randall wong

Reissued

2009-08-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Reissued: excerpts from Cleofide

FANFARE May/June
HASSE Cleofide: Highlights • William Christie, cond; Emma Kirkby (Cleofide); Agnès Mellon (Erissena); Randall K. Wong (Gandarte); Derek Lee Ragin (Poro); Dominique Visse (Alessandro); David Cordier (Timagene); Cappela Coloniensis (period instruments) • PHOENIX EDITION 178 (77:34)

This is a reissue of excerpts from the May 1986 complete recording of Hasse’s Cleofide issued on LPs by Capriccio (and later on four CDs, Capriccio 10193). I owned the original LPs and, although I was impressed by certain moments in the score that seemed to look forward to Haydn, overall I found the music more decorative and entertaining than truly inspired. This reduction, then, is particularly welcome as an introduction to a work that is more of a historical curiosity than a living opera worthy of revival.
At the time I purchased the set, only Kirkby, Mellon, and Visse were known quantities to me. William Christie was establishing himself in France, and the wonderful singing of the other countertenors—Wong, Ragin, and Cordier—was a revelation. Indeed, upon relistening to this recording I was as much if not more impressed with their singing, distinctly and individually colored and diverse in tonal variance, than I was with the women, much as I adore Kirkby and always will. Nowadays, we have a few countertenors who can produce work on this high of a level (particularly David Daniels, Andreas Scholl, and Philippe Jarousky), but for the most part the countertenor breed has declined into a sameness of hooty falsetto tone with no interpretive skill or variance.

Pride of place goes to Wong, who ironically gets one of the smaller parts in the opera. Considering its brevity, I was disappointed that Phoenix Edition did not include the short duet between Kirkby and Wong, which, for me, was one of the highlights of the set, but the inclusion of Wong’s aria, “Appena amor sen nace,” will undoubtedly stun and confuse modern listeners as much as it did me in 1987. Wong, like Russell Oberlin, does not sound like a countertenor. Oberlin sounded like a female mezzo-soprano. Wong sounds like a female soprano, so much so that I defy anyone not familiar with his voice to identify this aria in a blindfold test as being sung by a male. I wonder what became of him [HERE I AM, NOT QUITE DEAD YET- RW] His other recordings include music of Schütz (Helicon 1037), David Cope’s “Music Composed by Computer” (Centaur 2329), a superb album of Vivaldi cantatas (Helicon 1032), and Meredith Monk’s wordless opera Atlas (ECM 1491).
Ragin and Visse provide some of the most dramatically varied and musically interesting moments in the opera, particularly Visse’s splendid aria, “Cervo al bosco,” which features some incredibly adept valveless horn-playing by an unidentified musician, although the Kirkby/Mellon duet that concludes act I is also superb.
The booklet contains no texts, either in the original Italian or in translation, and like the other CDs in this series, no bios of any of the singers, but a full-page bio and photo of Nancy Horowitz, who took the cover photos for the series. Lynn René Bayley

Back to Flatland

2008-09-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Humanities Festival is presenting two performances of Flatland on Nov 8, 2008 at 3pm and 7pm. Performing with me will be Dina Emerson, and mathematician John Benson will be joining us for a post performance chat.
The theme of this year's festival is "Thinking Big." Presenting a show about multiple spacial dimensions on toy box stages is one of those bits of illogic that make being an "artist" so worthwhile.
(And this will be the first time one of my shows will be presented off the west coast!)
www.chfestival.org or 312-494-9309 for more information

new friend

2008-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Yuri the cat, age 10 months

Waiting for Godzilla

2008-03-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

WHO: Randall Wong & NOHspace CoPresents

WHAT: Waiting for Godzilla, A miniature opera in three parts. Premiere of the NEW FULL LENGTH VERSION!

WHERE: NOHspace, 2840 Mariposa Street, San Francisco 94110

WHEN: Friday May 2 thru Sunday May 11, Friday and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

