Yuval Sharon, a 39-year-old director and MacArthur fellow, does not seem to have the words “small scale” in his vocabulary.
So it should come as no surprise that Sharon is shaving down the stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall to accommodate the 36-foot-diameter sphere that serves as the core set piece for “Atlas,” Sharon’s interpretation of avant-garde composer Meredith Monk’s elusive 1991 opera.
The opera is a three-hour-plus paean to the power of the human spirit and a futuristic deep dive into the ways opera as an art form can be meticulously deconstructed and reconstructed to resemble a radical new medium. It aims to be opera that is mindful of the novel ways the body and voice can move together as one and the otherworldly places experimental music can transport the kernel of an idea.
Baritone John Brancy, left, takes direction from Bob Een, who sang the part in the original production. Yuval Sharon is center, with musical adviser Wayne Hankin and, at right, associate director Diana Wyenn. Monk said she wanted “Atlas” to be resurrected but wasn’t sure it was possible due to the organic nature of her creative process. She had served as composer, director, choreographer and actor, and “Atlas” had been molded with ornate specificity to the talents of the 18 singers she cast.
“Atlas” is loosely based on the travels of the early 20th century explorer Alexandra David-Neel, who is best known for her 1924 journey to Tibet. The female protagonist, originally played by Monk, will be sung by mezzo-soprano Joanna Lynn-Jacobs. The character’s quest takes her and her spiritual cohorts around the globe — to deserts, forests, the Arctic, the tropics — and eventually to outer space.
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