Maren of Vardø

A CCOT CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Synopsis

Inspired by the true story of Maren Olsdatter, a twelve year-old girl from Vardø, Norway. In 1663 she was accused of dalliances with the devil, only a few years after her mother was burned at the stake in one of the most devastating witch hunts in history. Legend has it, when told that she would continue to be tortured unless she confessed to witchery, Maren claimed that she had visited hell, and was given a tour by Satan himself. This opera uses Maren’s supposed journey to the depths as its starting place, interpreting her character as an adolescent immediately entranced by Satan in his satyr (half-human, half-horse) form.

About the Creators

Jeff Myers (Composer)

The music of Jeff Myers has been called “Striking…and harmonically rich” by the New York Times and “…brilliant and powerful…” by The Classical Voice of New England. Myers’ work has been performed by such prestigious ensembles as the New York City Opera, L’Orchestre National de Lorraine, American Composers Orchestra, Jack Quartet at Darmstadt, The Library of Congress and Merkin Hall as well as by PRISM Saxophone Quartet, as well as The New York Youth Symphony, and the American Lyric Theater and more. Myers’ music draws on preexisting musical works, styles and genres, as well as visual art and natural phenomena. Filipino kulintang music, works by M.C. Escher, overtone music, folk music and geographical narratives have been a source for inspiration.

His operatic collaboration with writer and filmmaker Royce Vavrek yielded the one-act opera The Hunger Art, based on Kafka’s "The Hunger Artist" and the Adam and Eve story. He is currently working on a new opera with Mr. Vavrek based on Norwegian witch trials (Maren of Vardø) which has been presented in part by New York City Opera and in workshop format with the Yale Institute for Music Theater. His second opera Buried Alive (libretto by Quincy Long) was commissioned by American Lyric Theater and will be workshopped with orchestra this November in New York. In addition to the operas, Myers also has two chamber works coming up: Timetable Percussion will premiere his trio Binalig in New York this October, and Hutchins Consort East will perform a new string ensemble work early next year.

Myers has received awards, commissions and grants from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, as well as fellowships from the Aspen Festival, Tanglewood, Festival Acanthes, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and from institutions and private funds such as the Jerome Foundation, American Music Center, Puffin Foundation, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust, the Anna Sosenko Trust, and The Fromm Foundation. His music has been heard at Carnegie Hall, Library of Congress, Kimmel Center, Darmstadt, Gaudeamus, Symphony Space, Arsenal, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Tenri Cultural Institute to name but a few.

For more information check out Jeff Myers' website.

Royce Vavrek (Librettist)

Royce Vavrek is a multi-disciplinary narrative artist from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, whose work has been hailed as “wildly dramatic and… exhilarating” by The New York Times and “smart, crisp, [and] witty” by See Magazine. Vavrek has collaborated with diverse artists on a wide variety of opera and musical theater libretti including Dog Days (New York City Opera VOX; Zankel Hall/Carnegie Hall) and Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera (Bard Conservatory; New York City Opera VOX) both with composer David T. Little; The Hunger Art (American Lyric Theater, Center City Opera Theater, Burning Bayreuth) and Maren of Vardø (Center City Opera Theater’s Creative Development Projects; New York City Opera VOX) with Jeff Myers; Unsaid in a Field of Wildflowers with Kristin Hevner (Remarkable Theater Brigade/Carnegie Hall); and Nora at the Altar-Rail with Jay Anthony Gach (American Lyric Theater, Boston Metro Opera). Upcoming projects include Song from the Uproar with Missy Mazzoli (Beth Morrison Productions at The Kitchen), Yoani with Paola Prestini (21c Liederabend), The Bear Dance with Nick Martin (Alberta Foundation for the Arts Grant), 1882 with Mark Baechle (Swiss Society of New York), I [Verbed] with Matt Marks (21c Liederabend), The Beach with Andrew Gerle (New York City Opera VOX), Angel’s Bone with Du Yun (Carnegie Hall/Zankel Hall), Last Nightfall with David T. Little (21c Liederabend) and The Wild Beast of the Bungalow with Rachel Peters. Artistic Director of opera-theater company The Coterie, founded with soprano Lauren Worsham. B.F.A: Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University, Montreal; M.F.A: Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program, NYU. A Resident Artist in American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program, Royce was commissioned by ALT to write …of the Flesh with Jay Anthony Gach as part of The Poe Project by ALT in 2010.