Composed by
Bryce Dessner
Libretto by
korde arrington tuttle
Featuring words by
Essex Hemphill & Patti Smith
Directed by
Kaneza Schaal
Featuring
Roomful of Teeth with Alicia Hall Moran & Isaiah Robinson
Music Direction & Conducting by
Brad Wells
Produced by
ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann in Cooperation with The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
Music by Bryce Dessner is used with permission of Chester Music Ltd.
Bryce Dessner
Bryce Dessner is one of the most sought-after composers of his generation, with a rapidly expanding catalog of works commissioned by leading ensembles. Known to many as a guitarist with The National, he is also active as a curator – a vital force in the flourishing realm of new creative music.
His orchestral, chamber, and vocal compositions have been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Metropolitan Museum of Art (for the New York Philharmonic), Kronos Quartet, BAM Next Wave Festival, Barbican Centre, Edinburgh International Festival, Sydney Festival, eighth blackbird, Sō Percussion, New York City Ballet, and many others. He has worked with some of the world’s most creative and respected musicians and visual artists, including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Johnny Greenwood, Justin Peck, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Matthew Ritchie, among others. His work ‘ Murder Ballads,’ featured on eighth blackbird’s album Filament — an album he also produced and performs on — won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. In the fall of 2015 Dessner was tapped, along with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, to compose music for Oscar Award-winning director Alejandro Iñárritu’s film, The Revenant, which received a 2016 Golden Globes nomination for Best Original Score and a 2017 Grammy Awards nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category.
korde arrington tuttle
korde arrington tuttle is a multi-disciplinary artist from Charlotte, NC. His plays include FAMILY’S FIRST FUNERAL (LCT3), CLARITY (Soho Rep.), and GRAVEYARD SHIFT (Goodman Theater, Fall 2018). He is currently head writer on MIXTAPE, a new musical series from Netflix set for premiere in 2019. He is a recipient of New York Stage and Film’s 2018 Founders’ Award, 2018 Falco / Steinman Commission Award at Playwrights Horizons, 2018 Playwrights Initiative Fellowship at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program + was selected as a finalist for both the 2017 Alliance/Kendeda National Playwriting Contest + City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Contest. Korde is a playwright-in-residence at Lincoln Center Theater, Resident Artist at Ars Nova, and Middle Voice Theatre Company member at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. His debut collection of haiku + photography, falling is the one thing i, was published by Candor Arts, in May 2018. Korde completed his undergraduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill and received his MFA at The New School.
Kaneza Schaal
Kaneza Schaal is a New York City-based theater artist. Her recent work JACK & showed in BAM’s 2018 Next Wave Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Walker Arts Center, REDCAT, On The Boards, Center for Contemporary Art Cincinnati, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. Schaal received a 2018 Ford Foundation Art For Justice Bearing Witness award, a 2017 MAP Fund award, and a 2016 Creative Capital Award. Schaal’s GO FORTH premiered at Performance Space 122’s COIL Festival. She has worked with The Wooster Group, Elevator Repair Service, Richard Maxwell/New York City Players, Claude Wampler, Jim Findlay, and Dean Moss. She is an Arts-in-Education advocate and has collaborated nationally and internationally with recent teen immigrants and asylum seekers; on intergenerational exchange between elders and teens; and on workshops and talks at Princeton University, Yale University, Emerson College, and her alma mater Wesleyan University.
Brad Wells
Brad Wells is the founder and artistic director of the Grammy Award-winning new music vocal group Roomful of Teeth (praised by WQXR as “the future of vocal music”). Wells has led the ensemble in premieres of over 75 works by many of today’s leading composers including Judd Greenstein, Caroline Shaw, Rinde Eckert, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Missy Mazzoli, Glenn Kotche, Terry Riley, Ted Hearne, and Julia Wolfe, among others. Roomful of Teeth’s debut recording (2012), directed by Wells and praised as “sensually stunning” by the New York Times, included the Pulitzer-winning composition, “Partita for 8 Voices,” written by ensemble member Caroline Shaw. His own compositions—featured on the group’s Grammy-nominated second album, Render (2015) – have been described as “objectively and subjectively gorgeous” (I Care If You Listen). Wells’ permanent sound installation Silo Songs, featuring the earliest vocal music of the Shakers, opened at Hancock Shaker Village in 2018. Since 1999 Wells has been Artist in Residence in Vocal Music at Williams College. He has held conducting and teaching positions at Yale University, Trinity College, and University of California at Berkeley. A champion of Estonian choral music, he has led the US premieres of works by Estonian composers including Raimo Kangro, Jüri-Ruut Kangur, and Lembit Veevo. He has lectured and published articles on the physiology and acoustics of non-classical vocal styles. As a singer he has performed and recorded with such ensembles as Theatre of Voices and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (under Nicholas McGegan and Philip Brett).