TIX: $10-15 sliding scale

INFO:(415) 621-7978 www.theatreofyugen.org

Combining the mythically scaled with a Beckett-like absurdity, Waiting for Godzilla is an opera in the grand tradition, but performed on a toybox scale. The effect is as if one was watching (and listening) to a fantasy opera through the wrong end of a telescope.
Rather than an example of the cheesy kaiju (monster) movie genre, the original Gojira (1954) was a work of depth and gravity, a reflection of the horrors of the atomic bomb to a decimated post-war Japan. However, Godzilla’s rage and thirst for destruction are never explored.
Waiting for Godzilla is a “back story,” an imagining of the motivations behind the action. As an opera, the classic explanation (and for the lion’s share of the operatic genre) is thwarted love.
In the complete Godzilla canon there is only one possible object of affection: Mothra. Sometimes ally, more frequently foe, the protectoress of her people, she is the embodiment of light and counterpart to the kaiju’s darkness. But, as in most operas, a happy ending remains elusive.
Waiting for Godzilla is performed on miniature stages and screens by three singer/puppeteers, “virtual orchestra,” and live instruments. In a departure from marionettes or sock puppets, the show owes more to world of bunraku (in that the manipulators are always visible), or shadow theater. The various visual effects are drawn from “archaic” stagecraft of the Victorian theater.
Waiting for Godzilla was developed under the auspices of the Z Space Studio Theater, San Francisco. Funding was provided by the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grants, the American Composers Forum SUBITO grants, and James A. Aleveras.
Disclaimer: Waiting for Godzilla is a new musical theater work based on Godzilla as a cultural icon. The names Godzilla, Gojira, and Mothra are trademarked and copyrighted by Toho Co. Ltd. This work is not authorized by Toho Co. Ltd.; Randall Wong and NOHspace are not affiliates of Toho Co., Ltd.

SINGER/PUPPETEERS
Cecilia Englehart
Kevin Baum
Randall Wong

About NOHspace Presents & Theatre of Yugen
Theatre of Yugen, founded in 1978, is an experimental ensemble dedicated to the exploration of dramatic classics and the crafting of new works of world theater, stemming from a discipline of classical Japanese Noh drama and Kyogen comedy. Their venue, NOHspace, is also home to many Bay Area artists and performing groups. NOHspace Presents is a series produced by Theatre of Yugen that showcases emerging and established experimental and Asian-based performers, as well as visiting artists from Japan. For more information on Theatre of Yugen's current season and history, please visit www.theatreofyugen.org

Japan: DisneySea

2008-01-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

DisneySea- 4 BILLION dollars will buy you a lot of park!
Actually, I was pretty much floored by the technology involved. Better to spend money on parks than bombs.

Japan

2008-01-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

I'm lying in bed with bronchitis- what better time is there to go through photos from the most recent trip?
To the naked eye, Japan would seem to be a city very little different from any other western megacity; scratch below the surface and it's anything but.
Where else could you see Godzilla go shopping? I think he was looking at purses.

The Fantod Pack

2007-11-08T19:27:00.001-08:00

First published in the December 1966 issue of Esquire Magazine as "The Awful Vista of the Year: the Fantod Pack" (along with the equally bleak "Chthonian Christmas"). The Fantod Pack has long remained one of the most elusive of the Gorey canon. A limited and signed edition was published by Gotham Book Mart in 1995, predictably fetching collector's prices. The Fantod Pack has finally been made available to the general public by Pomegranate Publications.

What is the Fantod Pack? It's Edward Gorey's idiosyncratic take on tarot cards, but with a major difference: all possible fortunes foretold are dire. There are no happy endings and disaster lurks around every corner, or is hanging above your head, ready to crash down like a safe in a Warner Brothers cartoon.

Sweet dreams...

Codex Seraphinianus

2007-06-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

By now, much has been written about the Codex Seraphinianus. Despite the cult that has grown around the book, it is still an absolute masterpiece of an imagined(?) and eerily familiar world and lives up to its hype. Many attempts have been made to translate the script but, for me, that runs counter to the aesthetic and mystery of the unknown and unexplored.

The links with Borges, Calvino, Lear, et al, are well established. I also see a reflection of the 18th century European explorations of the Southern Hemisphere. Animal and plants were collected and catalogued in drawings and paintings. And take the case of the platypus- many European naturalists were convinced this was an elaborate taxidermical hoax. Is the platypus much less strange than the creatures collected in the Codex? Hardly.

Until recently this was an extremely expensive (as high as $1400 USD) and difficult book to obtain, but in 2006 it was reprinted in Italy and can still be purchased from some Italian booksellers. I've ordered a copy from www.internetbookshop.it who I've found utterly dependable when it comes to buying and shipping books from Italy. It closely follows the Amazon model so non-Italian readers easily negotiate the site. Now I'm going to own two copies; the new edition supposedly has "enriched and enlightened" additional material by the author, but that might just be press hype.
Two excellent Codex links:

Believer Magazine

John Coulthart: Another Green World

NEW webpage

2007-06-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.randall-wong.com

I've finally joined the bandwagon and am beginning to maintain my own webpage. Modern software has made it relatively easy for the technophobe; I didn't even own a color television until 1985.
Mixed in with the bits of legit information are "Easter Eggs"- hidden links to other sites, film clips- little things that caught my imagination.

