Press Release

Press Release

Subject: World Premiere of opera CALL ME ISHMAEL

Producer: Sunshower Productions BV, Amstelveen

World Premiere - 7.30pm - May 30th - Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam

Gary Goldschneider's Call Me Ishmael, an operatic version of Melville's Moby Dick, the magnum opus of American literature, is a multimedia extravaganza quite unlike any other spectacle of our time.

Drawing inspiration from dramatic theater, ballet, opera, musicals and rock shows Goldschneider describes his work as "unclassifiable; it doesn't fit into any of the boxes." Call Me Ishmael is a work that cuts through traditional parameters of genre and style, culminating in a work of grand theatrical scale.

Goldschneider’s libretto is taken in its entirety from Melville's original text; he has effectively translated Melville's big themes into contemporary concerns. Ahab the maniac dictator captains the whaling ship Pequod, a symbol of all humanity, while the whale he hunts is the symbol of a threatened environment.

Call Me Ishmael is performed by a cast of outstanding singers including Benjamin Bevan (Ahab), Elliot Goldie (first mate Starbuck), Maureen Brathwaite (cabin boy Pip) and Dutch tenor Sebastian Brouwer (Ishmael, teller of the tale). The British opera director Nicholas Heath, head of independent London-based opera company Opera a La Carte, believes that an audience should be enveloped, making them part of the very fabric of a production. Heath's insightful and imaginative direction underscores the lyric quality and compelling grandeur of the work.

The rich musical score has been written for an orchestra of 30 and is presented in this premiere by Conrad van Alphen, a close musical associate of Gary Goldschneider's, conducting his highly acclaimed Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra.

Call Me Ishmael is a revolutionary, unmissable show. Guaranteed to illuminate, inspire, and entertain you, it's probably a good idea for you to jump aboard the ship Pequod. Now. Be able to say you were there from the start. Sail with a legend in the making. Live the history of theatre. To quote Goldschneider himself "It's only the beginning..."

Contact details
Sunshower Productions BV
S.Robertsonlaan 21
1187 PK Amstelveen
Phone +31 (0)20 640 4197
Fax +31 (0)20 643 2682
E-Mail jessie@ishmaelopera.com

A world tour is being planned for 2006 and a DVD will be issued of the opera.

The creator of this opera is the well-known pianist, author, composer, and librettist Gary Goldschneider, originally from Philadelphia, who has lived in Holland since 1985. He is the author of bestsellers such as The Secret Language of Birthdays, The Secret Language of Relationships and The Secret Language of Destiny.

For more information concerning the opera and Gary Goldschneider visit the websites:

www.ishmaelopera.com and www.goldschneider.com

You may also wish to contact the Director Nicholas Heath
e-mail nick@operaalacarte.com
Tel +44 20 77242696