MATT BOEHLER
bass • composer
Info:
75 Miles (2018) 20.5'
scored for: soprano, mezzo, baritone, chamber orchestra [1(dblPicc).1.1(dblBCl).1/1.1.1.0/pno.1perc/stgs(1.0.1.1.1)]
libretto: Laura Barati
Commission / Performances:
commissioned by Washington National Opera as part of the American Opera Initiative program
premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Alexandra Nowakowski, soprano; Alexandra Christaforakis, mezzo-soprano; Joshua Conyers, baritone
Steven Osgood, conductor; Andrea Dorf McGray, director
Terrace Theater, The Kennedy Center, Washington DC; 01/12/2019
additional productions:
Texas Christian University, 10/11/2019
David Gately, director; Stephen Carey, music director
About the work:
It's twenty minutes before dinner in rural Pennsylvania. Sixteen-year-old Avery has just discovered that she's pregnant, and the closest womens' health clinic is half way across the state. Inspired by true events, 75 Miles follows a family forced to grapple with their faith, beliefs, and economic limitations in the face of an unexpected pregnancy.
"The score, by composer and bass Matt Boehler, is particularly strong in such intense moments as Avery's 'I'll be okay' response to her mother, when tortured harmonies under the vocal line reveal the reality; and during the whispery orchestral coda, when the music conveys the toll of lingering questions."
-Tim Smith, Opera News