mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] by Gelsey Bell at Prototype Festival 2023
mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] by Gelsey Bell at HERE Mainstage, Prototype Festival 2023
Jan. 6-14, various performances. $35-$150.
Prototype Festival runs Jan. 5-15 at various venues in NYC.
Gelsey Bell is a singer as well as a composer, and her opera mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] has a title that can be taken two ways – it sees the morning of a new world, a post-human world where forests return and new species evolve. And it also mourns the disappearance of humans and their works. Bell’s own vocals are sometimes wordless and abstract, showing the influence of experimental vocalists like Meredith Monk. But her opera also has moments of familiar song-form, including a wry and playful excerpt called “Nothing Lasts Forever.” Gelsey Bell's opera mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] is part of the Prototype Festival; performances begin Jan. 6 and run through the 14th at HERE Mainstage.
