Poundatorio

Tickets and Information

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http://www.douglasdunndance.com

"The moon has a swollen cheek . . ." -- Ezra Pound, Pisan Canto LXXIX

Cyborg on the Zattere is a two-act opera by poet Anne Waldman and musician/composer Steven Taylor. With eight musicians, two dancers, and a score interweaving vocal harmonies of the Italian Renaissance with contemporary music, this work brings the poetry of Ezra Pound and supporting text by Anne Waldman to a luminous, musical focus. Pound is the pivotal figure in this montage-like investigation of his influential and stunning poetry on the one hand, his excesses and hateful politics on the other.

This recital opera is in three scenes: A Casino, Wall Street; Ezra Pound in his cage in Pisa, May 1945; Venice, the Zattere (near where Ezra Pound lived and died). The title locates the aging, silent poet as a kind of cyborg, as he strolls up and down the Zattere, his cape windblown, his face craggy. The work also references the knot of the current economic crisis with a Goldman Sachs chorus, set in a casino. Inspired by Pound's extensive knowledge of Medieval and Renaissance music, Taylor's score juxtaposes ancient and contemporary musical compositions. Instruments are guitar, reeds, toy piano, cello, percussion.

The Salon Series, now in its third year, recreates the tradition of small performances in intimate loft spaces in SoHo. Reviewing a recent performance in the series, Roslyn Sulcas described the evening in the New York Times: "In the midst of the Banana Republics and Mangos and Sephoras, somewhere between Balthazar and Prada, is Douglas Dunn's studio-loft, where he is currently presenting a 'short salon of dance.' Salon seems like the right word for the evening, which works its casual, from-another-era magic from the moment you enter." Joining Waldman and Taylor in performance will be choreographer Douglas Dunn, cellist Ha-Yang Kim, reed player Marty Ehrlich, vocalist Alaina Ferris, and dancer Grazia Della-Terza.

For groups 6+, 212-966-6999.