Empire and Au Pair
Description:
Two acts from Robert Ashley’s spoken word opera, Atalanta (Acts of God) were performed: Empire (1991) and Au Pair (1982–87).
Presented in Ashley’s signature speech-song style, the performances featured improvised vocal readings accompanied by an electronic soundtrack, mixed and processed in real time.
Empire is an allegory examining the rise of one of America’s largest corporations, Heinz, and the monopoly and proliferation of tomato soup. Both the music and libretto were composed by Robert Ashley.
Au Pair tells the story of a young European woman who comes to America to care for the children of affluent families, revealing the social and cultural divides that emerge. The music was composed by Robert Ashley, with libretto by Jacqueline Humbert.
Video documentation available upon request.
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Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.