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Firebird Motel

Conte, David

$15.95
SKU
CD154
Arsis Audio
More Information
SKUCD154
Composer/ArrangerConte, David
Text AuthorYezzi, David
Voicing & InstrumentsCD Recording
Reviews

{Conte’s} short opera is clearly the work of an experienced writer for the stage. It is terse dramatically, and because of that makes its impact with maximum effect…The opera is constructed along the lines of a number opera…Conte knows how to use this structure to work towards a climax…this is definitely well worth hearing. – Colin Clark, FANFARE, April 2007

Mr. Conte pays great attention to melodic vocal writing and that is the main reason we listen to opera…Mr. Yezzi’s libretto provides sufficient interest and detail to what could be a stock opera plot. The motivations of the characters seem justified and the emotional outburts of arias happen at the right times.The instrumental group of violin, cello, bass, clarinet, and piano supports the singers well without overpowering and does not grow stagnant to my ears as the hour is up… The instruments get their own moments in the sun but, as it should be, the voices are the prominent sounds….The lyricism of Firebird Motel provides just the right balance the desolate setting and the hopes and dreams of the characters… Firebird Motel is a solidly constructed one-act opera that singers should enjoy singing and audience should enjoy hearing.– Jay Batzner, Sequenza21

PublisherArsis Audio

Thick Description Theatre Company
San Francisco Conservatory Chorus & Chamber Ensemble
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

Firebird Motel
An opera in one act based on a scenario by David Yezzi and Tony Kelly, Firebird Motel was commissioned by Thick Description with the support of the Flintridge Foundation. The work was premiered at Thick House on November 17, 2003, Jeffrey Thomas, conductor; Tony Kelly, stage director. The premiere production was also supported in part through Subito, the quick advancement grant program of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Composers Forum.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Ivan: Mark Hernandez, tenor - night clerk at the Firebird Motel, he keeps to himself
Nova: Milissa Carey, mezzo-soprano - longtime Firebird resident
Julie: Julie Queen, soprano - she danced in Vegas, wound up at the Firebird, disappeared some time ago
Corina: Shawnette Sulker, soprano - she looks young for her age, a weary sensuality like a desert mirage
Trooper: Micah Epps, baritone - petty and easily angered, with the torpor and menace of a horned lizard
Chorus - Church choir heard through Ivan's radio
Elena de Mattos, Elena Krell (soprano); Ruby Fulton, Gabrielle McColgan (alto); Robin Estrada, Lawrence Pech (tenor); Abraham Fabella, Patrick Leveque (bass)

INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE
Megumi Stohs (violin); Robert Howard ('cello), Alden F. Cohen (bass); Jonathan Russell (clarinet); Keisuke Nakagoshi (piano)
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor