Count The Stars

A workshop presentation of a new chamber opera telling the story of the family that forms the core of the Abrahamic religious traditions
About this Event

Composer Fahad Siadat and writer Aaron Henne intertwine the Jewish and Islamic interpretations of a fundamental Biblical/Quranic origin story in a performance that explores the differences and similarities between the different narratives. The piece investigates the ways in which, amidst the uncertainty of living in an evolving world, people strive to transcend this Earthly plane and hope to create a more secure future for their descendants.

The performance will include a trio of musicians from Brightwork and feature the new music vocal ensemble HEX. This is an unstaged workshop performance.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Fahad Siadat, Composer

A “fanciful and downright utopian artist and thinker” (LA Times), Fahad Siadat explores sound as spiritual practice, creating interdisciplinary pieces as a vehicle for unveiling the mystery of our interconnected world. His music is described as “evoking wonder, desire, and terror” (Off Broadway) with narratives that “border on being a spiritual journey” (LA Dance Chronicle). and has been presented by the L.A. County Museum of Art, Broadstage, and Museum of Contemporary Art.

Working as a performer, composer, conductor, and curator, Fahad is the director of the Resonance Collective and the award-winning vocal ensemble HEX. His music has been performed in Europe, China, and across the United States.

www.fahadsiadat.com

Aaron Henne, Librettist/Stage Director

Aaron Henne is the artistic director of theatre dybbuk, an organization which combines scholarship and performance to explore contemporary issues. Works as writer/director with theatre dybbuk include exagoge, Dracula (Annotated), and The Merchant of Venice (Annotated) (Stage Raw Awards for Direction and Ensemble). Henne’s other plays include Sliding Into Hades (LA Weekly Awards for Playwriting and Production of the Year) and Mesmeric Revelation (SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Original Script). He has presented character creation workshops at Lucasfilm, Pixar, and DreamWorks. Henne served as faculty for the Executive M.A. Program in Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College.

https://www.theatredybbuk.org/team/aaron-henne

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, and by an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood.