Hell — Michael Webster

Opera in one act. Libretto by Eileen Myles. Music by Michael Webster.

Poet Raphael wakes up in “Constant” — Brine has summoned her there to help him write a poem: “Horns of Joy”. A journey through the hell of the Bush years ensues. The short lines of Myles’ classic poem find their musical analog in the constantly changing tempo and parlando melodies — fragments of familiar sounding music chattering by to the bitter end…

2004 — St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, New York

Directed by Simon Leung and Laurie Weeks. Sets by Beth Stephens. Costumes by Milena Muzquiz. Design by Neil Stuber. Presented by People’s Opera.
Cast: Juliana Snapper, James Rio, Scott Graff, Jason Snyder, Debra Penberthy, Tany Ling, Angela Claverie, Doo Suk Yang
September 22 & 29, 2004

Hell at St. Marks Church — ensemble and set

Photos: Beth Stephens

2006 — PS122, New York

Directed by David Chambers. Conducted by Jonathan Yates. Produced by Beth Morrison Projects.
Cast: Juliana Snapper (Raphael), David Adam Moore (Lewis), Matthew Chellis (Brine), Danielle Freeman (The Frog), Michael Turay (The Gnome), Patrick Cook (Father Tree), Janna Baty (Dorothy / Raphael cover), Amy Bils
March 31–April 9, 2006

Performances

2006 — Performance Space 122 (PS122), New York — 11 performances
2004 — St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, New York — Sep 22 & 29
2004 — Hammer Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles
2004 — Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
2004 — Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), Mexico

Press

WNYC Leonard Lopate Show — interview with Eileen Myles, Michael Webster, and Julianna Snapper
Culturebot — “funny, tragic, intelligent and it actually says something”
James Wagner — “the most successful video/stage integration”