COMPOSER ELLEN REID RELEASES PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING OPERA, P R I S M
GENRE-DEFYING WORK OUT TODAY ACROSS ALL DIGITAL PROVIDERS
LISTEN TO P R I S M HERE
“Reid, in a word, has arrived.” – The Los Angeles Times
“Ellen Reid’s score is accessible in the best way” – The New York Times
23 AUGUST 2019 (TORONTO, ON) – Composer and sound artist Ellen Reid releases her Pulitzer Prize-winning work, p r i s m, today, August 23 via Decca Gold. With a libretto by Roxie Perkins, the fearless, genre-defying opera takes on the topic of sexual assault and was commissioned and produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Trinity Church Wall Street. You can listen to the album here.
p r i s m premiered in November 2018 to universal acclaim in sold-out runs on both the east and west coasts, as a part of New York’s Prototype Festival and the LA Opera’s Off Grand series. Tackling subject matter that is currently front and center across news media, Reid’s work uses haunting vocals and sonically daring instrumentation to bring to light the psychological struggles of sexual and emotional abuse.
Reid is the most recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize in music, following Kendrick Lamar’s win in 2018 for the album DAMN.. An accomplished composer and sound artist, Reid’s innovative and impressive works encompass sound design, film scores, ensemble and choral writing, and opera. She recently became the first-ever composer to premiere works in Los Angeles’ four leading musical institutions — the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Synopsis:
Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music, p r i s m tells the story of an ill girl, Bibi, and her doting mother, Lumee, who live in a pristine sanctuary. Locked away from the world, Bibi and Lumee try to protect each other from the dangerous illness that lurks outside their door and has already infected Bibi's legs- leaving her unable to walk. Every day Lumee attempts to feed Bibi medicine to heal her, yet each time Bibi is about to swallow her dose the Outside erupts into a fury- scaring Bibi from taking her medicine. One night, desperate to please her strict mother, Bibi attempts to swallow all of her missed doses, when she is interrupted by an intoxicating Blue light that pierces the sanctuary through the crack under their door. Seduced by the Outside's kaleidoscopic beckoning, Bibi begins to rebel against her mother's orders- fracturing their relationship and fragile life inside the sanctuary. Blinded by colors and memories new and familiar, Bibi must choose between abandoning her mother to discover the truth of her illness Outside, or accept her mother's stories in order to hold on to the only life she's ever known. p r i s m explores the elasticity of memory after trauma, and the lengths to which one will go to "feel better"- no matter the price.
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