Music Of The Americas Presents The International Contemporary Ensemble In The NY Premiere Of Vivier's KOPERNIKUS

Music of the Americas presents the New York premiere of Canadian composer Claude Vivier's chamber opera Kopernikus, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble and Meridionalis conducted by Sebastian Zubieta, with live video by Sergio Policicchio.

There will be two presentations, the first on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 7:00pm and the second on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 7:00pm at 22 Boerum Place in Brooklyn, NY.

Described by Vivier as a "ritual opera of death," Kopernikus centers around a young woman named Agni, who descends into a dream world where "mystical beings borrowed from stories, gravitate around her: Lewis Carroll, Merlin, a witch, the Queen of the Night, a blind prophet, an old monk, Tristan and Isolde, Mozart, the Master of the Waters, Copernicus and his mother. These characters could be Agni's dreams that follow her during her initiation and finally into her dematerialization."

Vivier abandons traditional modes of storytelling, drawing upon classical philosophy and sciences and telling his story via sound, ritual, and symbol. The plot defies precise interpretation, offering multiple, often contradictory meanings. At the center of the quest is the composer's fascination with the perennial majesty of the cosmos and his belief that "art will no longer be the sweet panacea that we apply to a wounded body, [but] will be the body." The production - originally designed for a planetarium, premiered in Buenos Aires in 2018 - joins Agni's trajectory, submerging the audience in light that emanates from celestial projections and abstracted nature footage.

Program Information
Kopernikus
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 7:00pm
Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 7:00pm
22 Boerum Place | Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: Free for Americas Society and Young Professionals of the Americas members; $20 General Admission.
Link: https://www.kopernikus.nyc

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