Huang Ruo's "Dr. Sun Yat-sen": excerpts and arias from the new opera, plus other works w/ Ensemble FIRE, Momenta Quartet, Jiang Fang-Tao, soprano and Laurence Broderick, tenor January 10, 2012

SUN YAT-SEN is a grand opera in three acts about Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the founding father of modern China, in the tumultuous time of the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the last of the Chinese imperial dynasty. More than just a work on the revolutionary movement itself, the opera also deals with the personal journeys and sacrifices that Dr. Sun and his compatriots had to make in their efforts to reach their goals for nationhood.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen has three Acts, with spoken dialogue in English as brief prologues and interludes, framing the tumultuous years with a contemporary parable about the value of history.

Cast includes soprano Jiang Fang-Tao and tenor Laurence Broderick, with music performed by Ensemble FIRE and the Momenta Quartet.

About composer Huang Ruo:
Recently awarded First Prize by the prestigious Luxembourg International Composition Prize, Huang Ruo has been cited by the New Yorker as “one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers.” His vibrant and inventive musical voice draws equal inspiration from Chinese folk, Western avant-garde, rock, and jazz to create a seamless, organic integration using a compositional technique he calls “dimensionalism.”

Huang Ruo’s writing spans from orchestra, chamber music, opera, theater, and modern dance, to sound installation, multi-media, experimental improvisation, folk rock, and film. Ensembles who have premiered and performed his music include the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Asko Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, Dutch Vocal Laboratory, and the Tang Quartet, and under conductors such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Ed Spanjaard, Xian Zhang, and Ilan Volkov. Huang Ruo has received awards and grants from the ASCAP Foundation, Presser Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Argosy Foundation, Greenwall Foundation, Meet The Composer, NYSCA, Chamber Music America, American Music Center, Aaron Copland Award, and Alice M. Ditson Award. Huang Ruo’s Chamber Concerto Cycle was released on Naxos in February 2007; Leaving Sao, a work for orchestra and Chinese Folk Voice, was released on Albany Records with his own singing in 2008; and Divergence came out on Koch International in 2009. Huang Ruo's latest CD ToThe Four Corners, performed by Future In REverse, was recently released on NaxosRecords.

Aside from being an avant-garde composer, he is also a conductor and Chinese folk-rock singer, releasing commercial recordings on Naxos and Albany Records, and making debuts at Lincoln Center as well as Carnegie hall. Huang Ruo is currently a member of the composition faculty at SUNY Purchase. He is the artistic director and conductor of Future In REverse (FIRE), and was selected as a Young Leader Fellow by the National Committee on United States–China Relations in 2006. For more information about Huang Ruo and his music, please visit: www.huangruo.com

This is a general admission event. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first seated basis. There is a two item minimum per person at all tables. Standing room is also available. We recommend arriving early.

Official Website: http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/2864