the fox and the pomegranate

music-theater piece for soprano, mezzo-soprano or counter-tenor, tenor, and chamber orchestra; libretto by daniel j. kushner

story

The Fox and the Pomegranate, an ongoing collaboration with librettist Daniel J. Kushner, is an allegorical opera about the multifaceted nature of love, the fluidity of sexual identity and gender roles, and the nuances of infidelity.  The subject – a timeless, parable-like tale of love yearned for and mystery sought – is set in a surrealistic, forested landscape inhabited by a pair of lovers and a scheming fox-man.  Nate, a gender-fluid individual, must choose between familiar intimacy (a ritual involving face-painting with the juice of a pomegranate) with a past lover named Meg or a new tryst with an enigmatic young man in a fox mask called Aril.

Kathie Kane and Jacob James as Nate and Aril, Pellicciotti Prize performance, Crane School of Music, 2014.

Kathie Kane and Jacob James as Nate and Aril, Pellicciotti Prize performance, Crane School of Music, 2014.

Begun in 2012, The Fox and the Pomegranate is designed as a series of slowly unfolding sonic tableaux, giving much more weight to examining specific emotional moments than to a telling a traditional narrative. As such, it is equally well-suited to a staged production as it is to a concert performance, or (perhaps, one day) an immersive theatrical production.

Meg (soprano), the only “traditional” gender role, is inflexible and staid in her approach to romance, whereas the gender-fluid Nate (either counter-tenor or mezzo-soprano/alto) is eternally curious and searching for what lies beyond their youthful experiences. Finally there is the beguiling Aril (tenor), the symbol of lust’s entrancement, who is eager to introduce Nate to all that lies deep in the forest.

Ultimately, Nate questions whether their departure from Meg is a mistake; perhaps the dedicated affections of Meg filled a greater need than Nate can achieve through their new-found freedom.  Can Nate rejoin Meg in the grove, or will Nate’s time with Aril have forever altered their relationship with Meg?

media

Scenes from Act One of The Fox and the Pomegranate (completed from 2012-14) have been shown or workshopped at New York University (2012), the John Duffy Composers Institute (2012), and at Fort Worth Opera’s inaugural Frontiers showcase (2013).  Upon winning the 2014 Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, the entirety of Act One was fully produced by the Crane Opera Ensemble at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music in November of 2014.

Scenes from Act Two (in progress, 2019-present) have been workshopped during a Composers and the Voice Fellowship with The American Opera Project in Brooklyn, NY.

Below, from most recent:

  • Mezzo-soprano Augusta Caso performs the Act Two aria “I Remember Remembering” at The American Opera Project, Brooklyn, 2020.

  • Act One excerpts (LEFT) and full Act One performance (RIGHT) from the November 2014 performance at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of music, featuring Sarah Visnov as Meg, Kathie Kane as Nate, and Jacob James as Aril.

  • Audio from Act One: Scene 1A (“Tether/Thief in the Night”) at the first preview performance at New York University in 2012, with Jenny Ribeiro as Meg and Jocelyne O’Toole as Nate.

  • Jenny Ribeiro previews the first-written aria, “Ill, Is It?” at Jan Hus Church, NYC, 2012.

 

Intro/highlights video from Act One at the Crane School of Music, 2014.

Full Act One performance, Crane School of Music, 2014.

 

Scenes from Act One (below) were first heard with a chamber orchestra in May of 2012 at New York University's Provincetown Theater.  Below is the love duet, Tether, sung by Jenny Ribeiro (as Meg) and Jocelyne O'Toole (as Nate) followed by Nate’s aria “Thief in the Night.”

The very first aria written was Meg's "Ill, Is It?" (above). Soprano Jenny Ribeiro gave a performance (below) of the aria on a Composer's Voice concert in January of 2012 at Jan Hus Church on New York's Upper East Side.