(The "Fantastic Opera Scenes" cast of WLU students, L-R: Sarah Gabrielle Lynch, Hayley Allen, Haochen Tu, Keren Katz, Levi Lebsack, Troy Larsen)
With gratitude and a rousing "Bravi tutti" to the exceptional cast and production team of WLU students who helped #GregParker, #AnnaBillias and I bring a few fun opera scenes to life last night in Wilson Hall at W&L. Thank you #LenfestCenterfortheArts. Thanks to everyone from #Lex for coming out and supporting our "op-shop" scenes from Magic Flute, Ravel's L'Enfant, Hansel & Gretel (great directing, #HannahDewing) and the Witches' scene from Dido and Aeneas.
Below is a "Cento" - a "found poem" using words from Colette's libretto, L'Enfant et les sortilèges which Ravel set in his marvelous opera. (The text comes from the scenes we offered: the Shepherd's chorus, Princess duet, and the title character's, "La Coeur de la rose" - the "Song of the Rose" which inspired my poor Twombly-imitation of a painting below).
Colette – Ravel Cento, after L’Enfant et les sortilèges
for WLU Supernatural: Fantastic Opera Scenes and Where to Find Them team
pink sheep purple goat
violet grass green lambs
purple cherries
our gentle blue dog
naughty piping child
our ungrateful blue
dog child
kept eternal watch
violet
the rose goat
the scent of your first love
the lily
who knows
if the heart of evil
forever
dissolve
into sorry
fate
the length of a dream
rose-colored crest
oh sword
my weak little friend
if only
you rose heart
you lily scent
you hands and crown
blue eye moonbeams
jewel fragments
my dream
sword
PS: To the Cast: Here is a link to that Martha graham letter (#inspiration #nopressure #devourthestage)