Lecture by Michael Matthews & Per Brask

Prince Kaspar
8pm, Friday & Saturday, May 6 & 7, 2005
Gas Station Theatre, 445 River Avenue
Curator: Michael Matthews
Concert sponsors: Gail Asper Family Foundation and the Winnipeg Foundation
With music by Michael Matthews and libretto by Per Brask, this new chamber opera tells the story of Kaspar Hauser, a youth who mysteriously appears in the Nuremberg town square after spending his life locked in a cellar without human contact. This world premiere, conducted by WSO conductor-in-residence Michelle Mourre, will be presented in collaboration with Chamber Opera West and the University of Manitoba School of Music.

Prince Kaspar composer Michael Matthews and librettist Per Brask will discuss the creative process regarding to their new chamber opera. As a new art form, contemporary music theatre has been steadily developing for the last fifty years. It is an exciting, cross-disciplinary medium requiring the collaboration of musicians, actors, singers, composers, librettists, designers and directors in the production of challenging, relevant and entertaining works which equally and respectfully integrate music and theatre. The dramatic intensity, intimacy, use of smaller forces, and concern with contemporary subject matter, make music theatre an especially relevant art form for today�s audiences.

This production will involve a cast of six singers, seven musicians, and an electroacoustic soundscape. The work is in thirteen scenes, which will be presented without intermission, with a total duration of about 90 to 100 minutes. The cast, musicians, creative team, and technical support staff will be primarily drawn from the Winnipeg community.