Matt Marks & Paul Peers, Mata Hari
Pete McCabe interviews composer Matt Marks and director and librettist Paul Peers about Mata Hari, the Great Imposter, the interdisciplinary opera-theater piece they are developing as part of the HERE Artistic Residency Program.
The story is inspired by the life of Mata Hari, the exotic dancer who was executed for espionage during World War I, and is set during the last months of her life while incarcerated in St. Lazare prison, Paris, France. It focuses on her relationships with the five men that lead to her execution in 1917.
The artists discuss the story of Mata Hari, their findings from primary sources that they will use to create the libretto, and how their previous work will contribute to the multiple facets of this very promising piece.
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Clocktower Radio’s series of recorded HERE programming. HERE builds a community that nurtures career artists as they create innovative hybrid live performance in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media and visual art through residencies, event production, and commissions.
Since 1993, HERE has been one of New York’s most prolific producing organizations, and today, it stands at the forefront of the city’s presenters of daring new hybrid art. HERE supports multidisciplinary work that does not fit into a conventional programming agenda. Our aesthetic represents the independent, the innovative, and the experimental: HERE has developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues; Basil Twist’s Symphonie Fantastique; Basil Twist and Joey Arias' Arias with a Twist; Hazelle Goodman’s On Edge; Young Jean Lee's Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven; Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle’s all wear bowlers; Faye Driscoll's837 Venice Boulevard; Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge and original musical and dance works created and directed by HERE Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kristin Marting.
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