Gotham Chamber Opera, in collaboration with the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, presents the U.S. Premiere of The Raven as part of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, on May 28, 2014 at 7:30pm and May 30 and 31, 2014 at 8pm, at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 West 59th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues), New York City. Tickets are $30-$175 and will be available at www.ticketcentral.com or 212-279-4200. For more information visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.  

With music by Toshio Hosokawa, and based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, the creative team for The Raven consists of Neal Goren, conductor; Luca Veggetti, stage director/choreographer; Clifton Taylor, scenic and lighting designer; and Peter Speliopoulos, costume designer.

Toshio Hosakawa’s The Raven, a monodrama for mezzo-soprano and twelve instrumentalists, will be given its U.S. Premiere at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater as part of the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, an 11-day exploration of today’s music scene by more than 50 contemporary and modern composers from 12 countries as curated by Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic as well as by partners on and off the Lincoln Center campus. Directed and choreographed by Luca Veggetti, The Raven will star Fredrika Brillembourg in the role of the Narrator and will be danced by Alessandra Ferri, former prima ballerina assoluta with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007).

Based on the narrative poem by Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven tells the story of a man visited by a raven after the death of his lover. To all the questions the man asks, the raven only answers, 'nevermore'. After drifting through states of different emotions, the narrator, still burdened with the loss of his beloved, finally lays down in the raven's shadow, his soul trapped and lifted 'nevermore'.