Franklin Furnace presents Mao opera

Email: ffurnace@interport.net

FRANKLIN FURNACE at PSEUDO PROGRAMS, INC. presents
MAO ZEDONG: JEALOUS SON
Alvin Eng & Yoav Gal
www.channelp.com
(recorded performance from June 12, archived for later listening)

ALVIN, who created and performed Over The Counter Culture for Franklin Furnace's 1991 "In Exile" series, is a playwright/storyteller, performance artist and journalist and YOAV is a composer. The two collaborate in Mao Zedong: Jealous Son (An Abstract Portrait ), a new, multi-media opera that features four singers portraying Mao Zedong, the late founder of the Chinese Communist Party, at four different stages: "Teenage Mao," "Comrade Mao," "Chairman Mao," and "Dead Mao," alongside digitized images of the late Chairman himself.

While volumes upon volumes have been written about Mao as a political and revolutionary icon, significantly less has been written about Mao, the human being (particularly as a youth). This opera explores the latter, based on Mao's writings and interviews... but it is still an abstract portrait of an opera. By merging the grand scale and scope of opera with the intensity of solo (one Mao at a time), multi-media performance art, Mao Zedong: Jealous Son (An Abstract Portrait ), offers a refreshing hybrid of aesthetics.

The June 12 live cybercast is comprised of the Overture and several scenes from Act I, followed by a live on-line chat with the authors and cast: "Teenage Mao" - CAROL TO, "Comrade Mao" - BYUNG WOO KIM, "Chairman Mao" - RANDALL SCHLOSS, and "Dead Mao" - GERCAVIO Y. BASA-ONG, JR.

Alvin holds an M.F.A. in Musical Theater Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and was named after the Chipmunk cartoon character. Yoav studied visual art and music in Tel Aviv, and also studied composition at Juilliard, the Aaron Copland School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. Also collaborating with Alvin and Yoav are Timothy Cramer/Maelstrom Music (Audio Engineer and Sound Design), and Melissa Tonelli (Director of Visuals and Web Design).

Using RealPlayerTM streaming technology, artists in the Franklin Furnace at Pseudo Programs series premiere works created especially for this new medium. To view upcoming and archived performances, download the RealPlayer plug-in first, available at www.real.com. Performances are archived for six months and available for viewing any time.

Franklin Furnace wishes to thank the supporters of its programs for emerging artists for their faith and foresight: Jerome Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, the Heathcote Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, Inc., the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Challenge Program, PseudoPrograms, Inc. and the friends and members of Franklin Furnace.

_________________________________

Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
45 John Street Room 611
NYC, NY. 10038-3706
Tel: (212) 766-2606
Fax: (212) 766-2740
Email: ffurnace@interport.net
URL: www.franklinfurnace.org

Martha Wilson, Founding Director
Michael Katchen, Senior Archivist
Harley Spiller, Administrative and Intern Coordinator
Alice Wu, Program Coordinator

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