Earth 2.0 • Program Note
The journey of Earth 2.0 began a couple of years ago with a call from Keith Cerny and Robert Spano to create a showcase for a young countertenor named Key’mon Murrah ... a voice I hadn’t heard at that time. They were terribly excited about his extraordinary gift – and when I heard him sing, I understood COMPLETELY and was fully on board: it was one of those jaw-dropping moments when you know you’re in the presence of a once-in-a-generation inspirational talent. I was also touched and inspired to think of writing for Key’mon and the FWSO and to collaborate for the first time with the incredible conductor Robert Spano!
They requested something bordering an opera and a massive song cycle – to last 40 minutes. But we couldn’t ask Key to sing for 40 minutes. I had just collaborated with choreographer and director Jawole Zollar on my 10th opera – INTELLIGENCE. So I asked her if we could collaborate again – and she loved the idea! ...But what to create for Key’mon? He suggested something based on David & Goliath – a story that is particularly meaningful to him. There are so many of those stories – but what is the ultimate for today? D&G inspired Spano to program Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony on the second half. No pressure.
So I reached out to my friend Anita Amirrezvani – the brilliant author of “The Blood of Flowers” and “Equal of the Sun” – and we decided to collaborate. She suggested that perhaps the ultimate D&G story today is between Earth and Humanity ... And so Earth 2.0 was born. Key’mon portrays Earth – alerted by the birds that the situation is getting dire. Earth reflects on all its beautiful creatures and creations – reminds us that humans used to praise and give thanks to the planet ... nurture it and bring gifts ... sing songs of praise. Now suddenly we all think Earth works for us. Earth exclaims “What a quandary!” – and proceeds to go on a deeply emotional journey, ending with a warning to humanity: “Remember, there’s more to life than you” ... One could imagine Cher singing that line in a rockin’ breakup song! ...
Anita’s libretto is beautiful, concise, and deeply poetic. Jawole’s choreography and her beautiful dancers remind us of the passion, fun, creative, and destructive power of humanity ... and Key’mon magically embodies the breadth, light, beauty, and heaviness of our complex planet. The score is filled with plaintive lyricism, playful joy, sorrow and angular, explosive struggles ...