Maurice Ravel L'enfant et les sortilèges
Thursday, June 24 & Friday, June 25
7:00pm, CDT
Shepherd School Opera and Chamber Orchestra
Miah Im, Director of Opera Studies
Jerry Hou, Conductor
Pat Diamond, Stage Director
Streaming will be available on the Shepherd School's YouTube channel.
Note from the Pat Diamond, Stage Director:
"The Shepherd School's production of L'enfant et les sortilèges is being realized through a green screen technology (also used on Der Kaiser von Atlantis this fall) that includes animation effects. We shot the character of the child live in front of the green screen and later added the animations.
The environment and animation are generated by the Houston studio Swagger Film in post production. The process allows for physical interaction between the child and the other characters around the house who come alive.
The story is about a lonely, isolated child who tries to make his life less boring by manipulating the world around him. In the end, when he is unhappy, the manipulation damages the very objects that give him pleasure. As these objects mutiny against him, he learns empathy and tries to heal the objects around him, becoming one with his world. It is story truly appropriate for this year."
Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis)
Viktor Ullmann (composer), Peter Kien (librettist)
Shepherd School Opera and Chamber Orchestra
Miah Im, Director of Opera Studies
Jerry Hou, Conductor
Pat Diamond, Stage Director
Sung in German with English subtitles
Please note that 3D glasses are not required to enjoy this production.
WARNING: Chromadepth effects viewed through the prism 3D glasses may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Written by composer Viktor Ullmann and librettist Peter Kien while they were living in the Theresienstadt Ghetto in World War II, Der Kaiser von Atlantis Oder Die Tod - Verweigerung is a parable of an authoritarian leader whose megalomania is fed by his thirst for war. His obsessive plans for destruction and human annihilation are undermined by death, whose refusal to reap souls causes the Kaiser’s downfall. Denied its premiere at Theresienstadt by the SS, Der Kaiser von Atlantis was written as an opera, mixing fairy tales, commedia dell’arte, and cabaret to create a biting satire of unchecked power. Although Ullmann and Kien were killed at Auschwitz, their creation proves that even under unimaginable conditions, we can find comfort in embracing the essentials of our humanity: art, music, laughter, and our shared mortality.
-Pat Diamond, Stage Director
Chromadepth
Unlike any other production of Der Kaiser, the Shepherd School used a green screen and a process known as Chromadepth. In order to capture the bleak and unforgiving nature of the environment, a simple and straightforward color palette was ideal. Developed with bold primary colors, which produces a stereoscopic effect, the Chromadepth production can be viewed through simple prism 3D glasses. No additional technology is required; the strategic use of color is sufficient. Audience members are able to watch and enjoy this dynamic production of Der Kaiser without the glasses.