Godzilla redux

2007-04-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

I've just received grants from the American Composers Forum and the Zellerbach Family Foundation to help fund the expansion of the original 20 minute Waiting for Godzilla to a full length show. We are are tentatively looking towards Jan 2008. At the Project Artaud run in 2005 I wasn't allowed to use fire; for this next production I'm hoping to release my inner pyromaniac.

mysterious glowing object #6

2007-04-17T01:35:00.000-07:00

I first saw these devices at the gift shop of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. They were sitting in their boxes, looking like typical educational toys. I discovered later that it's not the typical kiddie planetarium and there is no astronomical value to it. Instead, it projects slowly moving green laser stars, all different sizes and magnitudes, giving the illusion of depth. You can also add and adjust blue nebulous clouds. Rather pricey at about $200, they are consistently available from ThinkGeek.com. It will probably make an appearance in some future show as a design element, but for now I'll just stare at it. (photo from the Thinkgeek.com website)

yesterday or today?

2007-03-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is a Grandville caricature of music making in the 19th century, but it's probably even more applicable today. The triumph of steamed powered mechanical music isn't very different from the over-produced, over-engineered stuff we are getting now. And they retain about equal levels of authenticity. With all the current sequencers, sound software, looping, etc., engineering has supplanted music by voices and live instruments to provide that all pervasive wallpaper of sound we're bombarded with today.

Obviously, there is validity to work based on sampling and collage (e.g., artists like D J Spooky have created beautiful and provocative sound pieces). Without sampling technology, much of current music couldn't even exist, but so much of the stuff we do hear is techno hackwork.

"Pepper's Ghost"

2007-03-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

I've received a few inquiries as to how we made (apparently) three dimensional objects appear and disappear on stage. Given my aversion to (and the expense of) cutting edge technology, we used a much simpler 19th century stage illusion known as "Pepper's Ghost." This involves lighting and reflections off a sheet of angled glass (or in this case, acrylic), much like seeing your own reflection in a window while riding in a train or car. The largest modern use that I know of is at the Disney parks in the Haunted Mansion variants. The ballroom dancing ghosts aren't, as popularly believed, to be holograms; they are lit reflections of hidden animatronic dancers off a gigantic piece of sheet glass.

There are several good descriptions of the illusion on the net (especially in articles on building Halloween haunted houses), but the most thorough explanation and history is in Jim Steinmeyer's book, Two Lectures on Theatrical Illusion, Hahne, 2001.

Flatland video

2007-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Now on line: a 4.5 minute demo video of Flatland from live performances at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, January 2007. (It's not high resolution in order to keep the file size fairly small.) Video by Jed Lackritz and David Wilson.
Flatland video

Note from Jed: "The video may appear to be full of CGI or camera effects, but in fact the ghostly, geometric images you'll see are exactly what we in the audience saw."

new and improved

2007-02-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

Now, new and improved: I've added live performance audio excerpts from the
Household Opera

Alice songs

2007-02-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

Instrumental versions of four songs for the production of Alice in Wonderland at the Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco.
4 songs from Alice in Wonderland
Outdoor productions invariably present particular sound problems; here, I was able to experiment with the instrumentations, e.g., toy piano in the Lobster Quadrille.

the world of sound

2007-02-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

Even in the 19th century, people were alarmed by the ever growing presence and volume of music. This, before everyone had little white earbuds grafted onto their heads. Grandville (1803-1847): "An accident at the concert: an ophicleide bursts from too much harmony, peppering the listeners' ears with notes." (The ophicleide was the largest member of the keyed bugle family- now replaced by tubas.) Grandville also did a series of engravings of steam powered music and musicians. The fears of current performing musicians that they will be made obsolete by technology has historical precedence.

"Why is this guy singing like that?"

2007-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows of my work might be wondering, "I thought this guy was a singer- one of those male soprano, countertenor creatures." Well, yes, that's true. Here's a link to an eclectic collection of vocal mp3s:
songs & arias
It's a mixture of early and modern work by composers such as Vivaldi, Meredith Monk, and others. The selections will change from time to time.
For more information on the (admittedly esoteric) male soprano scene, you might check out Andrea Kopp's well researched
Male Soprano Page
Most of the repertoire is drawn from baroque soprano literature (castrated or otherwise), but several modern composers are writing for us again (e.g., Meredith Monk or Thomas Bloch). Keep it up, guys.

