annunciation

Synopsis

Lily has been wronged, sought justice, and been denied. At the end of her rope, she turns to a book of spells. At first she believes she has been unsuccessful, until a Stranger appears claiming to be able to offer her vengeance...

Working quickly under the guidance of Garnett Bruce, Tony Arnold, and Oscar Bettison, Olivia and I wrote these two scenes, working closely with singers SoJung Lim and Joshua Scheid. I tailored the vocal writing to the strengths of our collaborators. We had a blast.

The pitch material is inspired by glass, struck and then shattered. As is the case for moments of trauma, the moment of breaking tears through time, shards ever present, shards tearing through, permeating the experience of the survivor, and now, the listener.

CW* sexual assault and violence

Olivia Pepper (any pronouns) is a writer, theorist and nondenominational artist who currently resides in rural New Mexico.

Olivia has dabbled abundantly in life and has been at times a film producer, a medicinal herb farmer, an astrologer, a journalist, a labor organizer, a theatre teacher, a line cook, and all kinds of other things.

Mostly, though, Olivia is a collection of exhausted cells, weary bones, good stories, bad jokes and oddly sentimental pieces of pop culture trivia, mostly about Star Trek or queer poets of the 1920s. 

This collaboration with David is Olivia’s first foray into the world of opera, but it hopefully won’t be the last.

We would be thrilled to find a way to bring the rest of this story into being and to share it with the world.

Please reach out with any inquiries.

Olivia and I first met in 2009 in Austin, TX. Our first collaboration premiered in 2016 as part of the Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Art Song concert produced by One Ounce Opera. (I recommend “i. twisting your fingers” and “iii. as you wait”.)

Here is the cast for the original recording of the opera:

SoJung Lim - Lily, a young woman who has known trauma
Joshua Scheid - The Stranger, a mysterious figure, summoned by Lily
Mira Huang, Anna Carolina Peleas, and Maddi Ohrbach - Vox Angeli, lesser angels, empathetic, and growing increasingly alarmed

Kirkland Moranos, flute
Mika Judge, horn in F
Guhan Peng, piano
Mae Bariff, violin
Brian Anderson, viola
David C. Adams, electric guitars and electronics (added in post)
Eion Lyons, contrabass

Directed by Garnett Bruce
Conducted by Sam Hollister
Mixed by David C. Adams
Mastered by David Sexton

Musical Work and Recording ©2021 David Carlton Adams, All Rights Res.