
The Lord of Cries
You have been asked once.
He lands tonight, on his ship of ghosts, under the scudding skies. His high, thin voice – Ecstasy and ruin! Dracul, Dracula: the Lord of Cries! Deny him not his place.
John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s exciting new work is a juxtaposition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Bacchae by Euripides. The result is a searing account that points to the monster inside ourselves, not society. This world premiere production is led by director James Darrah who has created a dream-like realm that will frighten and excite.
Synopsis
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Act I
Prologue: Taking the Mask. Dionysus wrought bloody vengeance on ancient Thebes. If he must now come again, to forgetful Londoners, in 1897, what mask should he don?
Chorus: London in Chaos. A scourge is upon the city: girls are drawn spellbound out of sleep to meet three weird Sisters, returning home with wounded throats. Doctor John Seward, leader of Carfax Asylum, has imposed martial law; and all women found outside at night have been arrested–including the Sisters, who offered no resistance, only the refrain, “The Lord of Cries! Deny him not his place…”
Jonathan in Madness. Jonathan Harker, sent by Seward to meet a “petty boyar” claiming a deed to Carfax Abbey, has returned with a shattered mind. His wife Lucy Westenra is horrified to find him raving about a “Lord of Cries.” Doctor van Helsing gives her Jonathan’s travel diary. Seward promises to end this madness (which includes his own secret passion for Lucy), appealing to his father’s portrait for the fortitude to “repress! restrain!”
Montage: Dreams, diary, dispatch. | In a nightmare, an exotic prince dared Lucy to “Ask for what you want….” as did the three Sisters whom Jonathan met at the Count’s castle. | The Greek ship Semele blows aground after a monstrous storm–with only the captain’s corpse aboard.| Jonathan has a vision of the Lord of Cries.
The Stranger in Chains. The Count, like the Sisters, has been arrested unresisting. He assures Seward that Dionysus alone holds the right to the Abbey, warning: “He has asked you twice.” Lucy enters, and van Helsing exits, urging Seward to “Give him what he wants.” Alone together, Seward and Lucy read Jonathan’s diary in which the Sisters bid him “ask it in…” Jonathan’s words become Seward’s own, and the childhood friends can scarcely suppress their mutual desire. The walls tremble, and Dionysus appears in his true form at last. Madwomen break loose and tear the Asylum down.
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Act II
Dialogue in the Ruins. Carfax is shattered, and those who would rescue the inmates lose themselves in a mapless maze. The Sisters praise the beauty of the ruins and, when Seward enters his office, ask a third time whether he will acknowledge the Stranger’s power. They seduce, he resists — and finally asks for what he wants, which is to stop the Stranger. They tell him he must behead the god in his animal form, becoming, briefly, a beast himself.
Lucy and the Wolf-prince. In her chambers Lucy tends to Jonathan. Hearing wolf-cries, she looks out the window to find her dream-prince. He asks her, for the third time, to ask him in. She considers, but demurs. She notices he casts no reflection in the glass. He doubts her happiness and challenges her morality. He provokes her to face herself; inflamed, she invites him inside.
Vengeance of the Lord of Cries. Van Helsing recounts Seward’s wild night ride, and Seward carries in what he believes is the Count’s severed head. Van Helsing gradually talks him out of his trance and he realizes what he has done. Dionysus offers to show everyone his reflection, and the ruins become glittering mirrors. The chorus mourns Seward’s fate and warns the spectators of the wrath of the god.
Artists
Kathryn Henry
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Past Seasons:
Lucy, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Anthony Roth Costanzo
David Portillo
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Past Seasons:
Jon Harker, The Lord of Cries (SFO Debut), 2021
Jarrett Ott
Hometown: Pen Argyl, PA
SFO Debut:
Maximilian, Candide, 2018
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2015, 2016
Past Seasons:
John Seward, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, 2019
Harlequin, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Matt Boehler
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Past Seasons:
Van Helsing, The Lord of Cries (SFO Debut), 2021
Kevin Burdette
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
This Season:
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville
SFO Debut:
Mr. Scattergood, The Last Savage, 2011
Past Seasons:
Correspondence, Lord of Cries, 2021
Quince, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Voltaire/Pangloss/Cacambo/Martin, Candide, 2018
Major-domo, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Frosch, Die Fledermaus, 2017
General Polkan, The Golden Cockerel, 2017
Leah Brzyski
Hometown: Rochester Hills, MI
Past Seasons:
Agave, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Rachel Blaustein
Hometown: Olney, MD
Past Seasons:
Autonoe, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Megan Moore
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Past Seasons:
Ino, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Robert Stahley
Hometown: Groveland, MA
Past Seasons:
Captain, The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2019 and 2021
Johannes Debus
Hometown: Berlin, Germany
SFO Debut:
Jenůfa , 2019
Past Seasons:
The Lord of Cries, 2021
James Darrah
Adam Rigg
Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko
Pablo Santiago
Hometown: Chiapas, Mexico
Pat Seasons:
The Lord of Cries (SFO Debut), 2021
Adam Larsen
Mark Grey
Hometown: Petaluma, CA
SFO Debut:
Doctor Atomic, 2018
Past Seasons:
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
This Season:
Chorus Master, all productions
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
Anderson Nunnelley
Hometown: Traverse City, MI
Past Seasons:
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Prelude Talk: The Lord of Cries
Another Look: The Lord of Cries
The Lord of Cries
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