El Amor Brujo / La Vida Breve

MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC (2011)
photos courtesy of Ken Howard

El AMOR BRUJO by Manuel de Falla

LA VIDA BREVE by Manuel de Falla

Conductor: José de Eusebio
Cast: R. Bryce-Davis, R. Krynski, D. Sauer, N. Weigelt, B.Wahlstrom
Production: A. Jackness (scenery), C. Donnelly (clothes), J. Weideman (lighting) A. Wright (hair/make-up)

“In staging these works, the director Nic Muni conjoined them through shared stage resources and duplicate casting. Presented at the John C. Borden Auditorium on Wednesday evening, the double bill represented one of the more audacious, intriguing operatic undertakings to hit a New York stage this season. And in minimal sets by Andrew Jackness and moody lighting by Japhy Weideman, you were reminded that ingenuity doesn’t always require an extravagant budget.”
–Steve Smith, New York Times (April, 2011)

“On April 27, Manhattan School of Music offered an ambitious, cleverly conceived double bill of ‘El Amor Brujo’ and ‘La Vida Breve’, two short vocal works by Manuel de Falla. Director Nic Muni’s idea to link the stories by carrying over the principal players was so well supported in staging and design that it became difficult to imagine the pieces produced any other way. Muni’s concept provided a new dramatic context that was more immediate and graspable than the background given in the program notes, adding depth and subtext to both pieces. The versatile set by Andrew Jackness, which included a crinkly backdrop, scrim and movable wall, gave Japhy Weideman’s spooky-cool lighting plenty of textured surfaces to play on. Mining these effects and Candice Donnelly’s flowing gypsywear, Muni created memorable stage pictures.”
–Joanne Sydney Lessner, Opera News (April, 2011)