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TITAS PRESENTS
THE DALLAS DEBUT OF RAVENSHEAD

USA TODAY'S 1998 OPERA OF THE YEAR,
FEATURING THE PAUL DRESHER ENSEMBLE

"A tour de force�I could never have prepared myself for such an experience."

-The New York Press

TITAS is proud to present the Dallas debut of the avant-garde opera Ravenshead, USA Today's 1998 Opera of the Year, on Saturday, April 1 at 8 p.m. at McFarlin Auditorium. This modern opera for solo voice by composer Steve Mackey and librettist Rinde Eckert is directed by Tony Taccone, and performed by Mr. Eckert and the Paul Dresher Ensemble Electro-Acoustic Band. This "opera with the energy of rock music" will be in Dallas for one night only and will be one of the most unique music events TITAS has ever presented.

Ravenshead is based on the true story of Donald Crowhurst (called Richard Ravenshead in the opera), a flamboyant British electronics manufacturer who convinced himself and others that he would win the inaugural 1968 Golden Globe race -- a non-stop, solo sail around the world. Eight months after the start of the race, his trimaran Teignmouth Electron was discovered in the mid-Atlantic structurally intact with no one on board. Through his log books it was discovered in that, after a series of blunders that put him irrevocably off course, Crowhurst concocted a plan to hide in the Atlantic's seldom navigated southern waters and then sprint to the finish as his competitors rounded Cape Horn. When faced with the likelihood that his deception would be discovered, Crowhurst's already fragile psyche began to unravel and it is believed that after 243 days at sea he simply stepped off his boat mid-ocean. Ravenshead presents a timeless re-examination of mythology, ideology and the nature of "truth."

Composer Steve Mackey wrote String Theory for the Kronos Quartet, and was featured as one of the San Francisco Symphony's "American Mavericks" series of concerts. Librettist Rinde Eckert is a classically trained singer known for his remarkably flexible and inventive singing voice, with a full 3 1/2 octave range. The Express News in San Antonio called him "an extraordinary physical actor, an ingenious mime and a brilliant impersonator." He has appeared in numerous multimedia theater pieces with the Paul Dresher Ensemble and the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.

Formed in 1984, the Paul Dresher Ensemble is known for its series of new operas "The American Trilogy,� which includes Slow Fire, Power Failure and Pioneer. In 1993 Dresher formed the Elecro-Acoustic Band, a chamber group that addresses the needs of contemporary composers both in its use of recent advances in music technology and its ability to perform music based in the classical tradition, rock & roll, jazz and world music.

Essential Information:

Tickets ($10-$52) for Ravenshead are available at:

TITAS Box Office
3101 North Fitzhugh, Suite 301
Dallas, TX.
214-528-5576
fax 214-528-1026

as well as at area ETM Machines

For more information on cultural events like this from Titas, go to http://www.titas.org

Edited by Kerry Cohen

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