Event

The Green Wood

David Samas composed, directs and performs in his chamber opera, The Green Wood, a genre-bending, sonic romp through the world's forests. Songs and textures are familiar and otherworldly. The ensemble plays traditional instruments alongside invented, living instruments--some of which need watering. Bob Marsh plays contrabass; Doug Caroll, cello; Grace Renaud, piano; Peter Bonos, sound/invented instruments with soprano Laurie Amat and David Samas on vocals, plus dance by Rebecca Leviton.

The Green Wood contains composed songs, poetry with improvised strings, integrated electronics that play live loops and field recordings, and comprovised landscapes with animal songs. The fabricated instruments are assembled from natural objects such as driftwood, rocks, feathers and water. The main set piece bridges painting, sculpture and sound art. It houses a live dove nest, organ pipes and an amplifier which allow Samas' voice to resonate through it.

The forest soundscape evolves from the silence before dawn, through the ornate dawn call of the songbirds and voices of the rivers and trees, into the evening choir of frogs and wolves, ending in the stillness and reflection of the witching hours. The composer borrows from woodland cultures around the world; from the forests of Renaissance England to the jungles of India, Brazil and Bali to American and aboriginal backwoods music.