Flatland: sound files

2007-02-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

New link to the instrumental suite from Flatland
Flatland (instrumental suite)

mysterious glowing object #5

2007-02-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Groove Tube was a screen of translucent square boxes that was placed in front of your tv, resulting in ever shifting, unpredictable pixelations of color. In many ways like the dance floors of 70's discos, but much more subtle and hypnotic. They appear to no longer be in production but little caches of stock may still survive; I found one recently from a seller in Seattle who had stopped carrying them, but who had remembered they had 2 or 3 sitting around somewhere in storage. Similar effects can be achieved from toilet paper tubes and wax paper, but after all is said and done, they still look like just tubes and wax paper.

Waiting for Godzilla

2007-02-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

As in Beckett, we never fully see Godzilla (except as a shadow). Here's some music from the short puppet opera, Waiting for Godzilla. Many of the melodies came from the original Godzilla score by Akira Ikufube; in the case of "Shadow Godzilla," the music is based on Ravel. If you know what Ravel work, you'll understand the irony of this choice- it's a little joke.
Waiting for Godzilla Added bonus: a 1:25 min demo movie of tiny clips. The theory is, the jerkiness of the movement is part of its homemade charm, rather than a defect in the filming. (I wasn't running the camera so it wasn't my doing.)

Flatland at the MJT

2007-02-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

We just finished a successful five show run of Flatland at the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Culver City, CA (January 26-28, 2007). New visual and lighting effects were added since the initial June run last year. Some demo mp3s wil be posted soon; there are still aspects of modern computer tech that I find baffling. Maybe this show will have a future?

di Nostra Vita: sound files

2007-02-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

mp3 links to music from:
Di Nostra Vita

The Household Opera: sound files

2007-02-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

Finally- a new page of mp3 excerpts from
The Household Opera
plus: a one minute demo movie of scenes from the show- or maybe you could call it a "commercial." Yes, that's my voice on the soundtrack.

Flatland at Z Space Studio

2006-07-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

I believe it's safe to say that Flatland was a success. We are exploring the possibilities of remounting it in a more appropriate quasi theatrical setting. Until then, here are a couple of photos. mp3 samples of the music will be posted on my website in the near future.

Flatland: the miniature opera

2006-06-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

FLATLAND, a Romance of Many Dimensions
a miniature opera by Randall Wong
performed by Dina Emerson and Randall Wong

Saturday, June 10, 8pm
and now, by request, an additional showing:
Saturday, June 24, 8pm

presented by the Z Space Studio
131 10th St., 3rd floor
San Francisco, CA

Adapted from Edwin Abbott's celebrated 1884 geometric novel, FLATLAND is a story about the multiplicity of dimensions and the discovery of what exists beyond the seen. It's a two dimensional world peopled by geometric shapes, of squares and circles, who learn that their universe consists of more than a simple plane. Told via the medium of "Victorian" toy theater, this is an opera presented upon a large table top stage, as if watching a performance through the wrong end of a telescope.
An evolving work in progress, FLATLAND juxtaposes the grand and the microscopically absurd, and collides Victorian stagecraft with modern tech toys.

FLATLAND
Saturday, June 10, 8pm
and, by request, an additional showing:
Saturday, June 24, 8pm

free admission, donations accepted

for further information
rkw@neptune.net or 510-451-5551

moo

2006-04-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

What? You say the cows are mad?

il Parco dei Mostri di Bomarzo

2006-04-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Fascinating, beautiful and grotesque. For the complete story take a look at
il Parco dei Mostri di Bomarzo (The Park of Monsters at Bomarzo). It's been the subject of a novel by Mujica Làinez and an opera based upon the novel by Alberto Ginastera. It's another world, but a only day trip from Rome.a Láinez

Martian soup

2006-04-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, free gifts would come in food packages. Like the toys in Cracker Jack® boxes- not those cheesy fake tattoos or stickers, but real things made of metal or sickly colored plastics. Or the collectors cards that would come in cigarette packages- poisonous and educational. This is from a series of astronomy cards that accompanied Leibig's meat extract- I'm guessing this was something similar to bouillion. The connection between the planet Mars and beef stock seems tenous at best, but it's an attractive graphic, nevertheless.

