I have had the honor and privilege of joining Ardea Arts and the Family Opera Initiative in developing the extraordinary children’s book The Three Astronauts for the stage as a contemporary American opera-musical. In the book, by world-renowned author, political philosopher and semiotician Umberto Eco, and by revered Italian visual artist Eugenio Carmi, an American, a Russian, and a Chinese astronaut take off separately in their rockets to Mars. Each wants to be the first; they all land at the same time. The story of how they evolve from enemies that do not share a common language into allies and then how they confront the ultimate “other” (the Martian) showcases the difficulty of communicating across cultural and language barriers and addresses a very important issue: How do we reach beyond ourselves? Click here for official booklet.
I am part of a team that includes Pulitzer prize-winning poets, best-selling authors, brilliant composers and astonishing musicians. The Martian language component of the libretto is what I am creating; it will be inspired by Piraha.