I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (1996 Studio Cast)
I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (1996 Studio Cast)
又名: 仰望见天空
表演者: Audra McDonald/Welly Yang/Marin Mazzie/Michael McElroy/Richard Muenz/Darius de Haas/Angela Teek
专辑类型: Cast Recording
介质: CD
发行时间: 1998-11-03
唱片数: 1
出版者: Nonesuch
条形码: 0075597947328
专辑简介
I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky is a 1995 musical/opera music composed by John Adams, with a libretto by June Jordan. The work was first performed May 1995 in Berkeley, California with staging by Peter Sellars. Grant Gershon was the conductor.
The story takes place in the aftermath of the 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, and covers the reactions of all characters to the event. The main characters are seven young Americans all living in Los Angeles but from different social and ethnic backgrounds.
Adams composition is comprised of a number of popular-style songs which are performed by pop singers and accompanied by a combination of synthesized tunes and a rock band. Still, the work strongly bears Adams' signature minimalistic style.
The opera's title is based on a comment of one of the earthquake's victims.
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Synopsis
In mid-1990's Los Angeles, David, a preacher, sings about his many love affairs and his current girlfriend, Leila. Dewain is arrested by Mike, a homophobic cop, for stealing two bottles of beer while trying to reach his lover, Consuela, who is afraid that her son has been arrested by the INS. Tiffany videotapes the arrest; she wonders why Mike is not more receptive to her advances. Dewain resists arrest and Mike has him charged with a felony, meaning he could go to jail for 45 years under the "Three Strikes" law. At his trial, David, his lawyer, tries to explain his client's point of view. After questioning Tiffany, Rick begins to be attracted to her. David visits Dewain in jail, where Dewain tells him he's decided to go to law school. Leila wonders if David will ever settle down.
As Act II opens, Leila and David are making out on the couch in David's affice in his church when an earthquake hits. Leila is knocked unconscious. Mike visits Tiffany's house; she asks him why he hasn't been more forward, and he has a crisis of sexual identity; Rick suddenly appears, and she asks him out instead. Dewain, in his cell, recounts how the walls split open and he could see the outside, but, realizing that he was better off working inside the system, he did not escape. Consuela tells him she is going back to El Salvador to fight for political freedom; Dewain decides to stay in Los Angeles. Lying in David's arms, Leila begins to recover.
曲目
1. Ensemble - I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky -- All
2. A Sermon on Romance -- Darius de Haas & Angela Teek
3. Consuelo's Dream -- Audra McDonald
4. Mike's Song About Arresting a Particular Individual -- Richard Muenz
5. Tiffany's Solo -- Marin Mazzie
6. Song About the On-Site Altercation -- Michael McElroy, Marin Mazzie, Angela Teek & Richard Muenz
7. Song About the Bad Boys and the News -- Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald & Angela Teek
8. Your Honor My Client He's a Young Black Man -- Welly Yang, Michael McElroy
9. Leila's Song: Alone (Again or at Last) -- Angela Teek
10. Three Weeks and Still I'm Outta My Mind -- Darius de Haas & Angela Teek
11. Crushed by the Rock I Been Standing On -- Darius de Haas with Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie & Welly Yang
12. Dewain's Song of Liberation and Surprise -- Michael McElroy
13. ?Este Pais! / This Country -- Audra McDonald & Michael McElroy
14. One Last Look at the Angel in Your Eyes -- Audra McDonald & Michael McElroy
15. Finale -- All