Flying Fish (aiff – 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)

Night Sky – Fusebox performance

Scene 8 (A New Kind of Family)

Hannah Celeste Lu, Amaia Urtiaga Uriondo, sopranos

Scene 3 (The Butterflies have Closed their Wings)

Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano

Scene 6 (High Up in the Trees)

Hannah Celeste Lu, Amaia Urtiaga Uriondo, sopranos

Inventions and Interludes in Iron is a collection of short works—five Inventions and four Interludes—built from the surprisingly mellifluous squeaks of a set of rusty iron turnstiles. Each Invention weaves two or three distinctly “natural” motives into a patchwork of found sound, while each Interlude presents a pattern of tiny segments of source material, crudely spliced to remove any association with the recorded sound.

Invention I

First Interlude

Invention II

Second Interlude

Invention III

Third Interlude

Invention IV

Last Interlude

Invention V

CONTINUOUS PLAY

Individual scenes:

Scene 1 (A Way)

Scene 2 (We Only Need Our Wings, The Butterflies Have Closed Their Wings, We’re Getting Closer)

Scene 3 (Find A Way, Ya Estamos)

Scene 4 (El Dia de los Muertos)

Scene 5 (Compre, High Up in the Trees)

Scene 6 (My Own Way, Our Oyamel Trees)

Scene 7 (Lado a Lado, A New Kind of Family)

Scene 8 (Home)

Cecila Duarte as Gracie in HGO's production of A Way Home

As the opera begins, Marisol has just passed away, leaving her husband and daughter behind, and has returned as a Monarch butterfly. In order to survive the winter as a butterfly, Marisol must travel back to her hometown in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico, for safe haven in the Oyamel firs. Marisol travels with Kárani, the lead butterfly of the migration, who acts as her spiritual guide. Meanwhile, Gracie (daughter) and Thomas (husband) begin their trip to Mexico in order to complete Marisol’s last wishes – to meet Marisol’s estranged father, Agustin, and scatter her ashes in the butterfly reserve.

As Thomas and Gracie make their way to Mexico, Marisol is never far behind. Though they cannot see her, Marisol continues to try to comfort her daughter and husband, lamenting their pain. Kárani helps Marisol embrace her new identity, and as Gracie and Thomas cross into Mexico, the two butterflies celebrate their freedoms from the human burden of borders.

When Thomas and Gracie arrive in Mexico, they go to Marisol’s childhood home and meet Agustin. Agustin never forgave Marisol over her emigration to the United States, and he lambasts Thomas for honoring her wishes to be cremated. The argument is left unresolved, and Gracie and Thomas depart for the butterfly reserve to lay Marisol to rest.

During their hike, Gracie and her father bicker. Thomas goes off to find the right spot to scatter Marisol’s ashes, and Gracie bolts to the woods, attempting to prove she no longer needs her father’s guidance. However, she loses her way in the vast reserve, and collapses in despair as night draws near. Realizing Gracie is gone, Thomas and Agustin resolve their differences in order to find her. As they search, Marisol and Kárani arrive just in time to save Gracie from the freeze of night. As the opera closes, Marisol has found her way home, and her family has learned to understand the dual nature of that home.

Libretto by Irene Keliher

Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go! presents Ethan Frederick Greene’s A Way Home at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston’s Hermann Park. These 45 minute productions, created especially for students, will be sung in English and Spanish with full sets and lavish costumes.

This is HGO’s 40th world premiere and was created in conjunction with Song of Houston’s Mexico 2010.

The opera tells the story of Gracie and her father as they travel from Houston to Mexico to scatter her mother’s ashes. The spirit of Gracie’s mother helps guide them on their epic journey.

Composed by Ethan Frederick Greene

Libretto by Irene Keliher

Set and Costume Design - Liz Freese

Stage Director - E. Loren Meeker

Ensemble:

Kárani - Hannah Lu

Marisol - Amaia Urtiaga

Gracie - Cecilia Duarte

Ricardo - Alejandro Magallón

Thomas - Brian Shircliffe

Agustín - Dennis Arrowsmith

Synthesizer – Rebecca Combs

Cello - Max Dyer

More info here

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