BARE OPERA ANNOUNCES FIRST PRODUCTION, DIRECTED BY ANTHONY LACIURA, ON MAY 2, 3, and 4
Sesto Quatrini Conducts a Double Bill of Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges and Claude Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue
Collaboration with Multi-Media Visual Artist Alexandra Posen for Mindcraft-Inspired Motion-Graphics Set
(March 17, New York, NY)--Bare Opera announces its premiere production as a company: a double bill of Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges and Claude Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue, directed by opera veteran, Actor, and director Anthony Laciura, and led by Italian conductor Sesto Quatrini. Performances will be on May 2 at 8:00 PM, 3 at 5:00 PM, and 4 at 8:00 PM, at the Robert Miller Gallery, in New York City.
Alexandra Posen, a renowned multi-media artist, will create a motion-graphics set for L’enfant et les sortileges inspired by the hugely popular video game, Minecraft. Posen taps into the themes of childhood that run through both of these works for an unexpected and illuminating 21st century visual treatment.
The cast and orchestra for both L’enfant et les Sortilèges and L’enfant prodigue include over 30 emerging artists from the New York musical community. A full cast list can be found here.
Said Bare Opera’s Artistic Director Laetitia Ruccolo, "In planning our premiere production we wanted to present works that highlight the core the Bare Opera experience: vivid stories with charming and beautiful music performed in an intimate space with unique artistic collaborations.”
Bare Opera's mission is to develop new audiences through a more accessible experience with relaxed concert atmospheres and inventive productions of standard and non-standard repertoire. By promoting emerging artists and unique cross-genre collaborations, Bare Opera will be a new and exciting addition to New York City's artistic community. You can find more information about the company here.
PERFORMERS:
Kristina Bachrach, La Princesse / La bergère
Francisco Corredor, La Rainette / Arithmétique
Liana Guberman, Une Pastourelle / La chauve-souris
Inbar Goldmann, Un pâtre / La tasse chinoise
Briana Hunter, L'écureuil / La chatte
SungWook Kim, Le théière / Azael
Enrico Lagasca, L'arbre / Le fauteuil
Larisa Martinez, Le feu / Le rossignol
Sarah Miller, Maman / La libellule
Dongkyu Oh, Le chat / L'horlage comtoise
Véronique Rapin, L'enfant
CREATIVE DIRECTORS:
Anthony Laciura is known internationally for his work as an operatic tenor, and more recently as ‘Eddie Kessler’ on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Mr. Laciura has performed in over 800 performances with Metropolitan Opera Company and recently wrapped up his fourth season on the acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire. During Anthony’s time as a comprimario at the Met, the Washington Post labeled him, “The Clown Prince of Opera…one of the outstanding character-tenors of our time.” Even more recently, Entertainment Weekly has named Mr. Laciura in the top 25 Comic Relief in TV Dramas All-Stars, for his portrayal of ‘Eddie’.
In addition to his singing career and acting, Anthony also directs Opera. He has directed productions of Verdi’s ‘Otello’ with the Vero Beach Opera, Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas,’ Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’, ‘Tosca’, ‘Madama Butterfly’ for Phoenix Opera, Verdi’s Rigoletto for Dicapo Opera in New York, and Puccini’s ‘La fanciulla del West’ at Knoxville Opera.
Mr. Laciura’s talent as a unique character actor has taken him to the big screen, television, and on various stages throughout the world. He has co-starred in the independent short film Crackers, as ‘Frank the Barber’, directed by Gregory Principato and in the short Mateo’s Room as Mr. Thomas, by Maximilian Williamson. Anthony is the recipient of two SAG Actor awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for his role on Boardwalk Empire. Besides his various roles on stage at the Met, his off Broadway stage credits include Uncle Bob in The House of Connelly by Paul Green, and as Irwin in Honor Bound by Al Repicci.
Sesto Quatrini, born in Rome, has an extensive and impressive range of experience for such a young composer and conductor. In addition to his extensive composition portfolio, he is also an accomplished conductor. He has conducted a number of leading orchestras, including Orchestra G.VERDI of Milan, Camerata barocca "C. Monteverdi", Ensemble Sinfonica di fiati del Conservatorio of L’Aquila, Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, ARTeM Orchestra, Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Tempi Moderni,Les Voix Concertantes. Maestro Quatrini was chief conductor of the orchestra “Piccola Orchestra Bramante” in Rome from 2009 to 2011.
In 2014 he won the “ICWC- International Conducting Workshop and Competition” in Georgia (U.S.A.), the 3rd prize in the "Solon Michaelides" International Competition for Young Conductors in Nicosia (Cyprus) - debuting with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra where he will return next season - and was also awarded the Petrolini Prize, recognizing achievements in the arts. Maestro Quatrini is principal conductor of the Filarmonica Centro d’Italia and of the Orchestre Les Voix Concertantes de Paris. He will be joining New York City's newest opera company, Bare Opera, to conduct Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges and Claude Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue. Click here for more information about Sesto Quatrini.
Alexandra Posen is a graduate of Brown University and L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. She studied physical and visual theater with an emphasis on mask making and puppetry, which lead to her performance works in the late nineties. in 2000 she began her ongoing wax drawing series, Fields, and soon after co-founded Zac Posen, where as creative director she worked for nearly a decade to establish the label as a global brand. Alexandra’s extensive knowledge of couture fabric and technique has translated into a unique formal language in her recent abstract paintings. Posen’s work has been exhibited at Lynch Tham, NYCAMS, Temp space and the Watermill center, reviewed in Bullet Magazine, and featured in numerous blogs.
Ms. Posen lives and works in Redhook, Brooklyn. Click here for more information about Alexandra Posen.