i gatti di Roma

2006-04-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

A member of the cat colony at the Torre Argentina. They are surrounded by traffic, making them prisoners. An Alcatraz for kitties.

agnus dei

2006-04-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Rome; I had a couple performances of San Ignacio de Loyola (see previous postings). Not being a Catholic, I can appreciate the complex and spooky iconography that accompanies Catholicism, without the baggage. This is a gilt "Lamb of God" figure in the sacristy of Sant' Andrea al Quirinale. Either the lamb is embracing the cross or it's lying dead on top of it. Happy Easter.

mysterious glowing object #4

2006-04-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not really so mysterious, but definitely glowing. Sega's Homestar Planetarium is a small version of a full scale planetarium. It has a bright projecting light, optical lenses, the sky can rotate, shooting stars can be added. It's light years (!) beyond the ones I remember as a kid- sad, dim affairs with pinholes for the lights. They usually ended up looking like indistinct blobs on the ceiling. Or those glow in the dark stars which always dimmed out too quickly (and stars aren't green, anyway). Being a city dweller, I tend to forget how much is really out there at night. Sure, it's not the real thing but until I can get away from the light pollution it will have to do- and it does look pretty good. The big minus- it's expensive, as is typical of Japanese gadgetry. So far, the best source of these in the US is Ebay.

mysterious glowing object(s) #3

2006-03-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

"Now you can build futuristic cities... with LIGHT." Astrolite® was a set of clear plastic shapes and connectors that could be constructed over a multicolored glowing base. With it you could build self-illuminated Jetsons-like structures, glowing robots, space stations, etc. Astrolite pushed beyond the boundaries of "child's toys" in terms of its visual sophistication. Manufactured by Hasbro in 1969, these can frequently found on Ebay; since the only electrical element was a 40 watt lightbulb, most of them are still in fine working order.

Immortal Heart

2006-03-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

Immortal Heart by Amy Tan
directed by Delia MacDougall
TWO NIGHTS ONLY
Monday, March 13 & Tuesday, March 14 - 8 pm
Join Amy Tan at the March 14th performance!
PROJECT ARTAUD THEATER
450 Florida Street, San Francisco
TICKETS: (415) 437-6775
http://www.zspace.org/immortalhearttour.jsp#bonvoyage
I did the score and sound design for this show and think it came out very well. Musical excerpts:
Immortal Heart

personal travel tips

2006-03-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

1. The most valuable tools for travelling are: a flashlight, a Swiss Army knife, stickers for little kids, and a small bag of dried apricots.
2. When renewing a passport, the US Govt. website says you will have your new document within 6 weeks. This is a lie: it's more like 8+ weeks. You will have to call and upgrade to an expedited passport which costs about another $50. On the average, you will spend 45 minutes on hold anytime you want to speak to a human. For "hold" music you will be forced to listen to interminable loops of Vivaldi's The Seasons, it never varies. (If the money was going to help fund something like malaria eradication I wouldn't resent it quite so much, but we all know where the money is really going.)
3. Trying to use Umberto Eco as vacation reading will make you want never to read fiction again. Agatha Christie wrote the same novel 100 times.
4. Unless you were raised with it, you will not like durian. Try it.

mysterious glowing object #2

2006-03-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

This is the Aurora Clock, a design icon of the 70's, inducted into the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The infinitely changing colors are the result of birefractive/ polarizing films. The original incandescent bulbs have here been replaced by low heat producing LEDs. This clock sits in my bedroom where (I like to think) it helps to soothe my insomnia. My Aurora was restored and renovated by ChronoArt Inc. of Cotati, CA (www.chronoart.com).

upcoming performances

2006-03-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

ROME
March 25, 9pm at Sala Petrassi in the Parco della Musica
March 26, 5pm Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
San Ignacio de Loyola, an opera by Domenico Zipoli (and others).
A Jesuit opera written for the Paraguayan Indians in the mid 18th century
http://www.operasantignazio.com
This is one of those musical exhumations that turned out to be a lovely work. I'll be singing the role of the titular saint- it's a long way from my Berkeley atheistic roots. Hope to see you there.

mysterious glowing object #1

2006-03-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

This promotional item was to advertise Cymbalta®, an antipressant drug from Eli Lilly & Co. It glows and pulses in the dark, illustrating the pain centers of the body. It's almost worth the price of being clinically depressed to get cool, mysterious glowing objects like this. It makes a very comforting (if slightly spooky) night light.

a friend of mine

2006-03-03T11:23:00.000-08:00