Sextuor: L’Origine des Especes
Glottalopticon presents Sextuor: L’origine des espèces by Georges Aperghis (b. 1945), a chamber opera for five singers and a cellist, composed in 1992. The work premiered in France in 1993, with texts by François Régnaut and Aperghis, as well as French translations of excepts from Darwin’s Origin of the Species, and Stephen Jay Gould’s Wonderful Life.
The work in its entirety centers on a narrative regarding the ideas of evolution and the beginnings of life, as well as a perpetual presence of extinction, while digressing into thematic individual solos, during which each performer steps outside of the narrative to present meditations linked symbolically to the story: ‘The Theorist’ – cellist, ‘Death’ – mezzo-soprano, ‘Birth’ – first soprano, ‘Cinderella’ – mezzo soprano, ‘Delivery – second soprano, ‘The Experience of Love’ – third soprano.
Glottalopticon is dedicated to presenting new, experimental, and rarely performed works that expand the traditional definition of opera. The series showcases performers, composers, and artists whose professional careers center on experimentation and collaboration. It offers San Diego audiences the opportunity to experience exceptional talent through a varied and eclectic range of music-theatre in the intimate and comfortable setting of the Space4Art outdoor stage and gallery spaces. Presented with minimal trappings in a casual environment, the audience is invited to experience this art form liberated from opera house expectations.