Cosi Fan Tutti 2024 Audio Intro - Part 1

Cosi Fan Tutti 2024 Audio Intro - Part 2

composed by Mohammed Fairouz

The World Premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s opera Sumeida’s Song on the HERE Main Stage for PROTOTYPE will be the first Arab-American opera to be fully produced on an American stage.  Based on the classic Tawfiq El-Hakim play, Song of Death, the opera follows the return of a young man, Alwan, from Cairo to his Upper Egyptian peasant village. He defies his family’s expectations to fulfill an age-old blood feud, instead revealing the true purpose of his return: to end the cycle of violence. For his attempts to bring light and modernity to his village, and for challenging the structure of his society, he pays the ultimate price.

Tawfiq El-Hakim's story is well known in the Arab World, and Fairouz’s operatic adaptation captures the underlying aspirations of young people, like Alwan, who stand up for their ideals and for aspirations of a better life. Alwan's resonant proclamation — "I won’t kill" — embodies the noble mission of justice and progress in this timeless, timely, and universal story.

This world-premiere production will feature a chamber orchestration with Arabic and western instruments.  Mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway leads the cast of four singers.


CREDITS

Created and Composed by Mohammed Fairouz
Directed by David Herskovits
Featuring Rachel Calloway
Music Director Steven Osgood

Set Design by Zane Pihlstrom
Lighting Design by Lenore Doxsee
Costume Design by Alixa Gage
Production Stage Manager Ryan Gohsman

Running Time: 60 Minutes

Post-Performance Discussion will follow the January 14th show. 

Sumeida's Song (Preview)

PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now is an annual festival of visionary music theatre and opera-theatre works by pioneering artists from New York and around the world. A new body of work is on the brink of exploding out of New York and onto the national scene, as an exciting new generation of composers and collaborators focus on the creation of chamber-sized theatre works in new and unique ways.

Sumeida's Song (Preview)

PROTOTYPE Festival

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