The Velvet Oratorio
UNTITLED THEATER COMPANY No. 61
In association with
THE CZECH CENTER and
THE CZECH CONSULATE OF NEW YORK
Libretto by Edward Einhorn
Music/staging by Henry Akona
An original opera/theater piece commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.
ORIGINALLY PERFORMED:
November 8, 2014 - January 14, 2015
Bohemian National Hall
321 East 73rd Street
Production Staff
Costume Designer: Carla Gant
Video Designer: Bryce Cutler
Lighting Designer: Jeff Nash
Music Director: Maria Dessena
Assistant Director: Candice Dickinson
Concert Master: Michael Midlarsky
Wardrobe: Cristina Madero
Box Office: Patrice Miller
Intern: Sean Daley
With: Craig Anderson, Ross DeGraw, Andrea Gallo, John Gallop, Jonathan Kline, Jillian Kuhl, Mike Maloney, Jenny Lee Mitchell, Mick O’Brien, Eric Oleson, Yvonne Roen, Anna Marie Sell, Emily Shankman, Phoebe Silva, Moira Stone, Terence Stone, Tony Torn, Matthew Trumbull, Michael Villastrigo
Musicians: Oliver Fetter (Drums), Jennifer Harder (Trumpet), Marina Kifferstein (Violin), Naday Meykson (Violin), Michael Midlarsky (Cello), Nick Revel (Viola), Rebecca Steinberg (Trumpet)
Graphic art by Clinton Corbett
The Velvet Oratorio mixes history, opera, and farce in its evocative retelling of the Velvet Revolution, as seen through the eyes of Václav Havel's signature character, Ferdinand Vaněk.
The piece is organized as a series of alternating scenes and choruses, the chorus representing the crowds in Prague during the events spanning November 17 1989 to January 1, 1990. The text for the oratorio is based partly upon recently released U.S. State Department documents and corresponding Czechoslovakian / Soviet documents and interviews with journalists, diplomats, and ordinary people who were in the streets of Prague during the revolution.
The Velvet Oratorio was original staged as a concert for New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ festival, Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe This will be a full staging of the piece.
The original concert version was staged
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Bruno Walter Auditorium
Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
(at Lincoln Center)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Bohemian National Hall
321 East 73rd Street
Production Staff
Libretto: Edward Einhorn Music/Staging: Henry Akona Dramaturgy: Karen Ott
Musical Director: James Kennerley Video Designer: Jared Mezzochi Costume Designer: Carla Gant
Lighting Designer (BNH): Jeff Nash
Assistant Director: Tom Berger
Stage Manager: Marissa Bea
Concert Master: Michael Midlarsky
With:
Craig Anderson, Timothy Babcock, Danny Bowes, Peter Brown, Jonathan Farmer, Andrea Gallo, Joe Gately, Josh Hartung, Uma Incrocci, Eric Oleson, Yvonne Roen, Tony Tor
Graphic design by Clinton Corbett
Reviews
“A wonderfully conceived distillation in words and operatic music of what happened in Czechoslovakia after the Berlin Wall.”
— blogcritics
"A delicate, layered, and powerful retelling of the Velvet Revolution. Trumbell is fantastic, showcasing our own face into the fray with bewilderment, humor, and a take charge performance."
— Artswire
“Slyly written...often beautiful”