Delusion of the Fury

Philippe Jaroussky

Photograph: John Jesurun

Japan Society; Tue 4, Dec 6–8.

“For every deeply sincere offering there is a corresponding deep and sincere hunger,” composer Harry Partch stated of his work in 1970. Anyone wishing to witness firsthand Delusion of the Fury, a flamboyant music-theater ritual that might well be Partch’s crowning achievement, has been hungry for a good long while: First staged in California in 1969, it hasn’t been produced since.Part of the problem is logistical. The work, a two-part meditation based on a Japanese Noh tale and an African legend, requires Partch’s one-of-a-kind microtonal instrumentarium. His marimba eroica, cloud-chamber bowls, cry-chord and other contraptions now reside at Montclair State University. Dean Drummond, their caretaker and a performer in the 1969 staging, will lead his Newband in this one.

Apart from three main actors’ roles, most of the vocalizing in Delusion is handled by instrumentalists, who also serve as actors and scenery. The music wheezes, clanks and rattles like a Tom Waits record left in a hot car; still, the textures are always sensual, the pacing noble. How director John Jesurun will negotiate Partch’s explicit instructions should prove illuminating; Dawn Akemi Saito handles the choreography.

—Steve Smith