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OVERVIEW
| Role | Voice Type | Range ? | Character Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. X.E. | middle-low | A failing businessman | |
| Mrs. X.E. | middle-high | His younger wife | |
| Boy Angel | middle | An angel fallen to earth | |
| Girl Angel | middle-high | An angel fallen to earth | |
| Man on the TV | middle-low | ||
| Female Customer/TV Host | high |
SYNOPSIS
Angel's Bone follows the plight of two angels whose nostalgia for earthly delights has, mysteriously, brought them back to our world. Battered and bruised from their long journey, they are found by a husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. X. E.
Facing a financial crisis, the couple had grown far apart. The unspoken aggression between them is palpable. Nevertheless, when they find the fallen cherubs in their garden, Mr. and Mrs. X.E. Set out to nurse the wounded angels back to health.
They bathe them, wash the dirt from their nails and lock them in a room, leaving them in a claw-foot bathtub for a bed. They then decide to exploit the magical beings, clipping their wings and forcing them into prostitution to earn back their plucked feathers.
MUSIC DESCRIPTION
PREMIERE PRODUCTION INFORMATION
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Mrs. X.E. | Abigail Fischer |
| Mr. X.E. | Kyle Pfortmiller |
| Boy Angel | Kyle Bielfield |
| Girl Angel | Jennifer Charles |
| Man on the TV | Thomas McCargar |
| Female Customer/TV Host | Melanie Russell |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Eric Brenner |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Tomas Cruz |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Clifton Massey |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Thomas McCargar |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Scott Mello |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Molly Netter |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Timothy Parsons |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Melanie Russell |
| Choir of Trinity Wall Street | Jonathan Woody |
| Trumpet | Thomas Bergeron |
| Oboe | Stuart Breczinski |
| Lute | Adam Cockerham |
| Percussion | David Cossin |
| Violin | Anna Elashvili |
| Flute | Catherine Rose Gregory |
| Viola | Stephanie Griffin |
| Cello | Chris Gross |
| Clarinet | Moran Katz |
| Percussion | Ian Rosenbaum |
| Tuba | Ben Vokits |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael McQuilken |
| Music Director | Julian Wachner |
| Scenic Design | Matt Saunders |
| Lighting Design | Yi Zhao |
| Costume Design | Kate Fry |
| Projection Design | Hannah Wasileski |
| Choregrapher | Christy Lee |
| Stage Manager | Catherine Costanzo |
| Production Manager | James Fry |
| Production Manager | Karen Walcott |
| Line Producer | Katie Naka |
| Sound Engineer | Jay Eigenmann |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Cressa Amundsen |
| Assistant Conductor | Samuel McCoy |
| Rehearsal Pianist/Vocal Coach | Mila Henry |
| Assistant Director/Supertitles | Anne Cecelia Haney |
| Video Engineer | Jonathan Brenner |
| Master Electrician | Justin Nardecchia |
| Set Construction | Jackie Denise Young |
| Costume Construction | Julia Bowers |
| Costume Construction | Karen Boyer |
| Costume Construction | Anjia Jalac |
| Costume Construction | Marea Judilla |
| Music Librarian | Harrison Joyce |
CREATION
QUOTATIONS FROM CREATIVE TEAM
"Angel’s Bone was created out of the desire to marry the spiritual with the profane. It is a piece that explores the psychology of the abuser, and seeks to understand the impulse to cross over into morally reprehensible territories. Our story drops in on the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. X.E., he a failed man of business, and she a younger, beautiful woman who married him with the hope of a life of luxury. Mrs. X.E. now blames her husband for dragging her into a life of mediocrity. It is only when a pair of fallen angels crashes down into their backyard garden, does the wife see possibility: the angels are their salvation. While Mr. X.E. believes that they could be celebrated as curiosities, Mrs. X.E. has more sinister plans… they will sell pockets of private time with the angels, their neighbors paying exorbitant fees to have their way with the angels. She controls the money and the rewards, while he plays the middleman. When a crisis of conscience befalls Mr. X.E., he kills himself in an attempt to help the angels escape, freeing the two captive creatures. Mrs. X.E. becomes famous, suggesting that she was the true victim of her husband’s abuses."
- Royce Vavrek, librettist
QUOTATIONS FROM MEDIA
"Du Yun's audacious and searing Angel's Bone. It's an appallingly good work when you consider that it takes on the subject of child trafficking and mixes in elements of magic realism and a musical cocktail of Renaissance polyphony, electronica, Modernism, punk rock and cabaret ... The director, Michael McQuilken, drew courageous and memorable performances from all."
- Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, The New York Times.
"Angel's Bone is a mature and complex work. It is a fable inside an allegory and its soundscape ranges across the history of Western music."
- Natalie Axton, Hyperallergic
"Disturbing, powerful and original, effectively using electronics and video, the opera ended with the evil wife tearfully pleading her case on daytime TV, adding the final nail of credibility to a work that gave me nightmares, yet one that I would nonetheless see again."
- Anne Midgette, The Washington Post.
"Mezzo Abigail Fischer's wonderfully pitiless demeanor and chilly coloratura set up a Lady Macbeth-like Mrs. X.E.; Kyle Pfortmiller brought out the brutish insecurity of her husband, so easily persuaded to do her dirty work. Kyle Bielfield's wide vocal range and sweetness embodied the heartbreaking innocence of the Boy Angel; as the Girl Angel, Jennifer Charles's nonclassical voice scraped and howled against an electronic score, making her pain excruciatingly audible."
- Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal.
MEDIA
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