Exploring the Metropolis: Scenes from Beloved Prey
Exploring the Metropolis presents
EtM Con Edison Composers Concert Series
Kento Iwasaki: Scenes from Beloved Prey
Anita's Way
(The through block connecting W 42nd and W 43rd St. btwn 6th Ave and Broadway)
Friday, September 25, 2015 @ 12:00pm
FREE
Intercultural theater composer and founder of The Traveling Opera Company, Kento Iwasaki, accompanied by librettist Cris Ryan, presents scenes from the aria of his debut opera, Beloved Prey.
A lioness adopts a baby antelope instead of eating it following the death of her own child. This curious phenomenon of nature inspires the story of Beloved Prey, where we learn, through evocative song and lyrics, that what we consider human, that is to say “not animal” – emotion, compassion, feeling is actually animal indeed.
Iwasaki accompanies two performers on koto, weaving a rich tapestry of Eastern and Western influence through haunting melody and articulate song. Performed against a painted backdrop of the African grasslands, where the story takes place, Scenes from Beloved Prey is a preview of the opera which premieres at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City on November 24th, 2015.
Kento developed Beloved Prey during his 2014-15 EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency at Flushing Town Hall in 2014-15. Since 2009, Exploring the Metropolis has administered the EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, a program which grew out of their 2008 study, “Where Can We Work?” (PDF).
This annual residency is open to New York City composers. Five composers, chosen by a panel of music professionals, receive a stipend and six months of free suitable workspace in a cultural or community facility.
The creation of "Beloved Prey was made possible by the EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency and the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performed by
Sishel Claverie - Mezzo-Soprano
Joy Tamayo - Soprano
Kento Iwasaki - Koto
Composer Bio
Kento Iwasaki is a composer and koto performer. Commissioned for his intercultural voice and theatric sensibilities, he creates with theater and music new mythologies that acts as a bridge to the lexicon of traditional arts. He was born in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in Champaign, IL; Ottawa; Princeton and Philadelphia before moving to New York City. He studied koto with Satomi Fukami as part of an expenses-paid program by Columbia University and continues his koto studies with Yoko Reikano Kimura. Kento has received training in opera composition from Libby Larsen, John Corgliano and and William Bolcolm as part of the John Duffy Composers Institute. He also received training in the art of collaboration at the Nautilus Music-Theater New Dramatists Compose Librettist Studio. The Studio was a stipend-provided 2 week intensive, culminating in 5 music theater scenes with resident playwrights at the New Dramatists.Kento received his B.A. in Music Composition at Temple University and his M.M. in Classical Composition at Manhattan School of Music. Previous composition teachers include Mark Jurcisin, Matthew Greenbaum and Richard Danielpour. Kento is currently developing portable operas that utilize traditional Japanese instruments.
Librettist Bio
Cris Ryan is a New York-based librettist. His writing focuses on "remembering the forgotten", while alluding to nature with an ethereal quality. Ryan took an interest in writing short stories as an adolescent. In 2012 his writing was discovered by composer Kento Iwasaki, as having a poetic voice particularly inclined for opera libretti. After studying various historical and modern operas together, Iwasaki encouraged Ryan to write his first libretto, and introduced his writing to composer Mark Stambaugh, who praised the duo to develop operatic works.
In May 2014, Ryan attended the John Duffy Institute as a librettist where he studied opera theatrics with mentors including Libby Larsen, John Corgliano and Michael Korie. At the institute, a scene of Ryan and Iwasaki’s opera “The Mermaid Hunt" was staged and performed. The Duffy Institute inspired the duo to pursue a new portable opera titled “Beloved Prey”. By December 2014 the first act was premiered at Flushing Town Hall as part of the EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency and performed various times around New York City. The first act received positive acclaim and encored for its completion. "Beloved Prey" is forecasted to be premiered in all its entirety as part of the Queens Arts Festival in November 2015. Ryan and Iwasaki are looking forward to future performances of "Beloved Prey" and the completion of "The Mermaid Hunt" while developing new theatric works for the future.
About Exploring the Metropolis:
Since 2009, Exploring the Metropolis has administered the EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, a program which grew out of their 2008 study, “Where Can We Work?”.
This annual residency is open to New York City composers. Five composers, chosen by a panel of music professionals, receive a stipend and six months of free suitable workspace in a cultural or community facility.
