Black Square
In the Fall of 2017, Lyric Theatre at Illinois presented a workshop performance of the first act of Black Square, a new futuristic opera described by the creators as, "a tragicomic love story that mixes intellectual traditions of Russian avant-garde and fast pacing style of an action thriller."
Black Square features music by Russian composer Ilya Demutsky. At only 34, Ilya is a winner of the Golden Mask, the highest Russian theatre honor, for the ballet Hero of our times at Bolshoi. He has also received a European Oscar for the Cannes award winning film The Student. Among his new works are ballets Nureyev for Bolshoi, Moscow, 2017, and Anna Karenina for Joffrey Ballet, Chicago 2018. The libretto is written by Olga Maslova and Igor Konyukhov, a founder and artistic director of New Opera NYC.
The workshop was presented as part of a university-wide symposium entitled "10 Days That Shook the World" that allowed the composers to visit campus, work with our singers, and provide and talkback for the audience following the performance.
More information on Black Square and its development may be found by following this link.
Black Square features music by Russian composer Ilya Demutsky. At only 34, Ilya is a winner of the Golden Mask, the highest Russian theatre honor, for the ballet Hero of our times at Bolshoi. He has also received a European Oscar for the Cannes award winning film The Student. Among his new works are ballets Nureyev for Bolshoi, Moscow, 2017, and Anna Karenina for Joffrey Ballet, Chicago 2018. The libretto is written by Olga Maslova and Igor Konyukhov, a founder and artistic director of New Opera NYC.
The workshop was presented as part of a university-wide symposium entitled "10 Days That Shook the World" that allowed the composers to visit campus, work with our singers, and provide and talkback for the audience following the performance.
More information on Black Square and its development may be found by following this link.