Louis Kahn, appreciated as much for his music as for his monolithic building designs, now has his own opera. Titled “ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera,” the piece is inspired by the life and work of the Modernist architect who is known for designing the Salk Institute and the Yale University Art Gallery, among many others.
The opera is composed by Lewis Spratlan and Jenny Kallick and the very fabric of the show is woven with Kahn’s work. “Kallick, a professor of music at Amherst College, made recordings of the ‘acoustic envelope’ at several Kahn buildings, which were employed in composing the work’s prelude and interludes,” the Boston Society of Architects reports.
In an interview with board chairman of New Music USA Frederick Peters, Spratlan discusses the inspiration for the project, the music, and the development of its characters.
The opera, which hasn’t been performed live yet, was screened at the Chicago Architecture and Design Film Festival earlier this year and will be screened again at the New York City Architecture and Design Film Festival taking place in mid-October.
