Black Lodge stands out as an exemplary piece of big scale music theatre, renowned for its innovative blend of various musical expressions and its capacity to resonate with a broad audience. The work is notable for reimagining musical theatre by integrating live and recorded segments, creating a rich tapestry of sound and performance. This production is a significant achievement, ambitiously incorporating a multitude of musical styles and textures to push the limits of both opera and film.

The narrative of Black Lodge is inspired by the complex mythologies of William S. Burroughs, best known for his iconic novel Naked Lunch, weaving a tale of a troubled writer navigating a liminal space fraught with personal demons and memories. This psychological journey is portrayed through an intricate mix of dance, industrial rock, a classical string quartet, and operatic elements, resulting in an immersive Lynchian experience.

Black Lodge is praised for its groundbreaking hybridity and artistic excellence, embodying the essence of innovation in music theatre. It captivates audiences with its unique combination of live and recorded music, its diverse musical language, and a narrative steeped in surrealism.

What does it take to face ourselves? Enter the darkness in search of something beautiful, transcendent. But be very careful what you need to know…

Drawing on the complicated mythologies of the surrealist writer William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Black Lodge uses dance, industrial rock, classical string quartet, and opera to take viewers through a Lynchian psychological escape room.

Set in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer faces down demons of his own making. Forced to confront the darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out. A woman is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters. She is the subject of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld. The writer cannot detach any thoughts of his life from her.

Part film screening and part industrial rock opera concert, this world premiere event featured glam opera band Timur & the Dime Museum alongside musicians from the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra.

Composer: David T. Little

Libretto: Anne Waldman

Story, screenplay and film/stage direction: Michael Joseph McQuilken

Executive producer: Beth Morrison Projects, Thurston Moore

Producers: Beth Morrison, Jecca Barry, Brian Freeland & Robert Phillip Smith

Additional Producers: Judy & Allen Freedman, Kiki & David Gindler, Charlotte Isaacs & Thomas H. Platz

Soundtrack produced by: David T. Little, Andrew McKenna Lee & Beth Morrison

Production consultant: Timur Bekbosunov

Starring: Timur & Jennifer Harrison Newman

Featuring:

Timur and the Dime Museum (Timur – vocals, Milo Talwani – keyboard, Andrew Lessman – drums/vocals, Matthew Setzer – guitar/vocals & Hannah Dexter – bass

Isuara String Quartet (film) (Emily Call – violin, Madeline Falcone – violin, Betsy Rettig – cello, Nadia Sirota – viola & Rita Andrade – viola)

Opera Philadelphia Orchestra (live)

Spoken text: Adina Verson

Doctor: André de Quadros, Chip Morrison & Thomas H. Platz

Opera commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects and the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for Opera

Film commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects, Opera Philadelphia, the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for Opera, David & Kiki Gindler, Charlotte Isaacs, and Thomas H. Platz with additional support provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation

Developed by Beth Morrison Projects, California Institute for the Arts, HERE Arts Center, and REDCAT. Additional production support provided by David & Kiki Gindler, Charlotte Isaacs, and Thomas H. Platz

October 1, 2022 at the Philadelphia Film Center, Pennsylvania, USA

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