Roomful of Teeth
Roomful of Teeth is a GRAMMY-winning vocal project dedicated to mining the expressive potential of the human voice. Through study with masters from singing traditions the world over, the eight-voice ensemble continually expands its vocabulary of singing techniques and, through an ongoing commissioning process, forges a new repertoire without borders.
Founded in 2009 by Brad Wells, the group gathers annually at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts, where they’ve studied Tuvan throat singing, yodeling, belting, Inuit throat singing, Korean P’ansori, Georgian singing, Sardinian cantu a tenore, Hindustani music and Persian classical singing with some of the world’s top performers and teachers. Commissioned composers include Rinde Eckert, Judd Greenstein, Caleb Burhans, Merrill Garbus (of tUnE-yArDs), William Brittelle, Anna Clyne, Fred Hersch, Wally Gunn, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Missy Mazzoli, Michael Harrison, Sam Amidon, and Ted Hearne.
Alicia Hall Moran
Alicia Hall Moran (Performer), mezzo-soprano, and critically acclaimed recording artist also composing between genres of opera, art, theatre and jazz. Tapped by celebrated artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Adam Pendleton, Suzanne Bocanegra, Joan Jonas, Charles Gaines and Ragnar Kjartansson, curator Okwui Enwezor, Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company, musicians Bill Frisell, Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran (her husband), Jessye Norman and diverse writers from Simon Schama to Carl Hancock Rux, her commissions include Two Wings for Carnegie Hall, Work Songs for Venice Biennial, Bleed for Whitney Biennial, Breaking Ice for Prototype Festival/MASS MoCA, Black Wall Street (Tulsa Race Riot of 1921) for River To River Festival, the motown project for The Kitchen, Jazz Goes to the Opera for Opera Southwest and residencies at Yale University, National Sawdust and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and engagements with Oregon Symphony and Louisville Orchestra (Gabriel Kahane’s emergency shelter intake form), Dayton Philharmonic, NSO Pops, Austin Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Harlem Chamber Players, Grant Park and others. She made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning revival The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, starring as Bess on the successful 20-city American tour. “Moran finds the truth of the character in her magnificent voice” (Los Angeles Times). aliciahallmoran.com.
Isaiah Robinson
Isaiah Robinson (Performer), tenor, is a multi-talented musician who was born in Chicago into a musical family of sing-ing parents. As an actor he was featured in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 film Hook, playing the role of Pockets. He has also appeared in several radio and television commercials as a child; most notably, “That’s My Baby” for Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, a Polaroid commercial featuring the come-dian Sinbad as well as advertisements for Kraft, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, JC Penny, Sears and for Eagle Foods. As a vocalist he was primarily trained singing in church by his parents and his siblings which lead to his performing on several jingles and voice-overs for various products and companies. He has performed with several pieces for composer Ted Hearne, includ-ing Katrina Ballads, The Source and Place. Other art-ists include the Barrett Sisters, Darius Brooks, Aretha Franklin, R. Kelly,Pattie LaBelle,Ted Hearne, Rascal Flatts, Joan Collaso, Rene Marie, Kim Stratton, Ted Hearne,Jonita Lattimore, the Brown Sisters, Twinkie Clark Terrell, Kelvin Lenox, Mavis Staples, Janis Siegel, Chaka Khan, Ted Hearne, Yo-Yo Ma, Chance The Rapper, Angela Davis, Candy La Flore, Jeff Morrow, Dennis DeYoung and Ted Hearne . Isaiah is currently a teaching artist for the Lookingglass Theatre, City of Chicago After School Matters Program, Urban Gateways and private students in the Chicago area. He also performs with the Stu Hirsh Orchestra, Silent Theatre, as well as various other aggregations. He was the featured vocalist at the inauguration of Rahm Emanuel as mayor of Chicago. He performs with and facilitates workshops for the Chicago Children’s Choir, and is on staff as a musician/organist and choirmaster at the Life Center C.O.G.I.C. in Chicago, where he has served for more than 16 years.
ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann
ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann (Producer) is a management and production company specializing in new work development and touring. Over the past 14 years ArKtype’s work has grown to encompass renowned artists from thirty different countries, multiple genres and commercial and non-profit support structures resulting in new work for a variety of spaces. His acclaimed work as producer has been seen worldwide, proudly beginning his work in the production, development and touring of emerging ensembles. His work includes projects with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Peter Brook, Victoria Thiérrée-Chaplin, Yael Farber, Daniel Fish, Annie-B Parson & Paul Lazar, John Cameron Mitchell, Lisa Peterson, Kaneza Schaal, Peter Sellars, Tony Taccone and Julie Taymor. For three seasons he produced the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota, Florida in partnership with Baryshnikov Arts Center, was Director of Programming for Spiegelworld’s South Street Seaport seasons, and most recently served as Director of Programs at New York Live Arts. He recently premiered Sam Green and Kronos Quartet’s A Thousand Thoughts, Byron Au Yong and Aaron Jafferis’ Trigger based in communities nationwide in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre, Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers’ Cartography (Kennedy Center), Big Dance Theater / Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Man in a Case, the US premiere of Nalaga’at Deaf-Blind Theater’s Not by Bread Alone, and Andrew Ondrejcak & Shara Worden’s You Us We All. Ongoing collaborations include 600 Highwaymen, Bryce Dessner, John Cameron Mitchell, Kaneza Schaal & Christopher Myers, Noche Flamenca, Aaron Landsman, Brent Green, Rude Mechs, Nona Hendryx / Niegel Smith / Carrie Mae Weems, Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen, Sam Green, Nora Chipaumire, Adrien M. & Claire B. and Compagnia T.P.O. More information at arktype.
Presented By
Triptych is presented by ArtsEmerson in association with Celebrity Series of Boston and New England Conservatory.
TRIPTYCH was commissioned by ArtsEmerson.
Supported in part by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Produced in Residency with and Commissioned by University Musical Society, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Co-produced by Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel Music and Artistic Director.
TRIPTYCH was co-commissioned by BAM; Luminato Festival, Toronto, Canada; Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens, Greece; Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati, OH; Cal Performances, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; Stanford Live, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; Adelaide Festival, Australia; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for performance as part of DirectCurrent 2019; Texas Performing Arts, UT Austin; Holland Festival, Amsterdam; Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; the Momentary, Bentonville, AR, Celebrity Series, Boston, MA; and developed in residency with MassMOCA, North Adams, MA.
Triptych is presented by ArtsEmerson in association with Celebrity Series of Boston and New England Conservatory
“Triptych explores the very limits of artistic expression for an age in which almost nothing seems shocking.”
— Boston Classical Review
“One of my friends commented that although he’d seen many shows at ArtsEmerson, this one seemed to generate the most discussion afterwards. What more can one ask from a work of art?”
— Theater Mirror
“IT ISN’T SO MUCH A PORTRAIT OF MAPPLETHORPE AS A MEDITATION ON THE MAN, HIS WORK, AND HIS LEGACY.”
— The Boston Globe
“Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) serves up a cool emotional package: the vocal wizardry of Roomful of Teeth, the eye-catching photographs of Mapplethorpe, and the dense poetry of Smith and Hemphill.”
— The Arts Fuse
“Sentimental and ferocious. Triptych accomplishes what art does best, which is to serve as a pointer toward further thought.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“A re-examination and an exaltation of the photographer’s enduring imagery, with its classical beauty and raw eroticism.”
— ArtNews
“Roomful of Teeth deliver a superb performance”
— Hyperallergic
“Dessner’s music was melodically involving and wonderfully performed…like ghostly mournful cries, which underscored the serious intent…two thrilling soloists…not just about Mapplethorpe’s legacy but also a statement about how we suspiciously live in America.”
— CityBeat
“A radical new work…there was no singular emotional direction a work of this scope could portray, and composer Bryce Dessner fluidly swept us from the awe-inspiring cathedral, to the cold and calculating courtroom, to the intimate bedroom with a score that surged with electricity, sparkling clarity, and biting poignancy.”
— artseen
“Beautifully crafted and performed”
— San Francisco Classical Voice
“What came through most clearly – often thrillingly – was the score…Gorgeous vocal sound for its own sake…Moran…delivered the goods with authority…My overall impression was one of the sheer joy of singing.”
— Classical Voice North America
“Witty and wicked…forbidding and seductive…Dessner is at his best…The language is stylized and extravagantly poetic, matching the photographs’ explicit sexual content while meeting their cool elegance with punk Romanticism.”
— The New York Times
“Dessner personifies what appears to be a generational shift in musicians.”
— The Washington Post
“A man who slips in and out of musical guises with disarming ease…this is gorgeous and full-hearted music.”
— NPR
“Overwhelmingly somber and memorable.”
— Eileen M., Facebook
“Loved it…beautiful.”
— Steve B., Facebook
“Wow! Triptych was gorgeous.”
— Kristin M., Facebook