Saturday, July 31, 2021 9:00PM, Assia Auditorium, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
World Premiere
Cut Glass’ is a new chamber opera which is the fruit of the collaboration between the Israeli composer Hana Ajiashvili, the American librettist Royce Vavrek and the Meitar Ensemble.
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald short story ‘The Cut-Glass Bowl’, the opera presents the decay and decadence of the American bourgeoisie at the beginning of the 20th century through the eyes of the protagonist Evelyn Piper. In her opera Ajiashvili recontextualizes the story, making it a stark critique of contemporary materialistic society while giving a musical voice to the unpredictable and mysterious, existing always as an inseparable part of the human condition. With an imaginative use of a wide array of instruments, elaborated playing techniques and electronics which unify under her highly personal compositional style, Ajiashvili convincingly challenges theatrical conventions and breaks musical and dramatic boundaries between the instrumental ensemble and the singers.
Originally set for performance in March 2020 as the main event of the Felicja Blumental Festival at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, with the international crew and cast at its final stages of rehearsals, the sold-out premiere had to be cancelled only four days before the performance due to the Corona pandemic.
After more than a year’s postponement, the production finally received its premiere, directed by Shirit Lee Weiss and conducted by Yuval Zorn.
Libretto: Royce Vavrek
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Cut Glass Bowl
Conductor – Yuval Zorn
Director – Shirit Lee-Weiss
Sets, Costumes – Polina Adamov
Lighting – Yoav Barel
Mrs. Harold “Evelyn” Piper – Keren Motseri
Mr. Harold Piper – Yair Polishook
Hilda – Edit Zamir
Mrs. Fairboalt \ Mrs. Ahearn – Reut Ventorero
Fred Gedney / Mr. Ahearn – Noam Heinz Lowenstein
Children – Daniel and Evyatar Dolberg
Ensemble Meitar
Special thanks to: The Adele and John Gray Endowment fund, Helen Conway and Dan Yakir. to the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, to the Independent Creators Fund of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, to Marsha Gray, to Peter Pohly, to Joseph Hackmey, to the Israeli Opera, to Tremolo – the Israeli Percussion Center, to the supporters of the project on Headstart and to all the people who have made this evening possible
