The Antient Concert
The Antient Concert is a sixty-minute-long English language opera in one act by Daron Hagen with a libretto by Paul Muldoon. Hagen describes it as a "dramatic recital for four singers".
Background and performance history
Hagen and Muldoon developed the opera as part of the Princeton Atelier at Princeton University. The process culminated in Hagen conducting the Borromeo String Quartet and student performers at the McCarter Theatre in a fully staged workshop production directed by five student directors. After serving as the centerpiece of the 16 June 2007 "26th Annual Bloomsday on Broadway" at Symphony Space in New York City, it had its staged world premiere, directed by the composer, on 6 November 2007 in New York City. Hagen's fourth and final opera with Muldoon, Hagen has described it as "our slender Capriccio", and "a story about the collision of words, music, performance, sex, death, and nationalism".Chronology
- Princeton Atelier staged workshop, The Princeton Atelier, McCarter Theater, Princeton, New Jersey
- Concert broadcast premiere, Bloomsday on Broadway XXVI, Peter Sharp Theater, Symphony Space, New York City
- Staged world premiere, The Phoenix Players, Century Center for the Performing Arts, New York City
Roles