Phoenix Chorale is honored to feature in the world premiere of the contemporary opera The Old Man and the Sea, composed by Paola Prestini with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, directed and co-created by Karmina Šilec and commissioned by ASU Gammage.
The official album, released on VIA Records August 30, is now available to stream on all platforms. For those who attended the world premiere last November, this recording captures the essence of the unique production, featuring half the roster of the Chorale performing as the Chorus.
The Old Man and the Sea, on the cutting edge of contemporary opera, is the first-ever operatic adaptation of Hemingway’s novel following the final fever dream of the famed author in his last days.
Official Press Release:
Paola Prestini’s The Old Man and The Sea, the first-ever approved operatic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, will be released on VIA Records August 30, 2024. The opera, which was directed and co-created by Karmina Šilec, is written for percussion, electronics, and cello, performed by acclaimed cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and percussionist Ji Hye Jung, conducted by Mila Henry, with Armando Contreras as Hemingway/Santagio, GRAMMY-nominated soprano Measha Brueggergosman Lee as La Mar, countertenor Rodolfo Girón as Manolin, and soprano Yvette Keong playing the role of La Virgen del Cobre. The piece also features the GRAMMY-winning Phoenix Chorale, who bear witness to the drama of Hemingway’s existential questions unfolding onstage. The live album is mixed and mastered by GRAMMY-nominated engineer Ryan Streber of Octaven, is produced by Prestini and Zeigler, and features cover art design by Scott Devendorf, bassist for rock supergroup The National.
Prestini and Vavrek’s adaptation follows the final fever dream of the famed author in his last days, as he reflects on portraits of his life mixed with images from his masterpiece work The Old Man and The Sea – one of the most important books of 20th century American literature. The multi-layered interpretation of the story combines twin threads of Hemingway’s life with the original story. The themes include the industrial exploitation of the very oceans Hemingway mined for inspiration, poeticized elements like his love of baseball and Joe DiMaggio, his deeply intimate letters to Marlene Dietrich, and more – all set to a tapestry of cello, percussion and electronics.
The cast includes the seminal characters Santiago and Manolin from Hemingway’s novel, and amplifies the tale with the introduction of bar owner La Mar, as well as the Virgen del Cobre, a goddess in the Afro-Caribbean faith Santería who was found floating on a wooden board off the coast of eastern Cuba in 1628.
Said Prestini of the opera: “I have long been obsessed with Hemingway’s work. Initially, this was sparked by my father’s deep love of the ocean and fishing, which then led to my own obsession with water, with its capacity to heal, nurture, and separate. Ultimately, what drove me to finish this decades-long journey, was a desire to understand my father, and Hemingway, and all of their unspoken depths.”
Beth Morrison is creative producer of The Old Man and the Sea, and her company Beth Morrison Projects produced the work in association with VisionIntoArt (VIA) and Arizona State University Gammage. The opera was developed at MASS MoCA, and was co-commissioned by Arizona State University Gammage, Carolina Performing Arts, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois.
