Music
Out Cold / Zippo Songs
Music and lyrics by Phil Kline
Theo Bleckmann and American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME)
Our Show:
Two dramatic song cycles-one based on soldiers' Zippo-lighter
poetry about sex, drugs, and death in Vietnam, the other about a
man at a bar, peering into the void through the filters of cold,
exhaustion, and alcohol (Phil).
Sights and Sounds:
A bar at 2:45am, a voice as smooth as silk, singing sad songs with
a 10-piece lounge band from a dark corner of heaven (Phil).
Schubert meets Sinatra at the bar. They discuss:
Beer versus scotch, head versus chest voice, and schnitzel versus
roast beef (Theo).
Closest encounter with oblivion:
Locking myself out of my hotel room in my underwear and in a
jet-lagged stupor, thinking I was going to the bathroom (Theo).
Stage direction by Emma Griffin
Production and costume design by Andrea Lauer
Lighting design by Mike Inwood
Co-commissioned and co-produced by American Opera Projects
with Phil Kline and Theo Bleckmann
Fri, Oct 26
Terrance McKnight moderates this artist talk, which takes place in the performance venue and is free for same-day ticket holders.
Phil Kline makes music in many genres and contexts, from experimental electronics and sound installations to songs, choral, theater, chamber and orchestral works.
Theo Bleckmann is a Grammy-nominated and ECHO award-winning vocalist and composer whose work spans concerts, installations, theater, cabaret, and performance art.
Led by artistic director and cellist Clarice Jensen, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) is dedicated to the outstanding performance of masterworks from the 20th and 21st centuries.