Tzadik Records to Release its First Opera: David Hertzberg's Hallucinatory THE WAKE WORLD

Tzadik Records presents the debut recording of THE WAKE WORLD, a hallucinatory choral fantasy by Los Angeles-based composer David Hertzberg.

The Wake World premiered to wide critical acclaim on Opera Philadelphia's inaugural Festival O17 in an intimate, visceral, site-specific production by director R.B. Schlather at The Barnes Foundation. The work went on to win the Music Critics Association of North America's Best New Opera award.

Tzadik founder and executive producer John Zorn now presents the opera in high definition, recorded and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineers Andreas Meyer and Scott Hull, for the general public.

Inspired by the mystical fairy tale of the same name by the infamous occultist, magician, and enfant terrible Aleister Crowley, the story describes the smoldering internal journey of Lola, as she is lead through the magical palace of her Fairy Prince to an ecstatic awakening.

Of the work, Hertzberg writes: "The Wake World represents a deeply personal vision, an attempt to render in lurid detail the strange, frightening, inarticulable mystery of the imagination, into which I poured every iota of my creative being. To craft this recording and distinctive presentation in collaboration with Tzadik and this superlative team of artists has been inexpressibly gratifying and moving."

The recording stars soprano Maeve Höglund as Lola and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as The Fairy Prince, as well as a virtuoso ensemble of singers drawn from members of The Crossing and the Opera Philadelphia Chorus, and seven instrumental soloists from the Curtis Institute of Music, conducted by Opera Philadelphia Chorusmaster Elizabeth Braden.

In the fall of 2021, The Wake World will be seen in a new, tour-ready production by Catapult Opera, in partnership with Peak Performances at Montclair State University, conducted by artistic director Neal Goren, and directed by Mary Birnbaum.

Hertzberg is currently at work on his next opera, for the Los Angeles-based company The Industry.

The Wake World
David Hertzberg

April 24, 2020, Tzadik

Cast
Maeve Höglund - Lola
Samantha Hankey - The Fairy Prince

George Sommerville - Morbus
John David Miles - Pestilitas

Maggie Finnegan - Parthenope
Veronica Chapman Smith - Ligeia
Joanna Nelson Gates - Leucosia

Jesica Beebe - Luna/Hecate
Andrew Bogard - Giant/Bone Man/Man in the Azure Coat/Man of the Blue House

Chorus
Corine Byrne, Julie Bishop, Maggie Finnegan, soprano 1
Abigail Chapman, Lauren Cook, Veronica Chapman Smith, soprano 2
Marissa Chalker, Maren Montalbano, Joanna Nelson Gates, alto 1
Ellen Peters, Kaitlyn Tierney, Karina Sweeney, alto 2
Steven Humes, Christopher Hoster, George Sommerville, tenor 1
Ryan Fleming, Steven Williamson, Daniel Taylor, tenor 2
Jackson Williams, Robert Eisentrout, John David Miles, bass 1
James Gwathney Daniel Spratlan, Daniel Schwarz, bass 2

Orchestra
Horn, Bryn Coveney
Trumpet, Steven Franklin
Violin, Eunice Kim
Percussion, Edward Babcock, Bradley Loudis
Fender Rhodes, Euntaek Kim
Piano, Grant Loehnig

Conductor, Elizabeth Braden

Recording, Andreas Meyer
Mastering, Scott Hull
Producer, Anthony B. Creamer III
Executive Producer, John Zorn

Preorder available here