Henze's El Cimarrón

St. Catherine of Siena, Riverside; Thu 10, Sat 12, Sun 13

Some of the most visually striking, emotionally resonant local opera productions in recent years have been the work of the Greenwich Music Festival, founded in 2004 by artistic director Ted Huffman and music director Robert Ainsley in Greenwich, Connecticut, an easy 45-minute trip via Metro-North. The centerpiece of this year’s festival, a celebration of Cuban themes, is Hans Werner Henze’s 1970 El Cimarrón (“The Runaway Slave”), termed a “recital for four musicians.”

This vibrant, percussion-driven piece—based on the astonishing, image-rich memoirs of former Cuban slave Esteban Montejo (1860–1973)—will be codirected by Huffman and Juilliard whiz-kid dancer-choreographer Zack Winokur, a rising force at 21, who also directed brilliant offerings of works by Monteverdi and Viktor Ullmann were in recent seasons. Expect fluid, passionate work from their dazzling quartet of dancers (Manelich Minniefee, Andrew Murdock, José Tena and Yara Travieso).Baritone Eugene Perry, a riveting, precise singing actor trained in dance and internationally prominent in contemporary music-theater circles, handles a title role that encompasses speaking, improvisation, extended vocal techniques, playing instruments and movement. Henze’s remarkably evocative score calls for flute, guitar, drums, marimba, maracas, gourds, bells, whistles, chimes and chains, played here by members of the International Contemporary Ensemble. Lighting wizard Marcus Doshi continues to be one of Huffman’s key collaborators; this year’s show also boasts eye-opening costumes and masks by Project Runway’s fabulous Austin Scarlett.

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