The Fall of the House of Usher | A Operatic Performative Installation, 2018

An experimental opera by Phillip Glass based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe

Mannes School of Music, The New School, NYC

Troy Hourie Director | Digital Scenographer

David Fulmer Musical Director

Barthélemy Antoine-Loeff Associate Video Artist

Zach Weeks Associate Lighting Designer

Ryan Kelly Sound Designer

Jessica Irvin Associate Costume Designer

Pauls Macs Assistant Director

Robert Kahn Associate Conductor

William Gustafson Associate Dean of Mannes | Artistic Producer

Director’s Note:

Prolific American composer Philip Glass has conceived a dynamic, visceral interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting story with the opera The Fall of the House of Usher. Director and digital scenographer Troy Hourie has envisioned an immersive, intimate and ethereal experience in Stiefel Hall at the Mannes School of Music. This will be an amazing opportunity for the talented music and voice students at Mannes to perform this rarely produced experimental piece for audiences. Each performance will showcase different singers in each of the three core roles of William, Roderick and Madeline. While showcasing the gifts of the students, Hourie also conceives the presentation as a ‘performative art installation’, where the voice, music and technology all merge to create a sophisticated visual and aural experience for the spectator. Reaching for the liminal, performers will interact with live feed and recorded video to create live pictures that allow them embody their characters and tell the esoteric narrative of the opera. The spectator will be challenged to discern what is real, what is not real and engage in a new form of perception. And don’t be too surprised if you end up sitting next to Poe himself!

CAST:
Madeleine Usher: Danielle Beckvermit, Maria Lacey, Clara Lisle
Roderick Usher: Ganson Salmon, Zachary Goldman
William, a visitor: Mario Diaz Moresco, Alex Greenzeig
Physician: Thomas Killourhy, John Haney
Servant: Michael Pitocchi, Samuel Rachmuth
Young Roderick: Gabriel Torres
Young Madeline: Payton Grgurovic

ORCHESTRA:
Jeremiah Adriano, Christine Chen, Elam Friedlander, Brian Henry, Omri Kochavi, Wenguan Li, Alejandro Salaverry, Michael Sheelar, Rebecca Schifilliti, Tylor Thomas, Laura Pereira del Rio, I-Yun Tsai