Bang on a Can All-Stars & Gamelan Salukat
Music by Evan Ziporyn
Libretto by Paul Schick (based on the memoir of Colin McPhee)
Directed by Jay Scheib

 

classical strains and Balinese gamelan" —San Francisco Chronicle

An iconoclastic composer, an encounter with an untouched island, and
a love affair forged in the ecstasy of Indonesian gamelan music are the
subjects of A House in Bali, a bold new opera by Evan Ziporyn.
Based on the writings of composer Colin McPhee, this work tells the
true story of one man's sojourn to South Asia and the unlikely
cultural awakening that ensues.

 

As the alkaline sounds of a 16-member Balinese gamelan orchestra

intertwine with opera and Balinese singers, traditional dance, live video

feeds, and the throbbing post-minimalism of the Bang on a Can All-Stars,

McPhee and his cohorts—anthropologist Margaret Mead and painter

Walter Spies—are seduced by Balinese culture, opening up an island to the

West to share its music with the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A House in Bali is made possible by

generous support from the

NIB Foundation.  A House in Bali was

commissioned by Real Time Opera

with support from the LEF Foundation,

the Argosy Foundation, and 

The Byrne Foundation.