Opera and Democracy: Listening to Exile was a series of concerts and discussions diving into the art of people who left their country of birth and continued their practice elsewhere. From German and Austrian composers of the 1930s to today’s experiences of exile, this series raised questions about Opera, Democracy, and Migration.
Freedom of the arts is essential for any democracy, but what role do the arts play when democracies come under pressure? Through four concerts and talks in New York City, the program indulged in the works and stories of composers who went into exile, sharing their music, and asking how democracies and the arts relate today.
This concert and dance performance by Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet took a leap from mid-century composers into the present. The performance started with two dances set to music by Ursula Mamlok, who fled Germany for Ecuador in 1939 and then moved on to study in New York City in 1940. Once in the US, she became one of her generation's most renowned composers and wrote music in various genres and styles. After a conversation about the role and personal meaning of migration for their arts with German-born choreographer Miro Magloire and composer Alyssa Regent, who hails from Guadeloupe, the performance continued with music of one of Ursula Mamloks students: Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León was born in Cuba and left in 1967 for New York. The afternoon concluded with a world-premiere ballet set to music by Alyssa Regent.
Dance by New Chamber Ballet, Choreography by Miro Magloire, performed by Anabel Alpert, Megan Foley, Nicole McGinnis, Amber Neff, Rachele Perla, Kayla Schmitt.
Music composed by Ursula Mamlok, Tania León, and Alyssa Regent, performed by Weiyu Wang, soprano, Rea Abel, flute, Clara Cho, cello.
Conversation moderated by Carl Christian Bettendorf
Photos by: Sarah Blesener
Dancers:
Anabel Alpert
Megan Foley
Nicole McGinnis
Amber Neff
Rachele Perla
Kayla Schmitt
This festival is generously supported by the Friends of Freiburg University, New York.
Biographies
Photo: Joe Raffanti
Miro Magloire
Lauded as "refreshingly original" by Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times, choreographer Miro Magloire is the founder and artistic director of New Chamber Ballet. Magloire has created over one hundred ballets in his signature style for his company, all distinguished by sweeping elegance, a striking theatricality, and bold musical choices. "It's heartening to see work so focused on the meeting of dance and music,” Macaulay wrote in his Times review, “always you're aware of an intelligence at work that resists romantic cliché." Known for his visionary collaborations with musicians - singers, violinists, pianists and large ensembles - Magloire has a special affinity for cutting-edge contemporary music, which has led him to work with many of today's leading composers.
Alyssa Regent
Born in 1995, Alyssa is a New York-based composer originally from the islands of Guadeloupe. She has participated in several music festivals and programs such as the 77th Composer’s Conference, String Quartet Evolution at the Banff Center (Canada), New Music on the Point and the Lucerne Music Festival (Switzerland). In 2023, she was awarded the Ascap Morton Gould Young Composer Award. She studied composition with Suzanne Farrin, David Fulmer, Marcos Balter and George Lewis and is currently pursuing a DMA at Columbia University. She is inspired by what she calls “the unseen”, seeking to evoke passions and sensations that are deeply rooted in introspection. She harvests from the ethereal, the enigmatic intersections between music and spirituality. She loves to think about music as an exploration of the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the human experience.
Carl Christian Bettendorf
Carl Christian Bettendorf is a New York-based composer/conductor. Born in Germany, his teachers included Wolfgang Rihm and Tristan Murail, and he holds a doctorate from Columbia University. Currently, he serves on the composition faculty of Rowan University (NJ). He has received numerous awards, among them residencies in Paris, Bamberg (Germany), and at MacDowell as well as Fromm Foundation and Kaminsky Fund commissions. As a conductor, Mr. Bettendorf has worked with new-music ensembles in New York and abroad and was director of the Manhattanville and Bates College orchestras. His opera credits include Bard College and the Opéra national de Montpellier (France).
In cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music.
The events will be hosted by 1014 – space for ideas, Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Goethe-Institut, and Leo Baeck Institute - New York | Berlin. Presented by Thomas Mann House and curated by Thomas Mann Fellow Kai Hinrich Müller. This festival is generously supported by the Friends of Freiburg University, New York.
VENUE ACCESSIBILITY
Unfortunately, 1014 Fifth Avenue is in the process of being refurbished, and is not fully accessible in its current state. We apologize to our guests and kindly ask you to contact j.isaacs@1014.nyc if you need further information or assistance. We will do our best to enable everyone to join us.