Last night's ICARUS performance was a totally unique experience. The event was held at the "United Palace Theater" (and/or "Cathedral). I gather that for secular events it's called a theater but otherwise it's for giant church services. It's a well-maintained opulent movie house from another time designed by Thomas W. Lamb whom I know from his Keith Theater in Boston that was recently restored as the Boston Opera House. It's located at 176th street in the northern section of Manhattan. For those unfamiliar with New York scale of geography, this is probably about ten miles north of lower Manhattan.
I attended the world premiere of ICARUS in 2010 at a gala event that included a speech from the stage by none other than Stephen Hawking (who makes an anonymous cameo in Glass’ opera The Voyage and who was also the subject of the Glass scored “A Brief History of Time" by Errol Morris). During the composition of the music for ICARUS, the temporary narration that was used was done by Alan Alda. For some reason, the world premiere was done by John Lithgow, though Alda was apparently free that night because he was sitting right next to my wife and me.
This was the third performance of ICARUS in New York, with the continuity of the Orchestra of St. Luke's with Brad Ludman conducting. There was a problem with synchronization at the premiere that saw the film ending about 30 seconds before the music did. There's an extended orchestral coda to the work so it wasn't that noticeable. Last night there were no such problems.
As a piece intended for children, the work itself is effective albeit probably about 8-10 minutes too long. The narrative is driven by the effects of getting too close to a Black Hole. They could be summed up in a section lasting only a couple minutes, but the authors linger too long on those points. At 38 minutes, I think it would make a very effective 28-minute work.
The Glass score is a true film score. There's little traditional development, and other than some motifs that are restated at the end, it is a sectional and episodic score which is effective accompaniment to the fantastic visuals by Al + Al. LeVar Burton's narration was effective, but from where I was sitting he was too heavily amplified. The audience of mostly young people from elementary school through high school seemed genuinely entertained.
I hope to have the score recorded someday. However, the existence of live narration makes a live recording impossible. So without underwriting for a studio recording, I suspect it may take a while before a recording is made. There are some remarkable textures in the score including the classic Glassian ominous feeling in the opening chords, the interesting musical analog for the slowing of time in the middle section, tri-tone piccolos, and the nostalgic sections describing the boy Icarus’ journey. There’s also a noteworthy lilting melody in the high strings at the end during the orchestral coda.
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