MOONSTRUCK
Moonstruck looks to the origins of our ensemble and imagines the future. The starting point is Arnold Schoenberg’s revolutionary classic from 1912, Pierrot lunaire – still radical to the ear as it straddles the border between cabaret and concert, acting and singing. And we’re pitting it against a long form provocative new take on the original, commissioned from UK ‘triple threat’ Laura Bowler. Presented in association with Sydney Chamber Opera.
DETAILS
FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 6:30PM, THE STREET THEATRE, CANBERRA
SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 3:00PM, EUGENE GOOSSENS HALL, ABC ULTIMO CENTRE
PRE CONCERT TALK 2:15PM
PROGRAM
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG Pierrot lunaire (1912)
LAURA BOWLER Deconstructing Pierrot (2024)*
* Australian premiere - co-commissioned by Red Note Ensemble (Scotland), Music on Main (Canada) and Ensemble Offspring
Pre Concert Talk Host
Vanessa Hughes
PERFORMERS
Laura Bowler (vocals)
Jane Sheldon (vocals)
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion)
Lamorna Nightingale (flutes)
Jason Noble (clarinet)
Véronique Serret (violin)
Blair Harris (cello)
Jack Symonds (piano)
DESCRIPTION
Pierrot lunaire sits somewhere between cabaret and concert, acting and singing, madness and depravity. It flirts with chaos as Arnold Schoenberg translates each tiny poem into music. It’s over a hundred years old, but it remains radical to the ear – a revolutionary classic that transformed music and concerts forever, just as Cubism changed painting. Even Ensemble Offspring’s distinctive line-up of musicians can be traced to this iconic creation and its grungy tale of the ‘moonstruck’ clown of commedia dell’arte. Presented in association with Sydney Chamber Opera.
In a one night only reprise at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, presented in association with Sydney Chamber Opera, Pierrot lunaire looks to Ensemble Offspring’s origins and imagines the future. And we’re pitting it against a long form new work by ‘triple threat composer-performer provocatrice’ Laura Bowler. In a fresh interpretation of Albert Giraud’s poems, Bowler will deconstruct and repurpose Schoenberg’s original musical material, viewing it through a contemporary queer lens in ‘a subversive act of defiance of the great master’. Laura herself will join us from the UK to take on the hyper-virtuosic challenge of Schoenberg’s vocal lines.
“the sheer energy behind [Bowler’s music] is irresistible”
“the audience were drawn in like moths to a light, including random gallery-goers whose attention was caught and held firm.”
