy and sometimes shocking modern dance,” says Duncan. “She is the perfect contributor to the story of an artist descending into madness. The entire third act, almost 25 minutes, is a single piece of concert choreography that shows the inner thoughts and hallucinations of Muybridge’s struggle with his own act of murder.” Additionally, the team added choreography to Act 2, to develop the story of his obsession with his wife’s infidelity, even as he tries to concentrate on his invention of the motion picture. So in addition to the wall-to-wall Philip Glass music, the dance component finally emerges as the dominant form to tell the story.
Conductor Erik Ibsen-Nowak, who already earned attention for his modern take on Dance Macabre for the Tacoma based Luminosity Orchestra, has assembled a group of musicians, “…with years of experience in groups like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and Saratoga Orchestra, as well as singers from Seattle Opera. In all, it’s a top professional group well able to tackle the driving, difficult music from Glass.”
Director Everitt is a veteran of Hollywood film and animation production, having worked for years on studio A pictures. He has designed the entire multi-media extravaganza that dominates the second act, as well as using Muybridge’s own photographs of the real locations where the real-life story took place, as virtual sets. Rather than build Victorian sets on the stage, multiple screens show the photos of the real rooms and real streets as they were when the real characters lived their lives. It’s a level of modern stagecraft that has not been seen in this area until now.
“We selected 'The Photographer' for our season, not just because the music is beautiful and accessible, but because there is a shortage of modern music, opera in particular, in the Puget Sound area. While our local companies put on great productions of classical repertory, there is a real shortage of modern and experimental works,” says Duncan. “'The Photographer' is nothing if not experimental and pushes the boundaries of what music, theater, film, and dance can be. As the lyric in the opera states: ‘Never seen this picture before.' Truer words have never been spoken, or sung, in this context.”
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ADDITIONAL INFO
For interview requests, images, and press passes, please contact
Billy Tierney
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ABOUT WHIDBEY ISLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Founded in 1996, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts produces, presents, and supports exceptional works that celebrate the artistic excellence of its community. Learn more
here
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ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Tim Everitt holds an M.F.A. from U.S.C.'s graduate film program, and a B.F.A. from Drake University's Theatre Department. He is an award-winning motion picture writer/director and animator. His films include "Too Fast, Too Young," starring Michael Ironside and Kasia Figura; and "Fatally Yours," starring Rick Rossovich, Roddy McDowell, George Lazenby, and Sage Stallone. Films he has written and directed have won major awards at national and international competitions, including the Houston International Film Festival, the New York International Film and Television Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, and the Independent Film Producers of America "Cindy" Award. Tim has served as a visual effects artist and lead animator/animation supervisor on major studio films including "The Last Samurai," starring Tom Cruise; "Collateral Damage," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and "Pirates of the Caribbean," starring Johnny Depp. He has worked in the motion picture industry as a Director of Photography, including shooting green-screen special effects photography for "Demolition Man," starring Sylvester Stallone. Prior to coming to Hollywood, he worked in Public Broadcasting, shooting programs such as "You're Not A Hero Til You're Sung," featuring Penny Marshall and Linda Carter, for which he won a Regional Emmy. He is the co-founder of Opera Zeitgeist, a regional music and theatrical group dedicated to bringing modern classical music, opera, and theater to the Pacific Northwest. Among active projects are symphonic concerts, fully staged opera, and plays that have a major music component. He is the President of Everitt Productions and is currently directing a feature animated film for theatrical release.
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