Bondari

I’m typing this post from my hotel in Athens, Greece, where I am unbelievably able to pick up a wireless internet connection (with only one bar of signal!). Two years ago, when I made my first trip to Greece, I wrote a post right before I left. This time, I’m a little behind.

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.

If you are in the Lawrence area, I recommend coming to see the play “Keely and Du.” It’s a controversial play that explores the gray areas of… well, you’ll just have to come find out for yourself.

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.

A I mentioned in my last post, I’m working on some music for a play my wife is directing at KU called “Keely and Du.” Tonight I finished the music for the very end, when the lights go down.

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.

Click the Play button to listen:

As many of you know, I was in Greece this past summer, writing music for a production of “The Bacchae.” We first performed this play in as part of the Oiniades Theatre Festival back in July.

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.

Classes at KU resume again tomorrow, which means that I begin teaching music theory again, plus taking several of my own classes. Henceforth begins my second year of Latin study, plus classes in conducting and Renaissance history. Composition is always on the forefront as well. I have several goals, a couple of which are to finish two movements of a string quartet, plus begin work on a commission by Gabriella Frank. Now that all the parts for “Persepolis” are finished, I feel like I can concentrate on creative tasks rather than tedious, repetitve part extraction!

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After over 24 hours of travel, we made it back home from Greece. After our show closed (which was a success), we had a lot of free time. There was time to go to the beach, drink coffee, have long dinners, spend several days on the island of Kathalonia, and most importantly, extract parts for “Persepolis.” More on that shortly.

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Greetings from Katohi, Greece. I found a few minutes to spare in an internet café, so here is an update. I finished all the music for the production a couple weeks ago, and for the past month we’ve been in the midst of rehearsals for The Bacchae.

Tomorrow, we perform the show in the ancient theatre here (Oiniades). Our production is just over an hour in duration, and this includes about 25 minutes of music. I look forward to the show, and feel it will be a success.

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Tomorrow morning Kat and I take off for Greece. It will be a looong series of flights, but a couple of days from this posting, I should be in Athens. We’ll stay there for a few days, and then it’s off to Katohi, which will be the main location of our stay.

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