• Date: 23 August 2008
• Time: 7:30 PM
• Place: Swarthout Auditorium, Murphy Hall, University of Kansas
• Admission: FREE!

While this is the same show that we produced in Greece, transplanting it from an outdoor ancient theatre into a modern indoor space practically turns it into a different production. Still, it should be a good time, so if you’re in the area, so please stop by!

Just for the record, here is the “Composer’s Note” that I wrote for the program:

Creating music for this production was a unique experience. Due to the open nature of a study abroad program, I had little idea what to expect in terms of both performers and available instrumentation. The resulting “potluck” ensemble works surprisingly well, and the combination of a woodwind instrument, a string instrument, and a drum evokes a timeless sound that fits right in with an ancient drama.

Living and working with the cast this summer allowed me to familiarize myself with each of their voices and thus craft the music to fit the ensemble – rather than attempting to make the ensemble fit the music. It was an exercise in compositional versatility and flexibility.

It was also an exercise in haste. Due to the aforementioned uncertainties, I did not write any of the music until we left for Greece, and completed it within a few short weeks after arriving. I wrote whenever and wherever I could – on the plane, at cafes, and even at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Such speed was necessitated and inspired by the group. For a composer, little is more satisfying than rehearsing a new piece mere hours after completion.

Working in close collaboration with Dennis and the cast, we were able to create a highly-unique production. From beginning to end, every note, lyric, and phrase has been designed for the members of this company. Enjoy the show.

As promised, here is an update about our weekend trip to Corinth, Mycenae, and Nafplio.

Corinth

We left Katohi around 7 AM on a Friday morning. Most people slept on the bus (myself included). On the way to Nafplio, we stopped by ancient Corinth for a couple hours and tromped around the ruins. Honestly, ancient Corinth isn’t very impressive to me. Sure, it’s a major attraction for many people because of its connection to the Apostle Paul, but as far as ruins go, there are much better places to visit in Greece.

Far more impressive to me are the ruins just outside the main “touristy” area of Corinth. Across the street from the entrance to ancient Corinth and just down a rocky hill are a number of unlabeled, unguarded ruins, including the ancient theatre! We spent less than an hour exploring the “paid” part of Corinth, and well over an hour scampering around the “unpaid” part. Please be sure to see the picture below of Adam and myself standing just above the ancient theatre.

There’s also an ancient fortress at the top of a mountain nearby (called “Acro-Corinth”), but we didn’t have time as a group to hike to the top. Since several members of our company wanted to brave the mountain, we organized a side trip the following week back to Corinth. Hiking to the top was a blast, especially since I’d been dying to do it since my last trip to Corinth in 2006.

Here’s a slideshow of pictures from Corinth. Click the “play” button to begin the show, and if you wish to download individual pictures, just click anything within the slideshow itself to see all the individual photos.

Nafplio

After our Corinthian excursion, we resumed the drive to Nafplio. After we checked into the Hotel Amalia (5-stars!), we relaxed, napped, and took luxurious showers (yay!) before heading into Nafplio for dinner. Dinner was amazingly expensive. Kat and I only ordered appetizers and a beer, yet the bill turned out close to 20 Euros (around $35). Ouch!

Of course, we could not resist the urge to gorge ourselves on Italian gelatto afterward, so like a herd of salivating zombies we marched in a group from dinner to the world-famous Italian gelateria. Yum! I think almost everyone in the company visited the gelateria at least once a day while in Nafplio.

SATURDAY: After a filling breakfast buffet at the hotel, we visited the old fortress in Nafplio. It’s difficult to describe how much I like running around this fortress. At every turn there are nooks, crannies, ledges, tunnels, towers, and other potentially-dangerous places to explore. It’s wonderful! The view from the fortress also provides some of the most breath-taking scenery I’ve ever seen.

Since the fortress is on top of a small mountain, we had two options for descending: take the bus down, or walk down 999 steps. Naturally, most of us opted for the steps despite advice against it from some local Greeks. They told us it would take at least half an hour to descend the steps. Bah! It only took us 15, and that included stopping to take pictures on the way down.

Here’s a slideshow of assorted pictures from Nafplio.

Mycenae

SUNDAY: After breakfast, we drove out to the ruins of Mycenae. This was the famed city in which Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Aegithus, Electra, and Orestes lived. The ruins of the city are impressive enough, but the massive tombs are unbelievable! Supposedly, the gigantic tombs are for Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Aegithus, but no one really knows for sure. We spent close to two hours exploring the ruins, including singing inside the hollow, conical “Treasury of Atreus” (tomb of Agamemnon). Very nice! Very resonant!

Most people went to the beach on Sunday afternoon, but Kat and I opted to stay at the hotel. I’m glad we did because I somehow managed to take a 4-hour nap! For some reason, I didn’t sleep much the first night we were here, so I was grateful for the chance to catch up on some lost sleep.

