John Cage Europeras # 3-5 at Eight Bridges. Music for Cologne

A musical project featuring the works of John Cage

This project commemorated the 100th anniversary of the composer John Cage in 2012 with the performance of one of his late works, the rarely performed Europeras. As part of the festival Eight Bridges / Music for Cologne 2012, the MusikTriennale Köln GmbH presented the chamber-scale pieces III, IV and V together for the first time. This complex multimedia work, produced in cooperation with the Oper Köln and directed by Elena Tzavara, distances itself from the traditions of European opera music. The work is characterized by a precisely defined temporal and structural frame for random operations, for example, for the selected arias performed by the singers, or the piano transcriptions and phono recordings which encounter one another in a carefully designed theatrical space. Cage also provided detailed instructions regarding lighting and recordings of passing trucks and historic operas. The performances have been accompanied by interactive educational events which explored John Cage’s fundamental ideas for Europeras for chorus and orchestra. The performances in public space aimed to reach a broad audience.

Artistic director: Louwrens Langevoort; Director: Elena Tzavara; Vocals: members of the Cologne Opernstudio (Rachel Bates (AUS), Ji-Hyun An, Sandra Janke, Gustavo Quaresma Ramos (BR), Sévag Serge Tachdjian (F), Yong Doo Park) and others

Cologne, Palladium, foyer of the Cologne Philharmonic orchestra and other venues, 2 - 3 May 2012
Amsterdam, Holland Festival, 1 - 30 Jun. 2012

Contact

MusikTriennale Köln

Bischofsgartenstraße 1
50667 Köln
www.achtbruecken.de (external link, opens in a new window)