“Death with Interruptions”
a one-act opera
Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center
Death with Interruptions recounts the story of what happens when death falls in love with the principal cellist of a local orchestra and fails to claim his life. Music becomes the transformative force that gradually changes death from a spectral entity into an idealized woman who is unfamiliar with human emotion and perplexed by the intricacies of decisions that are based on the desire to be loved and unalone.
Composer of Death with Interruptions and UC Davis faculty member Kurt Rohde says of the opera—
“In this re-imagined tale of the Orpheus myth, it is death that rises to the land of the living, passing through the music of mankind, becoming more and more human as she fulfills her journey. As desire takes hold, death decides to love, which means she has to become human and relinquish her authority. Things get messy when living the lives we have, subconsciously operating on the premise that death will take us someday, suddenly we get a new book of rules to work with and no one knows exactly what to do next. Not even death.”
Based on José Saramago’s Novel Death with
Interruptions,
translated by Margaret Jull Costa
Libretto by Thomas Laqueur
Composed by Kurt Rohde
Conducted by Matilda Hofman
Directed by Barbara Heroux
Nikki Einfeld, soprano
Daniel Cilli, baritone
Joe Dan Harper, tenor
Leighton Fong, cello
Left Coast Chamber Ensemble
Anna Presler, Artistic Director
Volti Chorus
Bob Geary, Artistic Director
Costume Design by Jennifer Gonsalves
