Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt
February 29 & March 2, 7:30pm
March 3, 2:00pm
York Theatre
Music by Missy Mazzoli
Libretto by Royce
Vavrek and Missy Mazzoli Presented under license by G. Schirmer, Inc., copyright owners
Marion Newman, Isabelle Eberhardt
Christina Demeo, soprano
Katie Fraser, mezzo-soprano
Emma Jang, soprano
Kiho Sohn, tenor
Jason Somerville, bass
Paolo Bortolussi | Flute/piccolo
AK Coope | Clarinet/bass clarinet
Michael Kolk | Electric Guitar
Mark Haney | Double Bass
Frances Armstrong | Piano
Photo credit: Diamond’s Edge Photography
Isabelle Ebeberhardt (1877-1904): explorer, nomad, journalist, novelist, Sufi. A passionate romantic and one of the most adventurous women of her era or any other, Isabelle Eberhardt was unique. At age twenty, after the death of her mother, brother and father, she left her life in Switzerland for a nomadic and unfettered existence in the deserts of North Africa. She traveled extensively through the desert on horseback, often dressed as a man, relentlessly documenting her travels through detailed journals. At age twenty-seven Isabelle drowned in a flash flood in the desert.
Song from the Uproar uses texts inspired by her writing to immerse the audience in the surreal landscapes of Isabelle’s life; she describes the death of her family, the thrill of her arrival in Africa, her tentative joy at falling in love, the elation of self-discovery and the mystery of death.
Gordon Gerrard, Music Director and Conductor
Ann Hodges, Stage Director
Wladimiro A. Woyno Rodriguez, Co-designer, Set and Projections
Katayoon Yousefbigloo, Co-designer, Set and Projections
Alexandra Caprara, Lighting Designer
Richard Berg, Audio Designer
Alaia Hamer, Costumes
Livona Ellis, Movement Director
Collette Berg, Stage Manager
Frances Armstrong, Principal Pianist and Repetiteur
Anika Vervecken, Titles
Debbie Courchene, Production Manager
Victoria Wilcott, General Manager
Murray Paterson Marketing Group, Marketing & Publicity
Estella Lum, Graphic Design & Program Book