Noh-opera / Noh-tation

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC | WORLD PREMIERE

UPDATE – Preview performance of Noh-opera newly added at 5:15 pm on Thursday, November 16!

Playbill (PDF) →

Thursday, November 16, 5:15 PM & 7:30 pm (7:30 pm performance will be followed by an artist Q&A)

In response to John Cage’s unrealized project, Noh-opera: Or the Complete Musical Works of Marcel Duchamp, which he envisioned to premiere in Japan, Tomomi Adachi seamlessly integrates the alluring aspects of opera and noh, using AI to compose music and lyrics from koan—short Zen Buddhist riddles. This audacious composition fuses together the distinct vocal styles of Gelsey Bell, recognized as the “future of experimental vocalism” (NY Times), and Japanese female noh actor Wakako Matsuda, with five wind instruments performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble.

For this concert, International Contemporary Ensemble members include Isabel Lepanto Gleicher (flute), James Austin Smith (oboe), Kristina Teuschler (clarinet), Rebekah Heller (bassoon) and Michael Lormand (trombone).

Part of the John Cage’s Japan Series
September—December, 2023

Save 20% when you purchase a ticket to any 2 programs in the John Cage’s Japan Series. Offer only valid for tickets purchased in the same transaction.

Your ticket also includes complimentary, same-day admission for one person to Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus, on view at Japan Society Gallery through January 21, 2024. To view the exhibition please show your ticket/receipt to the Welcome Desk for free admission before the performance.

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Images: Noh-Opera / Noh-tation—Decoding John Cage’s Unrealized Project © Image is AI-generated; Tomomi Adachi © Takayuki Imai; Gelsey Bell © Effy Grey; Isabel Lepanto Gleicher © Emory Hensley; James Austin Smith © Matt Dine; Kristina Teuschler © Violeta Morano; Rebekah Heller © Olivia Bonnamour; Mike Lormand © Mike Gurfield; John Cage’s Japan Series © Photo by Yasuhiro Yoshioka, Courtesy of Sogetsu Foundation.

Support for John Cage’s Japan is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from Nancy and Joe Walker, and the Nomura Foundation.

Support for the international travel for Tomomi Adachi and Wakako Matsuda for Noh-opera / Noh-tation: Decoding John Cage’s Unrealized Project is provided by The Japan Foundation.

2023-24 Performing Arts Season Support

The season is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Major support is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson and Hisamitsu America, Inc. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, the John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund, and the Endowment for the Performing Arts, established with a leadership gift from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Additional support is provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Nancy and Joe Walker, Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II, Dr. Jeanette C. Takamura, Estate of Alan M. Suhonen, and Friends of the Performing Arts. All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. is the official airline of the Japan Society Performing Arts Program. Yamaha is the official piano provider of Japan Society.

Japan Society programs are made possible by leadership support from Booth Ferris Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.