Sunday dinner was on our own in Nafplio again. After that first expensive meal, we wanted to avoid fancy restaurants, so we found a place that sold gyros and ate our fill, (followed of course) by one last batch of gelatto.

And finally, here is a collection of photos from Mycenae. Enjoy!

It was a unique cultural experience for me to sit in the midst of the Greek audience during the performance. To get an idea of what I mean, first take everything that you know about audience etiquette at theatrical or musical performances in the United States and throw it out the window. At the beginning of the performance, the audience quieted while the musicians tuned, but shortly thereafter, the commotion began. People talked and gossiped, kids ran around, camera bulbs flashed, cigarettes went ablaze, and cell phones rang constantly. Like in America, people fumbled for their mobile phones when they rang, but for a completely different purpose. Instead of silencing the phones, people ANSWERED them and carried on conversations right in the theatre! There was often more activity happening in the audience than on-stage!

As I said, it’s a unique cultural experience. Aside from the mobile phone aspect, this must be how audiences in 17th and 18th century Italian opera houses behaved! Despite the general commotion, once something of importance starts happening on-stage, the audience snaps to attention. For instance, when the handmaids brought out the purple cloth for Agamemnon entrance to the palace, you could have heard a pin drop. In short, I learned that you must EARN the audience’s attention here – it is not granted by default.

We were afraid that attendance to our performance would be lax due to the language barrier (our show is in both English and Greek), but we were wrong. I have no official head count, but the mayor of the city estimated that roughly 500 people attended. Not bad at all.

I took no pictures during the actual performance, but here is a huge gallery of pictures from tech week, including the final dress rehearsal.

After-Party

After the show, we tore down the set and raced back to Katohi to change clothes for our dinner with the mayor. Dinner started around midnight, and we ate outdoors in the town square. I thought it a feast fit for a king – they brought out platter after platter of delicacies, and we ate “community” style by passing plates to one another. All in all, we feasted until 3 AM. Wow. It was a memorable experience.

My next post will cover our adventures in Corinth, Mycenae, and Nafplio. Stay tuned!

The mayor of the village of Katohi wants to take us out for dinner after our performance. Keep in mind that our show will not start until 9:30 PM, so we’re likely looking at dinner around midnight. While that may sound bizarre to my American readers back home, it’s perfectly normal in Greece.

Two years ago, the mayor took us all out to eat after our performance of “The Bacchae”, and he liked the first piece I wrote for the show so much that he demanded an encore performance around the dinner table! It’s a different mayor this time, so we’ll see if anything like that happens again.

Delphi

As I promised in my last post, here’s an update (plus pictures) concerning some of our recent adventures here. Back in June, our first weekend excursion was to the ancient sacred site of Delphi. We left early on a Saturday morning and had a three-hour bus trip, the last hour of which was uphill, through twisting, treacherous terrain. We all held our breath when our bus driver attempted a 180-degree turn on a tiny mountain road with no guardrail to stop us from careening off the cliff, but the driver did a masterful job.

This was my second trip to Delphi, and I found the ruins just as impressive as I did the first time. Most things were just as I remember them, such as the lovely temple to Athena and the vast temple of Apollo (the oracle itself). Please see the collection of pictures below.

There’s a lot to see at Delphi in addition to the temples, such as the ancient theatre and the Stadium at the top. It’s customary to engage in a foot-race in the Stadium, but unlike my last visit, no one was allowed into the Stadium this time. That minor inconvenience did not stop two members in our company, who proceeded to jump the rope and race through the Stadium, much to the dismay of the guard!

Once we descended from the mountain, we cooled off in the museum. Unbelievably, I was able to take some pictures of the famous “Delphi Charioteer” statue without anyone around it!

Yannina

The following weekend (in early July), we took another day trip, this time to the city of Yannina. This was my first visit there, so I had no idea what to expect. Yannina is a fairly-large city in north-western Greece. Since it has a major university, I kept humorously trying to envision it as Lawrence, KS, but with mountains and ocean.

Our first stop was the famous wax museum, which contains dozens of life-size sculptures all impressively created by a single man. No pictures were allowed inside the museum, so I regret that I have none to show you now.

After lunch, we took a short ferry ride to a small tourist-trap of an island, filled with dozens of little trinket shops, all containing practically the same trinkets. The main attraction on the island was the Ali Pasha museum, which was essentially the place where he lived and was murdered. Apparently he was shot several times and had his head delivered to the Sultan on a silver platter (remember that Greece was swallowed up by the Ottoman empire for about 400 years). Please see the pictures below, including the pictures of a painting representing the death of Ali Pasha.

Once again, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for updates and pictures about Corinth, Mycenae, and Nafplio.

I’m returning to the Oiniades Theatre Festival as a guest composer, this time for a modern adaptation of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. As before, Dennis Christilles (a professor of theatre at KU) is creating the adaptation and directing the play, and I am composing music for the choruses and interludes. I’ve written some of the music already, but will write the rest in Greece.

