Hiphopera? MATA Festival Closer Tonight at LPR
The MATA Festival’s final performance is 7:30 PM tonight (5/12) at Le Poisson Rouge.
It features the Metropolis Ensemble, premiering several new works commissioned by MATA, including Ryan Carter’s Skeumorphic Tendencies and The Rake, a hip-hoperatic retelling of Stravinky’s Rake’s Progress by Brad Balliett and Sequenza 21’s own Elliot Cole. Ticket information can be found on LPR’s site or via Metropolis here.
A Burst of Blinding Clarity from Metropolis Ensemble on Vimeo.
The word hiphopera makes me cringe. I’m fascinated by where and how fascinating genres like hip hop and contemporary dance can crossover with art/classical music, but it has to be done with utmost sensitivity. The elements that the styles rely on for effectiveness are so different that the balance has to be absolutely tight.
I think this is a great idea, but in the excerpt at the end the instrumental sounds a little flat to me, and the vocals don’t really provide the gravitas that you associate with great rap music. Would have loved to have seen this live though, were there any live elements in the instrumental?