triptych: eyes of one on another
Composed by Bryce Dessner
Libretto by Korde Arrington Tuttle featuring words by Essex Hemphill & Patti Smith
Directed by Kaneza Schaal
Featuring Roomful of Teeth with special guests Alicia Hall Moran & Isaiah Robinson
Music direction & conducting by Brad Wells
Associate Directed by LILLETH
Set and costume design by Carlos Soto
Lighting design by Yuki Nakase
Video by Simon Harding
Dramaturgy by Talvin Wilks & Christopher Myers
Performed at the LA Philharmonic, Ann Arbor, BAM, Kennedy Center, Big Ears Festival
Situated somewhere between erotic heat and cool classicism, the work of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe obliterates the high-low divide, exploding classical conceptions of beauty. Fueled by a lifelong fascination with the artist’s transgressive, sacred-profane vision, composer Bryce Dessner (The National), in collaboration with Korde Arrington Tuttle, designer Carlos Soto, video designer Simon Harding, and director Kaneza Schaal (JACK &, 2018 Next Wave), invites us to experience these arresting images anew. Featuring photographic projections and a new score by Dessner—performed by the daring eight-person vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and a chamber orchestra—Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) examines how we look and are looked at, bringing us face to face with our innermost desires, fears, and humanity.
Produced by ArKtype / Thomas O. Kriegsmann in partnership with The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
Photos by Maria Baranova
