Paradise Interrupted workshop

Performa 13

Performa Institute

New York, NY

November 4 - November 12, 2013

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Jennifer Wen Ma, concept and visual direction

Qian Yi, Kunqu performer

Huang Ruo, composer

Guillermo Acevedo, creative technology director

Xiao Lihe, lighting designer

Matthew Hilyard, stage design 

Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard, costume design

Melissa Kirgan, costume design

Marianna Peragallo, coordination and production

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Paradise Interrupted, an opera in development that presents a world activated by a lone voice in search of an unattainable ideal, was showcased as a three-part artist residency at the Performa Institute. In the first four days, Jennifer Wen Ma created a large-scale three-dimensional wall garden in paper. Ma and her collaborators then conducted a public two-day workshop of the opera in progress. The program concluded with an evening event, featuring a preview performance by singer Qian Yi set within the wall garden created during the week-long residency, and a panel discussion with members of the creative team. 

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