I love this Greek experience because it is truly unique. The vocal abilities of the actors, plus the instruments involved, vary each time, and somehow I have to create a musical score that works with the forces we have available. It is truly a show custom-created for the ensemble.

Last time we produced The Bacchae by Euripides. This time it is Agamemnon. Unlike last year, I will not be playing an acting role – only a musical one. So what’s the premise of the show? In a nutshell, Agamemnon has been gone for ten years, laying siege to Troy in order to capture and bring back Helen. At the beginning of the play, a watchman notices that signal fires have been lit, signaling the fall of Troy. A herald eventually arrives, bringing news that Troy has been destroyed and that Agamemnon and his surviving forces should return home soon.

One would expect this to be good news, especially to Clytemnestra (Agamemnon’s wife), but one must remember that she has been at home brooding for ten years. Not only did her husband abandon her for a decade in a “rescue” effort that sapped Greece of its resources, he also sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia in order to receive favorable winds for their passage to Troy. To make matters worse, Agamemnon returns with a pretty Trojan prophetess as his concubine (Cassandra). To put it lightly, Clytemnestra is just a bit “peeved.”

Clytemnestra welcomes Agamemnon home, insisting that he walk on a red carpet into the palace. Agamemnon is hesitant not to seem prideful or arrogant, but eventually concedes. He goes into the palace and is murdered in the bath by Clytemnestra. Cassandra prophecies about her own death to the unbelieving chorus, then walks into the palace and is also slain by the raging Clytemnestra.

The play ends with Clytemnestra attempting to justify her actions while Aegisthus delivers a boastful speech that nearly ends in a brawl. Clytemnestra chastises him, stating that there has already been enough blood spilled today. The chorus then drops a foreboding hint that Orestes (the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra) will surely return in order to seek vengeance for his father’s murder. Yes, Agamemnon is the first in a trilogy of plays about the cursed House of Atreus. If you want to read further, start with an overiew of the Oresteia.

I leave you (for now) with this, the supposed “death mask” of Agamemnon, which is on display in a museum in Athens.

I have limited internet access in the village of Katohi at Oiniades, but will create at least one new post and upload some pictures in July. Until then, my best wishes to all of you.

Nota bene: the play is not recommended for people under 16.

When: April 4 – 12 (except Easter Sunday); 7:30 PM (5:00 PM on April 7)

Where: KU, Murphy Hall, Inge Theatre

Why: Because you love good theatre. Also, my wife is directing the play, so I’m slightly biased. Oh, I wrote some original music for the beginning and the ending, for what that’s worth.

I just saw the play tonight (opening night), and there are some very powerful scenes. Recommended.

There’s a “talkback” after the play this coming Tuesday night, so if you have any questions for the director, designers (myself included), or the actors, that’s the night to attend.

It’s not the most uplifting play, if the music gives any indication of that.

Here’s the piece. The working title is “Exeunt.” It needs some mixing, but you get the idea.

Bondari – Exeunt

Lo and behold, someone has created a 360-degree panorama view of the ancient theatre at Oiniades. Feast your eyes on this ancient wonder where we performed. “Click-and-drag” to change the view, and use Shift/Control to zoom in and out. Quicktime is required to view the panorama.

If you are in the Lawrence area this weekend, please come see our production of “The Bacchae” in the Inge Theatre. Admission is free, and the performances are on Friday (7:30 PM), Saturday (2:30 PM), and Sunday (2:30 PM). This is the production for which I composed music in Greece. I’m also playing the role of Dionysus. Bring your Greek-English dictionary because some of the lines are in Greek. Don’t worry, it’s still comprehendable by English-only speakers. Hope to see you there.

On the Monday following the closing of our performance, we took a bus to Patra and then a ferry to the island of Kathalonia. There we spent much leisurely time, shopping, eating, touring, and sleeping. Sleeping is an emphasized activity in Greece, especially during the hottest part of the afternoon. Kat and I were pleased to find wheat bread and chocolate soy milk (a delicacy!) in Kathalonia, and on this we feasted.

Unfortunately, we discovered that our Sony digital camera was randomly broken on the night of our performance. Every time we attempted to turn on the power, it emphatically told us to “Turn the power off and on again.” Note to self: never buy another Sony digital camera. So… I don’t have any more pictures to share at the moment. Our study abroad group will get together shortly for a “picture” party, and once I have more pictures I will post some here.

The big news is that during our leisure time after the show, I finished extracting ALL of the parts for Symphony No. I – “Persepolis.” Whew! Once I returned to the States, I proofed and mailed them to Dr. Joe Brashier, director of Bands at Valdosta State University. I was very pleased to hear him say that his group will read through all four movements this coming week! Provided all goes as planned, the world premiere will be coming up this fall.