Dominick DiOrio

Klytemnestra: the original subversive female

an opera in five scenes

• Instrumentation: soprano, narrator, viola, and piano
• Completed: January 2011
• Duration: 50 minutes
• Texts: Original libretto by Misha Penton
• Video:
  • Klytemnestra - The Original Subversive Female

    Scene 2 - Deception-Attraction from Misha Penton on Vimeo.

• Audio:
  • Klytemnestra - Overture
    
    

    Recording made by Divergence Vocal Theater in the Lone Star College-Montgomery Recital Hall.

  • Klytemnestra - Scene 1: Obsession
    
    

    Recording made by Divergence Vocal Theater in the Lone Star College-Montgomery Recital Hall.

  • Klytemnestra - Scene 2: Deception / Attraction
    
    

    Recording made by Divergence Vocal Theater in the Lone Star College-Montgomery Recital Hall.

  • Klytemnestra - Scene 3: Weaving Aria
    
    Divergence Vocal Theater
    

    Misha Penton, soprano, librettist & artistic director
    Meredith Harris, viola; Kyle Evans, piano

  • Klytemnestra - Scene 4: Iphigenia's Song
    
    

    Recording made by Divergence Vocal Theater in the Lone Star College-Montgomery Recital Hall.

  • Klytemnestra - Scene 5: Catharsis
    
    

    Recording made by Divergence Vocal Theater in the Lone Star College-Montgomery Recital Hall.

• Score Preview:
• Gallery:
  • 

    Crowd for Premiere of Klytemnestra at Divergence Music and Arts
    April 2011

  • 

    With Misha Penton at Houston Public Radio for a taping of Klytemnestra on "The Front Row"
    June 2012

  • 

    Performance of Klytemnestra at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston
    with Misha Penton, Meg Brooker, Meredith Harris and Kyle Evans
    May 2012

• Press:
  • Wide open spaces - Nancy Wozny, Culture Map
  • Klytemnestra - St. John Flynn, Houston Public Radio: The Front Row
  • Klytemnestra Returns - Garrett Schumann, Sequenza21
  • Dominick DiOrio named "Best Composer 2011" by Houston Press - , Houston Press
  • Classical music isn't dying in Houston - Joel Luks, Culture Map
  • University of Houston and Divergence Vocal Theater Pool Energies with Agamemnon and Klytemnestra - Neil Ellis Orts, OutSmart Magazine
• Quotes:

  • Dominick’s music has a dramatic complexity and depth that really resonates with me. Klytemnestra’s music has an interwoven quality – web-like, veiled, cyclical, a masterful interplay between the parts. The music is deeply psychological and reflective of a Greek heroine.

    Misha Penton, artistic director of Divergence Vocal Theater, courtesy of Sequenza21 and Chris Becker

• Performance Notes:
  • The soprano, actor, and dancer are members of equal importance in the drama, all offering different psychological portrayals of Klytemnestra.
  • When the soprano speaks, she should always speak quasi-Sprechstimme, differentiating her tone from that of the actress. The dancer should never speak. Thus, we have three dimensions of Klytemnestra portrayed: dancer with movement and no text; actress with text and movement but no musical tone; and the soprano who intersects all three worlds.
  • The piano should preferably be a seven- or nine-foot grand, with lid open to half stick.
  • While the work is conceived in five scenes, the performance should feel seamless and without too-obvious sectional delineation. Do not linger for any great amount of time at these formal divisions.
• Performances:
  • April 15, 2011 (Premiere) 
    Divergence Vocal Theater - Divergence Music and Arts - Houston, TX
    Misha Penton, soprano, artistic director, concept, libretto
    Meg Brooker, dancer; Miranda Herbert, actor
    Meredith Harris, viola; and Kyle Evans, piano. 
    Costumes and stylist: Sarah Mosher and Serret Jensen. 
  • April 16, 2011 (Premiere)
    Divergence Vocal Theater - Divergence Music and Arts - Houston, TX
    Misha Penton, soprano, artistic director, concept, libretto
    Meg Brooker, dancer; Miranda Herbert, actor
    Meredith Harris, viola; and Kyle Evans, piano. 
    Costumes and stylist: Sarah Mosher and Serret Jensen.
  • June 10, 2012 - 2pm
    Divergence Vocal Theater - Museum of Fine Arts Houston - Houston, TX
    Misha Penton, soprano, artistic director, concept, libretto
    Meg Brooker, dancer; Shelley Auer, narrator
    Meredith Harris, viola; and Kyle Evans, piano. 
  • June 10, 2012 - 5pm
    Divergence Vocal Theater - Museum of Fine Arts Houston - Houston, TX
    Misha Penton, soprano, artistic director, concept, libretto
    Meg Brooker, dancer; Shelley Auer, narrator
    Meredith Harris, viola; and Kyle Evans, piano.
  • May 17, 2013
    Divergence Vocal Theater - Dallas Museum of Art - Dallas, TX
    Misha Penton, soprano, artistic director, concept, libretto
    Meg Brooker, dancer; Meredith Harris, viola; and Kyle Evans, piano. 
• Archive of Photos / Videos / Texts:

  Misha Penton's Website Archive for Klytemnestra