Program:
Shostakovich and the Black Monk: A Russian Fantasy – WEST COAST PREMIERE

A Center institution for more than a quarter-century, the 9-time Grammy Award winning Emerson String Quartet returns in this bold intersection of chamber music and theater, co-created by Emerson violinist Philip Setzer. Featuring seven actors and the quartet, this unique multi-media work depicts the trials and challenges of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, his music banned by Stalin’s Soviet regime, and his unwavering quest to write an opera based on Chekhov’s mystical tale, The Black Monk. It’s a story of triumph in the face of overwhelming political repression, and it promises to be a highlight of the Center’s 2018-2019 season.

Performers:
Eugene Drucker, Violin
Philip Setzer, Violin
Lawrence Dutton, Viola
Paul Watkins, Cello

David Strathairn – Dmitri Shostakovich
Sean Astin – Josef Stalin, Stalin as Pesotsky
Ali Breneman – Tanya, Nina Shostakovich
Evelyn McGee Colbert – Margarita Shostakovich, Varvara Nikolayevna and others
Alex Glossman – Young Dmitri Shostakovich, Kovrin
Paul Murphy – The Black Monk, Pesotsky
Linda Setzer – Irina Shostakovich and others