Selkie, a sea tale
(World Premier, new classical music-theater)
Seduction to dive below the waves... Have you ever wanted something so much that you'd pursue it without a thought to saying goodbye to your current life? We have. Join us in an other-worldly environment for a fairytale evening of achingly beautiful, multidisciplinary, new classical music-theater.
Elliot Cooper Cole, composer. Misha Penton, libretto. Misha Penton, Natasha Manley, singers. Meg Brooker, dancer & choreography. Miranda Herbert & Melissa McEver, actors. Jeremy Wood, piano. Divisi Strings, cello. Sarah Mosher & Serret Jensen, costumes & stylist. Megan M. Reilly & David A. Brown, lighting & design. Misha Penton, Artistic Director.
Friday November 5 at 8pm
Saturday November 6 at 8pm
Obsidian Arts Space
3522 White Oak Drive. Houston, TX 77007
Past Performances:
Selkie Project: gestation
A mythical half-seal, half-human creature bobs her beckoning head: seduction to dive below the waves...
Divergence Vocal Theater collaborates to create a cross-disciplinary installation environment for multimedia, performance, opera and new music-theater: The Selkie Project: gestation. Voice, text, sound design by Misha Penton; multimedia, lighting/theatrical design by Megan M. Reilly. Music of James Norman, Elliot Cooper Cole, Benjamin Britten and Charles Gounod. Project Artistic Direction: Misha Penton & Megan M. Reilly.
The Selkie Project: gestation is part of the curated exhibition of experimental works, Ideas of Mountains, at The Creative Research Laboratory at University of Texas at Austin.
Performers: Misha Penton, mezzo soprano; Maimy Fong, piano; Steffanie Ngo-Hatchie, actor; Caroline Sutton Clark, dancer/choreography.
Selkie Project: gestation performance: Saturday, January 23rd, 7pm PM
Exhibition Dates: January 23-February 6, 2010
Creative Research Laboratory
2832 East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Austin, Texas 78702
MAP
Free
Download the performance program!
Angel's Share: a Courtyard Salon at 13|31
October 31, 2009
An ethereal eve of art songs, piano works, dance, multimedia and maybe a surprise or two! The singers and players include Lisa Borik, Alison Greene, Misha Penton, Michael Walsh, Stephen W. Jones, piano; Tiffany Couser, dancer & choreographer; Megan M. Reilly, design.
Autumn Spectre
October 2nd & 3rd, 2009
An ethereal October eve of contemporary art song in English and piano & harp works, with film, butoh inspired dance, sitar, shadow puppetry...Music of Argento, Glass, Meredith Monk, Heggie, Britten, and more...
Singers & Players: Lisa Borik, Alison Greene, Misha Penton, Michael Walsh. Stephen W. Jones, piano. Joanna Elliott Whitsett, harp. Aaron Ray Hermes, sitar. Timothy Evers, actor & original text. Toni Valle, dancer & choreographer. Megan Reilly: Design. Created by Divergence Vocal Theater. Artistic Director & Concept: Misha Penton. Musical Director: Stephen W. Jones. First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2119 Avalon Place, Houston, Texas
First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2119 Avalon Place, Houston, Texas
The 10th Muse
March 20-22, 2009
Opera for the equinox!
Set between fragments of poetry, Divergence Vocal Theater embarks on a swirling journey where tales of ancient Mediterranean women are illuminated through opera, text, and dance.
Scenes and arias from Gounod's opera, Sapho, and Berlioz’ Les Troyens. Piano works of Viardot and Boulanger. Sappho fragments, poetry of Jill Alexander Essbaum, and contemporary dance. (Sapho and Les Troyens selections sung in French with English supertitles. Poetry in English).
Barnevelder Movement & Arts Complex, 2201 Preston St, Houston, Texas
Singers & Players: Misha Penton, Shelley Auer, Alison Greene, Michael Walsh, Jill Alexander Essbaum, the Divergence Dancers, Stephen W. Jones, piano. Artistic & Stage Direction: Misha Penton; Musical Direction: Stephen W. Jones; Choreography: Toni Valle.
The Ottavia Project
November 16th, 2008
Murder & Mayhem in Ancient Rome
A scorned woman, a love quadrangle, and assassins afoot. A theatrical fusion of scenes from Claudio Monteverdi's opera, L'incoronazione di Poppeaand the play, Octavia, attributed to Seneca; with piano works of Bach and Rameau.
(Octavia selections in English, Poppea selections in Italian with English supertitles).
Barnevelder Movement & Arts Complex, 2201 Preston St, Houston, Texas
The Singers & Players:
Misha Penton, Shelley Auer, Kinga Skretkowicz-Ferguson, Michael Walsh
Artistic & Stage Direction: Misha Penton; Musical Direction & Piano: Stephen W. Jones; Choreography: Toni Valle; Lighting: Kris Phelps
