Conceived from an original poem and illustration by classically trained singer and interdisciplinary artistMax Sharam, ill Soprano Cuckoo Concert, is a Tim Burtonesque/Wes Anderson design-style, comedic operetta. Our Soprano, a homeless misfit, has an untamed wild streak similar to that of the now-very-famous Canadian opera singer, Barbara Hannigan, perilously performed by Aria Award winning singer/comedian Max Sharam.
Through performance and song we discover how ill Soprano— glamorous in her newspaper gown and glass slippers, humorous, dramatic and erratic, became adrift.
She paces empty streets at night singing.
Alone, “unhinged” and “sleeping rough”, we see how ones stability hinges on a series of fleeting moments; bad choices... and how ones identity is formed by the ever evolving constructs of experience. We see how far, and in which direction, we allow our doors to open. Gaslighters and Narcissists have had their way with her, spun their negative spin, deflecting blame and pointing the finger at her—who, overly sensitive, “paranoid,” “mentally unstable,” becomes “Cuckoo” with self-hatred. She is misunderstood, isolated, hopeless—at times hysterical, but through her nightly street performances, she returns to a sublime state of bliss. We see the fall and rise of a woman scorned—our heroine, like Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix), by the end, is absolved of the “crazy” tag.
A preparatory illustration by Max Sharam of the ill Soprano.
Get ready for a uniquely exciting theatrical experience!
We visit the darker side of living on the fringes of society from the point of view of a homeless woman.
Staged in a card board box-like set and ‘dumpster’ the performer, Max Sharam, uses selfie inspired handheld camera-play, the whole projected onto a circular screen reminiscent of a peep hole in a peep show, a larger than life puppet, off-beat ballet (using body as a narrative device - sometimes shedding clothes as if she is molting), music and sound effects to illuminate ill Soprano’s whirling thoughts, wax lyrical. Her half sung, half spoken, sometimes broken English, Italian, German words, fragments of lyrics (‘act your age not your shoe size’)—snatched from popular songs, and butchered translations of Italian Arias are projected on walls.
Not unlike Fosca from PASSION (Sondheim) or Cio-Cio-san from MADAM BUTTERFLY (Puccini) we have the sense of a woman, who is seen as having a nervous disorder, though she may have tourette’s, be epileptic or even anorexic—she most certainly has an eating disorder, being forced to live a divided and tattered life, on the fridges of society—on the edge.
The cross-genre compositions—a collision of classical and contemporary, performed by a small chamber-pop orchestra, are original, co-written by Max Sharam and composer Elena Kats-Chernin. This is music liberated from the confines of category and overt commercialism.
Ill Soprano Cuckoo looks at women’s issues, heartbreak and homelessness.
This is essentially a one-woman show. Easy and economical to stage, transport and tour. This is music that would also be recorded and pressed on Vinyl and sold exclusively at the shows. A 3D ill Soprano Cuckoo doll will be part of the merchandise available to purchase. A portion of the proceeds/profits will be donated to women`s shelters.
She is misunderstood, isolated, hopeless—at times hysterical, but through her nightly street performances, she returns to a sublime state of bliss.
Max would create theatrical magic onstage as camera operator, quick-change costumer as well as star in this post-biographic work that mixes a vocal looping device with live musical ensemble. A circular screen hangs from the side rear of the stage, on which are projected images of moths cocooning via time-lapse photography, a dumpster or ‘skip’, littered street scenes and the percussive sound of a jackhammer. We see ill Soprano both as a clean-scrubbed, budding actress auditioning for the opera and as the skinny, broken homeless person, as the live feed from the tiny camera figures in the mise-en-scène, like a mirror reflecting back. Occasional references to familiar songs, with lyric fragments and script translations are projected on the wall.
“unhinged” and “sleeping rough”,
Earthly Elegance. Abstract and Absurd. Newspaper Gown. Some Nudity. Tulle. Moths and leaves. Street refuse.
Recently companies such as Opera Australia, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, New York City Ballet and The Metropolitan Opera New York, have been enormously popular with audiences through collaborations with highly imaginative contemporary artists in productions like: “Rabbits” —Kate Miller-Heidke & Lally Katz, based on John Marsden’s children’s book.
Lyricist and performer/composer Max Sharam pairs up with composer •Elena Kats-Chernin. Director: TBD Dramaturge: Daniela Nicolò. (mp3 sample included) A PROMO TRAILER will be filmed.
“The Refusal of Time” —William Kentridge & Metropolitan Opera New York. “Most Incredible Thing” — Marcel Dzama & Bryce Dressner, New York City Ballet. “Compassion” —Nigel Westlake and Lior. “Monteverdi Triolgy” —Barrie Kosky & Elana Kat-Chernin.
Max worked with German based mime company Familie Flöz, where she learned to make and work with masks.
Transcendence. Transformation. Ascension. A Life Size Singing Puppet. MAX SHARAM is ill Soprano with a MINIATURE ORCHESTRA made up of a
TALENTED CAST OF LOCAL MELBOURNE MUSICIANS
with the focus being on fearless, young female players and unique instrumentation. Harp (Liana Perillo), Saxophones (Cara Taber), Vibraphone, String Quartet
Pitching to National & International Music Festivals Programers, New festivals such as BIGEARS from 2018— “Big Ears 2017 was a reaffirmation of the vitality of global contemporary music occurring far from the center.” http://www.bigearsfestival.com/http://shift-festival.com/
The entirety of the show rests upon the dynamic stage presence of performer, Max Sharam. You watch Max’s constant—sometimes comedic, sometimes confronting—transformation, as well of the transformation of the performance space via the projections and narrative, which mixes monologue with lyrical movement and puppetry. This short, one act spectacle could go on to become a staple of the performance art or modern operatic repertoire around the world, it could be performed with any competent cast—like shows such as Puppetry of The Penis, that continue to be performed around the world for years after inception.
http://www.liquidmusicseries.org/ Ecstatic Musical Festival http://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/series/ecstatic-music-festival/ https://www.phoeniciavoicefest.org/ https://www.kennedy-center.org/festivals/shift/ https://www.music.mahidol.ac.th/ticf/ http://www.washingtonperformingarts.org/calendar.aspx https://festivalofvoices.com/ http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/info/ https://www.vividsydney.com/
In June, 2017 Max will attend a workshop with critically acclaimed puppeteer Duda Paiva in Poland. Max has already completed preparatory work with with Berlin based mime company Familie Flöz, where she learned to make and work with masks.
http://www.floez.net http://dudapaiva.com/
Sharam`s original charcoal drawing of ill Soprano.
PURPLE FLOWER MUSIC PTY. LTD Conceived and Created by Max Sharam 2017 contact: mermax@gmail.com 6 Musical Gully Road Main Lead, Victoria 3373 or 232 Mulberry Street, 3a New York, NY 10012
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