Event

The Yellow Wallpaper: A new opera by composer Whitney George

Composer WHITNEY GEORGE brings her exciting one-act opera THE YELLOW WALLPAPER to stage with a large chamber ensemble of rising NYC performers. Based on the proto-feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, THE YELLOW WALLPAPER tells the story of a woman's descent to madness through her obsession with a wallpaper and an oppressive husband. George's setting mirrors the conflict between the man and woman by employing a divided chamber ensemble with an extraordinary palette of tone colors, musical styles and composition techniques.

George's panache for eclectic mixed ensembles is evident in the unusual instrumentation supporting a single female singer and single male actor. Using flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, celeste, harpsichord, vibraphone, crotales and percussion, George creates an infinite myriad of textures. The result is a truly unique piece of contemporary music that harkens back to her influences- who include Bartok, John Corigliano and Danny Elfman- while pushing bravely forward.