The Guerillas present an encore presentation of a new opera based on the life of Sufi poet, Rumi

BOSTON, MA (February 1, 2021) —Join Guerilla Opera at a watch party on Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 7:00PM EDT on Sparrow Live for an encore viewing of the world premiere of Giver of Light, a new chamber opera based on the life of 13th-century Sufi poet, Rumi. With “sonically rich” music and original libretto by Adams Roberts, electronic score by Anil Çamcı, and stage direction by Andrew Eggert, this is “opera at its most transporting” (New Music Box), and you won’t want to miss it!

Giver of Light

Music and libretto by Adam Roberts
Electronic Score by Anil Çamcı
Stage Direction by Andrew Eggert
Watch Party on Thursday, February 18, 2021, 7:00PM EDT
Available On Demand through Thursday, March 18, 2021, 7:00PM EDT

https://www.sparrowlive.com/event-details/guerilla-opera-presents-giver-of-light

A successful man’s world is turned upside down... Guerilla Opera breaks down our assumptions of love through the life-changing journey of one man.

Commissioned and performed by Guerilla Opera in 2013, Giver of Light brings an “otherworldly” (Boston Classical Review) take on the life of Rumi, based in modern times. The “freshly ambitious” (The Boston Globe) interpretation of Rumi’s life follows John, a successful man who seems to have it all, but is deeply troubled by an unrelenting emptiness in his soul. He meets a mystic who upends his life and pursues a friendship that will forever change his life. Giver of Light will be available on demand through Thursday, March 18th. It is sung in English and 75 minutes in duration.

*PHOTO CREDIT: Guerilla Opera’s world premiere production of Giver of Light. Photo by Stephanie Patalano Photography (2013)*

Giver of Light stars tenor Jonas Budris in his Guerilla Opera debut as JOHN and baritone Brian Church as DARREN, as well as soprano, Artistic Director and co-founder Aliana de la Guardia as ELENA/MEAN KID, and soprano Jennifer Ashe as BRIAN/SUSAN. The small, virtuosic instrumental ensemble features clarinetist Amy Advocat, saxophonist Kent O’Doherty, percussionist and co-founder Mike Williams, and cellist Javier Caballero, and with production design by Artistic Advisor Julia Noulin‐Mérat, lighting design by Tláloc López‐Watermann and costume design by Neil Fortin.

OTHER FEBRUARY GUERILLA EVENTS

Chrononhotonthologos by Andy Vores On Demand

Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 7:00PM EDT - Sunday, February 14, 2021 7:00PM EDT

https://www.sparrowlive.com/event-details/guerilla-opera-presents-chrononhotonthologos

Guerilla Opera’s encore viewing of the extraordinary chamber opera, Chrononhotonthologos is available on demand through Sunday, February 14, 2021 7PM EDT on Sparrow Live. Sung in English and 90 minutes in duration it includes a pre-concert interview with composer Andy Vores. Admission $20.00.

Creative Community Drop In: Introduction to Shadow Puppetry

Saturday, February 13, 2021, 2:00 - 3:30 PM EDT

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/126812175631

Guerilla Opera’s Creative Community Drop In’s offer you more opportunity to interact with Guerilla artists and designers in friendly, bite-sized pieces! Introduction to Shadow Puppetry provides a fun overview of different styles of shadow puppetry and to the creative process of shadow theater in your home. Using simple tools you will learn how to build a theater, create and build characters and simple mechanisms of their movements, as well as easy-to-find light sources for professional looking home shows. No previous experience is necessary. This workshop is 90 minutes in duration and led by Deniz Khateri, director, playwright and puppet designer. We welcome all to participate in these online and interactive educational classes!

With tons of accessible digital programming the Guerillas are ready, willing and able to bring transformative experiences to Boston and beyond!

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WHO WE ARE

In daring performances Guerilla Opera has garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera with The Boston Globe raving that “radical exploration remains the cornerstone of everything it does.” This Boston-based, artist-led ensemble’s mission is to immerse audiences in profound experiences through the creation of custom-tailored new works. The Guerillas commission and reenvision new and experimental works, and champion cutting-edge music. They provide a vehicle for diversity, equity, inclusion, and creative authenticity. They inspire, influence and amplify emerging generations of artists and arts-lovers. Their vision is to ferociously confront the status quo, eschew antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form, examine stories through diverse and contemporary lenses, and bring new music to new audiences. (guerillaopera.org)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Andrew Eggert is an opera stage director and dramaturg based in Chicago and New York City. He has directed with Gotham Chamber Opera, Dallas Opera, Napa Music Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, and Opera Omaha. He enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Chicago Opera Theater where he directed Mosè in Egitto (2010) and La Tragédie de Carmen (2009), and served eight seasons as an assistant director beginning in 2002. He is a regular collaborator of stage director Diane Paulus having served as Associate Director on a number of projects including the world premiere of Death and the Powers at the Opéra de Monte Carlo, as well as US performances at the American Repertory Theater and Chicago Opera Theater; Die Zauberflöte at Canadian Opera Company; and Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of Il mondo della luna at the Hayden Planetarium. He has worked with notable directors including David Schweizer, Kenneth Cazan, Lillian Groag, Tazewell Thompson, Andrei Serban, Francisco Negrin, and James Robinson. His production of Mourning Becomes Electra was selected as a winner of Opera America’s 2009 Director-Designer Showcase. As a dramaturg, he has worked with Rebecca Taichman on Telemann’s Orpheus and Michael Counts on Mose in Egitto, both for New York City Opera. Dr. Eggert is a graduate of Yale University and earned his PhD in Historical Musicology at Columbia University, where he also has earned an MA and MPhil in Historical Musicology.

Adam Roberts’ music has been performed by ensembles such as the Arditti Quartet, the JACK Quartet, le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, the Callithumpian Consort, Earplay, andPlay duo, Transient Canvas, Ums ‘n Jip, Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, the Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, the Association for the Promotion of New Music, violist Garth Knox, Guerilla Opera, and at festivals such as Wien Modern (Vienna), Tanglewood, the Biennale Musique en Scene (Lyons), and the 2009 ISCM World Music Days (Sweden). Roberts is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Fromm Foundation Commission, the Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the Bernard Rogers Prize (Eastman), the New York Bohemians Prize (Harvard), the André Chevillion-Yvonne Bonnaud Prize from the Orléans Piano Competition, the Earplay Donald Aird Award, the Christoph and Stefan Kaske Fellowship from the Wellesley Composers Conference, the Leonard Bernstein Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center, the Blodgett Prize (Harvard), and other awards. Commissions have come from the Callithumpian Consort, the Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, pianist Nolan Pearson, the Tanglewood Music Center, Guerilla Opera, and others.

Anıl Çamcı is an Istanbul-based composer of electronic music and a new media artist whose work has been (dis)played around the world. He holds degrees in sound design (Istanbul Technical University) and multimedia engineering (University of California, Santa Barbara). He currently teaches graduate level courses on electronic music composition and history in Istanbul.