joão macdowell

Luigi Porto talks about Plastic Flowers in the Italian Press

joao — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:52:27 +0000

http://farespettacolo.it/2013/05/20/intervista-a-luigi-porto-compositore-e-sound-designer/

Plastic Flowers in the Brazilian Press

joao — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:47:14 +0000

Correio Brasiliense, December 17th, 2012. Mariana Moreira:

Check:
Correio Brasiliense - Brasilia
Arte Institute - Sao Paulo, Lisbon

More about the opera: plasticflowerstheopera.com

Luigi Porto and Plastic Flowers in the Italian Press

joao — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:17:36 +0000

More about the opera: plasticflowerstheopera.com

Plastic Flowers: CDs are here!

joao — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:35:42 +0000

Limited edition of Plastic Flowers physical CD has arrived from factory.

These CDs are exclusive for our backers and as companion to the Vocal Score Book. A limited number only has been made available for purchase through bandcanp.

Plastic Flowers – Recording Available

joao — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 06:42:55 +0000

Thank you to all who came to the concert première of Plastic Flowers.
Thank you to all who could not come but were present in spirit, with their positive energy.
Thank you specially to all our backers who made this production possible.

It was a wonderful journey to write, rehearse and record this music.
The full recording is now available for listening and purchase.

Please check:

Thank you to the wonderful team who collaborated on this project:

Abby Powell: Penelope
Han Chen: Piano
Luigi Porto: Live Electronics
Alexandra Filipe: Production

We had some amazing moments in this première:

Left to right: Han Chen, Abby Powell, Luigi Porto.

David Del Tredici, Jeff Roth and Peter Schepper, before concert.

Preview at David Del Tredici’s residence.

Plastic Flowers – Concert Premiere at Baruch College.

A limited edition of the physical CD is already in the press and will soon be available for backers and as a companion to orders of the vocal score book.

Plastic Flowers – MP3 of Premiere Available for Backers!

joao — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:10:10 +0000

We posted a link to the audio recording from last night’s première. Exclusive to our Kickstarter backers.

The Penelope Factory. Photo by Alexandra Filipe

We are all very happy about the performance last night.

Thank you all who came, and those who are supporting us in the distance, you are fantastic!

Awesomeness Thank you to Abby Powell, Han Chen, Luigi Porto, Alexandra Filipe, Simona DeFeo, George J Lee, Junia Flavia d’Affonseca, Britney Crosby, David Del Tredici, Samuel Zyman, Angellos Ioannis Malefakis, Neil Rynston.

I was very happy with the performance, it was emotional, it was real. The performers displayed their expertise at a very high artistic level. I have heard the recording all the way through and I am glad to be able to share it. It is a picture, true to the moment.

Today we can fix anything in the studio, any song can be photoshop-perfect, we will do that for you. Right now this audio is about the perfect emotion of the moment. In a way this has something to do with the theme of the opera. This mp3 file is like a garden flower, it may not last forever, but it made me very happy today. I want to share that.

Joao

More at: www.plasticflowerstheopera.com

Plastic Flowers on Kickstarter!

joao — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:12:21 +0000

This is just the first step, after the music is all recorded and fully revised on the score book, then we will pursue the fully staged version.

A staged version of Plastic Flowers will be a lot of fun, we want to make it into an immersion experience. As in an art installation, and you will walk into the universe of Penelope.

We had an amazing preview performance at David Del Tredici’s residence.

www.plasticflowerstheopera.com

Plastic Flowers for David Del Tredici

Han Chen on piano for Plasic Flowers

joao — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:44:14 +0000

Introducing young virtuoso pianist Han Chen who will be performing the demanding piano part of Plastic Flowers.

Han Chen has impressed everyone on the Plastic Flowers creative team with his technical skills, precise sight-reading of complex passages and true romantic expression. Han Chen is an undergraduate at Juilliard School of Music, and we are lucky to have him in this production. I believe he is a pianist who will leave a mark on his generation.

Han Chen is also a remarkable composer; his understanding of contemporary music makes him an ideal collaborator for this production. He can vary his piano interpretation from fluid and romantic to precise and mechanical, and all the gradations in between, according to the dramatic needs of the musical moment in the opera.

This young pianist was chosen after a very competitive audition process. It was not an easy choice. He was the most impressive pianist we heard, as well as an easy and humble personality, always pleasant to be around.

Please take a moment to check Han Chen‘s website:
www.hanchenpiano.com

Please check our Kickstarter Campaign:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joaomacdowell/plastic-flowers-chamber-opera-concert-recording

More about Plastic Flowers:
www.plasticflowerstheopera.com

Plastic Flowers: poster art sent to printers!

joao — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:30:21 +0000

We are really happy with it.

This is the posters that backers can get on top of the CD and DVD, if you support our kickstarter campaign.

We have already sent out the posters to be printed, they should be arriving here towards the end of the week. Yes!

They will be 12 by 18 inches, and we chose to make them with glossy recyclable paper and printed on a green facility with eco-friendly inks which do not put off harmful VOCs. Nice.

I am getting a silver marker to sign it on the black corner.

also check: www.plasitcflowerstheopera.com

Go for it!

Launching Kickstarter for Plastic Flowers!

joao — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:10:57 +0000

We just launched our Kickstarter campaign for the new Opera Plastic Flowers!

Be an investor on this new work and have a chance to own some unique collector’s items!

Abby Powell as Penelope on Plastic Flowers Music Video