vera
Composed by matthew barnson
libretto by mark sonnenblick
In an empty corner of the cosmos, a small government spacecraft hurtles towards the far side colony of Muriana. It transports Caroline, future ambassador to the colony, her husband Gregory, and their daughter Vera. A faulty communication transmitter, however, has forced Gregory to restart the System—the onboard computer and artificial intelligence system that tends to their every need. After the system shuts down, a truth is revealed.
VERA is the story of a family fleeing environmental disaster and the lies that Caroline, the ship’s Captain, and Vera’s mother, needs to tell herself to fulfill this vital mission. It is the story of how technology enables our self-deceptions, becomes inextricable from our sense of self, and what happens when that technology fails.
about the artists
Matthew Barnson
Composer
Matthew Barnsonis the composer of over 80 works for orchestra, string quartets, voices, chamber ensembles, dancers, and computers. An associate professor of composition at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he has received fellowships, commissions, and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Barlow Endowment, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been performed at Radio France, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, Aspen, and other venues throughout the United States and Europe. His debut album, Sibyl Tones, was release on Tzadik in 2014 and his second album, Vanitas, was released on Innova in 2019. He lives in New York.
Daniel Kramer is the former Artistic Director of English National Opera. He was previously a Creative Associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Associate at the Young Vic and Gate Theatre Notting Hill, and a NYC Drama League Fellow. His award-winning work has been seen around the world including China, Taiwan, Australia, Russia, New York and across Europe. He has been a visiting faculty member at Harvard, Brown, Northwestern, New York University, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and the University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, Austria.
Mark Sonnenblick
Librettist
Mark Sonnenblick (librettist) has been nominated for five Grammys for his work on KPop Demon Hunters including Song of the Year (Golden). He co-wrote “Golden”, “Your Idol”, “What It Sounds Like”, “How It’s Done”, “Free”, “Jinu’s Lament” and was part of the the only soundtrack in history to chart four songs simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten. His past projects include Theater Camp (Searchlight Pictures), Spirited (w Pasek and Paul, Apple TV+), Devil Wears Prada (w Elton John and Shaina Taub), Lyle Lyle Crocodile (w Pasek and Paul, Sony Pictures), and Midnight at The Never Get (York Theatre Company; Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and OCC nominations) He has also written songs for Saturday Night Seder ($3.5 million raised for the CDC Foundation), Harlem (Amazon Prime), Comedy on Earth (Ilana Glazer, Comedy Central), Independents (“Best Production” FringeNYC), Dragons Love Tacos (TheatreworksUSA), and Stompcat in Lawndale(Ars Nova). He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy and won the Jonathan Larson Grant (American Theatre Wing).
Information
Duration 80 Minutes
Commission TBA
Premiere TBA
Roles 4 singers (coloratura soprano, soprano, baritone, tenor)
Instrumentation (chamber version) Flute, Clarinet, Vibraphone, Harp, Celesta, Synthesizer, 3 Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass