Immersive Opera at The Stanley Museum of Art

160 W Burlington St,Iowa City IA 52242

27 April, 2023

Description

The Great Flood is a chamber opera told in 6 short acts by composer Nathan Felix that will premiere at the Stanley Museum of Art on April 27th, 2023. In this story we follow a group of colleagues in 2008 as they prepare to leave their city and escape an impending storm that ultimately leads to a flood in Iowa City. Santangela, played by Siyeon Kim and her socially conscious younger sister, Zira played by Jordan McCready, lost their parents in a flood in 1993 and are worried about their future and fate. Mortimer played by Nathan Brown learns that his fiance, Radcliffe played by Rachel Kobernick is pregnant with their first baby and are concerned about the future the baby will be born into. Felix is known for his guerilla-style approach in presenting classical music and opera in unconventional spaces and The Great Flood is no exception, with a performance utilizing space, movement, and acoustics to activate the Stanley Museum of Art. The idea behind Felix’s immersive opera is similar to a flash mob as it revolves around blurring the line between performers and audience by having musical performers move amongst the audience as they perform a cohesive musical composition. The audience is encouraged to follow the narrative of the piece which entails following the soloists but they are ultimately given agency to explore based on feeling, sight and soundscape. The ensemble also includes conductor Alex Arellano, violinist Sugar Durante, violists Lily Westemeyer and Quinn Eldridge and cellist Natalie Krzeski.