About the piece: In Alejandro Casona’s play La Dama del Alba (The Lady of the Dawn), the Narcés family deals with death personified as she searches for a member of the household that should have died. Throughout the work, she interacts with many members of the family, each of whom react to her differently. In this piece, I have captured an interaction between Death and the children of the household, who are fascinated by the mysterious stranger that has visited them. The children play a game with her; as the game progresses, she unknowingly enjoys herself and experiences a heartbeat and laughter for the first time. However, because she is so new to this experience, the sound of her laughter is frightening instead of humorous, thus scaring the children. Eventually, she is drained from these feelings of life and falls asleep. For the rest of the play, she cannot quite escape this taste of life and humanization of herself despite her role as Death.
Premiered by: Festival Orchestra of the Tennessee Valley Music Festival, conducted by Maestra Helen Cha-Pyo on June 9, 2022. Premiered at Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Premiered by: Festival Orchestra of the Tennessee Valley Music Festival, conducted by Maestra Helen Cha-Pyo on June 9, 2022. Premiered at Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville, Alabama.