The Golden Ass (Experimental Opera)

The University at Buffalo Department of Music is pleased to present the golden ass, a chamber opera in one act, by Tiffany M. Skidmore, which will be performed on Wednesday March 13 and Thursday March 14, 2024 in UB’s Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall. An abstract setting of the Cupid/Psyche myth, this performance features the Slee Sinfonietta under the direction of guest conductor David Cubek; guest artist Nina Dante as Psyche, Tiffany Du Mouchelle as Venus, and guest artists Adam Zahller as Cupid and Justin Anthony Spenner as Father; as well as a chorus of UB student performers. The opera consists of 9 scenes: the myth of Psyche and Cupid, no stars, the metamorphosis, the Psyche/Cupid miniatures, no. 2, shuang xi, the Psyche/Cupid miniatures, no. 1, mais mes mains, this immoderate translation, and grow old. Tickets are $10. Advance tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com/center-for-21st-century-music-the-buffalo-new-york-03-13-2024/event/00005F02D7E78FAA (March 13) and https://www.ticketmaster.com/center-for-21st-century-music-the-buffalo-new-york-03-14-2024/event/00005F02D7EA8FAF (March 14), and at the Center for the Arts Box Office Tuesday-Friday from 12-6pm, or at the Slee Hall box office within the hour before concert time. UB students with a valid ID are entitled to one complimentary ticket (to this and all UB Music Department concerts), and may pick up their complimentary ticket right before the performance. The golden ass (2017-2020) is a modern setting of the Cupid/Psyche myth that focuses primarily on the relationship between Psyche and her jealous mother-in-law, Venus, and both their relationships to society. Psyche is a dissociating young girl (in no stars), a reluctant new bride (in shuang xi or “double happiness”), and both the daughter of one man and wife of another who no longer value their partners as their partners begin to age (grow old). Venus encapsulates her own concerns about aging in mais mes mains (or “but my hands”). Society watches Psyche’s life unfold—at times silently failing to speak on her behalf, while at other times, amplifying the voices around her. The opera was featured as part of the Ipse New Music Gallery and was developed as the result of a competitive award from the Jerome Fund for New Music, a McKnight Fellowship for Composers, and a grant from the American Composers Forum. In an interview from 2018, Tiffany Skidmore stated that she decided to work on a new version of the golden ass “with a significant focus on psychological aspects of Psyche’s experiences of traumatic events and her relationships with the other characters of the story – particularly as those characters age and power dynamics begin to shift.” Nina Dante, the soprano vocalist starring as Psyche, described the work with high regard: “…the slow moving textures, the glacial tempi, the galactic solemnity, the heavy emotions felt at a distance…like watching a star explode through a telescope.” “If you are curious, if you like avant-garde, if you enjoy unusual music, you may find this challenging but enjoyable as well.” (Rob Dunkelberger, February 2020)

Event Links

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2269688-0

Facebook: https://go.evvnt.com/2269688-2

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