BOSTON’S GUERILLA OPERA TO PREMIERE "RUMPELSTILTSKIN" ANIMATED FILM AND ALBUM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Navona Records Contact:
Patrick Niland, Publicity Manager
patrick.niland@parmarecordings.com | 603-758-1718 x118
Guerilla Opera Contact:
Alexis Peart, Development and Marketing Coordinator
apeart@guerillaopera.org | (617) 286-6307
Boston, MA (January 6, 2022) - On January 7th at 8:00 PM Boston’s Guerilla Opera will premiere “Rumpelstiltskin,” an animated film reimagination of the classic fairy tale. The event can be streamed through the Live Stage here: https://www.parmarecordings.com/event/guerilla-opera-01-07-22/
Friday, January 14th marks the album release of RUMPELSTILTSKIN from Navona Records, where Epstein's reimagination of the classic story and Guerilla Opera’s world class performance will be available to stream everywhere.
The story transforms the titular character into a tragic figure to propose that villains are made, rather than born. Guerilla Opera, conducted by Jeffrey Means, brings the alternate version to life across six scenes, deftly conveying the emotions and motivations of each character as they interpret Epstein’s carefully crafted soundscapes of shifting harmonic palettes and interweaving rhythms.
“Rumpelstiltskin” features music by Marti Epstein, libretto by Marti Epstein and Greg Smucker, and shadow puppetry animation and direction by Deniz Khateri and performed by Guerilla Opera. It runs 55 minutes and is sung in English.
Guerilla Opera is one of Boston’s most exciting young companies creating brave new works. Founded in 2007, this artist- led ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of 40 new works, which continues to grow, by the most exciting composers of our generation. In daring performances, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera, with the Boston Globe raving that “radical exploration remains the cornerstone of everything it does.”
Their vision is to generate a unique body of work that ferociously confronts the status quo, eschews antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form of opera, examines stories through culturally focused and contemporary lenses, and brings new music to new audiences, and inspire, influence and amplify emerging generations of artists.
Marti Epstein is a composer whose music has been performed by the San Francisco Symphony, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt, Ensemble Modern, and members of the Boston Symphony. She has completed commissions for the Fromm Foundation, The Munich Biennale, the Ludovico Ensemble, Guerilla Opera, the Radius Ensemble, Tanglewood Music Center, Winsor Music, Boston Opera Collaborative, and the Callithumpian Consort.
Aliana de la Guardia is a co-founding artist, artistic director, and soprano of Guerilla Opera. The Arts Fuse lauds de la Guardia’s sound as “lovely, natural” and “as clear and powerful as grain alcohol.” As an active soprano vocalist, Aliana de la Guardia has garnered acclaim for her “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone) in “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe). A graduate of the Boston Conservatory and consummate interpreter of new classical concert repertoire, she has enjoyed collaborations with many ensembles featuring today’s most eminent composers.
Her work as a Latin American arts leader advocates inclusivity and multicultural collaboration. With accumulated experience in administration from office management to fundraising to production management, she has received recent accolades that put her in the forefront of the next generation of opera leadership.
This project’s conductor is Jeffrey Means. Means is an American conductor with a focus on contemporary classical music. He has conducted leading ensembles such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, and Da Capo Chamber Players, and has accepted engagements at festivals and concert series around the world, including performances in Argentina, Italy, France, Finland, Switzerland, and across North America. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of Sound Icon, and professor of conducting at Berklee College of Music.
Visit the catalog page for more information: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6390/
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WHO WE ARE
Guerilla Opera is one of Boston’s most thrilling young companies creating brave new works. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of 40 new works, which continues to grow, by the most exciting composers of our generation. In daring performances, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera, with The Boston Globe raving that “radical exploration remains the cornerstone of everything it does.”
This artist-led ensemble wields a mission to commission and reenvision new experimental works that are custom-tailored to their artists. They champion cutting-edge music, immerse audiences in profound experiences, are a model for creative authenticity and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) in order to inspire, influence and amplify emerging generations of artists. Their unique body of work ferociously confronts the status quo, eschews antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form, examines stories through culturally focused and contemporary lenses, and brings new music to new audiences. (guerillaopera.org)