RWO – Rumpelstiltskin

RWO - Rumpelstiltskin

Date/Time
May 11, 2018
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Location
124 Bank Street Theater
124 Bank St
New York, NY


Rhymes With Opera presents Rumpelstiltskin a new work by George Lam and Ruby Fulton.

Rumpelstiltskin
Music by Ruby Fulton and George Lam
Libretto by John Clum
May 11 – 19, 2018

Overview
To celebrate their 10th Anniversary of creating and producing brand-new chamber operas, Rhymes With Opera chose one of the oldest fairy tales in western culture. The story of Rumpelstiltskin, collected by the Brothers Grimm, dates as far back as the 17th century. A mysterious creature makes a bargain with a young woman to grant her the power to turn ordinary straw into gold. In return, Rumpelstiltskin asks for her first-born child. When she refuses, Rumpelstiltskin gives her a seemingly impossible way out: “find my name, and you may keep your child…”

In this production, themes of greed, bargaining, magic, and unconditional love combined with elaborate costumes, queer drag culture, and loud makeup transform a very old story into a new, modern opera, inspired by the San Francisco performance troupe, The Cockettes. The fantastical title character of Rumpelstiltskin grapples between the two sides of their personality, and was portrayed simultaneously by two singers. In fact, this unique take on Rumpelstiltskin’s duality was very much reflected in the opera’s creative process: the music was a unique collaboration by Rhymes With Opera co-artistic directors Ruby Fulton and George Lam, with an original libretto by Chicago-based John Clum.

This world premiere production of Rumpelstiltskin featured Rhymes With Opera ensemble members Elisabeth Halliday (Woman/Rumpelstiltskin), Bonnie Lander (Girl/Queen), Robert Maril (Man/Rumpelstiltskin), and guest artist Timothy Stoddard (Witch/Father/King). Rumpelstiltskin’s production team included Laine Rettmer (director), Luke Miller (choreographer), Ryan Leitner (costume designer), and Conrad Chu (conductor) who led the Rhymes With Orchestra.