More information available at exploringthemetropolis.org
EtM Con Edison Composers Concert Series
Kento Iwasaki: Scenes from Beloved Prey
Anita's Way
(The through block connecting W 42nd and W 43rd St. btwn 6th Ave and Broadway)
Friday, September 25, 2015 @ 12:00pm
FREE
Intercultural theater composer and founder of The Traveling Opera Company, Kento Iwasaki, accompanied by librettist Cris Ryan, presents scenes from the aria of his debut opera, Beloved Prey.
A lioness adopts a baby antelope instead of eating it following the death of her own child. This curious phenomenon of nature inspires the story of Beloved Prey, where we learn, through evocative song and lyrics, that what we consider human, that is to say “not animal” – emotion, compassion, feeling is actually animal indeed.
Iwasaki accompanies two performers on koto, weaving a rich tapestry of Eastern and Western influence through haunting melody and articulate song. Performed against a painted backdrop of the African grasslands, where the story takes place, Scenes from Beloved Prey is a preview of the opera which premieres at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City on November 24th, 2015.
Kento developed Beloved Prey during his 2014-15 EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency at Flushing Town Hall in 2014-15. Since 2009, Exploring the Metropolis has administered the EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, a program which grew out of their 2008 study, “Where Can We Work?” (PDF).
This annual residency is open to New York City composers. Five composers, chosen by a panel of music professionals, receive a stipend and six months of free suitable workspace in a cultural or community facility.
The creation of "Beloved Prey was made possible by the EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency and the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Performed by
Sishel Claverie - Mezzo-Soprano
Joy Tamayo - Soprano
Kento Iwasaki - Koto
Composer Bio
Kento Iwasaki is a composer and koto performer. Commissioned for his intercultural voice and theatric sensibilities, he creates with theater and music new mythologies that acts as a bridge to the lexicon of traditional arts. He was born in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in Champaign, IL; Ottawa; Princeton and Philadelphia before moving to New York City. He studied koto with Satomi Fukami as part of an expenses-paid program by Columbia University and continues his koto studies with Yoko Reikano Kimura. Kento has received training in opera composition from Libby Larsen, John Corgliano and and William Bolcolm as part of the John Duffy Composers Institute. He also received training in the art of collaboration at the Nautilus Music-Theater New Dramatists Compose Librettist Studio. The Studio was a stipend-provided 2 week intensive, culminating in 5 music theater scenes with resident playwrights at the New Dramatists.Kento received his B.A. in Music Composition at Temple University and his M.M. in Classical Composition at Manhattan School of Music. Previous composition teachers include Mark Jurcisin, Matthew Greenbaum and Richard Danielpour. Kento is currently developing portable operas that utilize traditional Japanese instruments.
Librettist Bio
Cris Ryan is a New York-based librettist. His writing focuses on "remembering the forgotten", while alluding to nature with an ethereal quality. Ryan took an interest in writing short stories as an adolescent. In 2012 his writing was discovered by composer Kento Iwasaki, as having a poetic voice particularly inclined for opera libretti. After studying various historical and modern operas together, Iwasaki encouraged Ryan to write his first libretto, and introduced his writing to composer Mark Stambaugh, who praised the duo to develop operatic works.
In May 2014, Ryan attended the John Duffy Institute as a librettist where he studied opera theatrics with mentors including Libby Larsen, John Corgliano and Michael Korie. At the institute, a scene of Ryan and Iwasaki’s opera “The Mermaid Hunt" was staged and performed. The Duffy Institute inspired the duo to pursue a new portable opera titled “Beloved Prey”. By December 2014 the first act was premiered at Flushing Town Hall as part of the EtM Con Edison Composers' Residency and performed various times around New York City. The first act received positive acclaim and encored for its completion. "Beloved Prey" is forecasted to be premiered in all its entirety as part of the Queens Arts Festival in November 2015. Ryan and Iwasaki are looking forward to future performances of "Beloved Prey" and the completion of "The Mermaid Hunt" while developing new theatric works for the future.
About Exploring the Metropolis:
Since 2009, Exploring the Metropolis has administered the EtM Con Edison Composers’ Residency, a program which grew out of their 2008 study, “Where Can We Work?”.
This annual residency is open to New York City composers. Five composers, chosen by a panel of music professionals, receive a stipend and six months of free suitable workspace in a cultural or community facility.
More information available at exploringthemetropolis.org
