{"id":184,"date":"2019-01-09T22:47:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T22:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-dot-meredith-monk-website.appspot.com\/?post_type=work&p=184"},"modified":"2022-12-05T22:11:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T22:11:16","slug":"quarry","status":"publish","type":"work","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-dot-meredith-monk-website.appspot.com\/current-repertory\/quarry\/","title":{"rendered":"QUARRY: AN OPERA IN THREE MOVEMENTS (1976)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo credit, (Left to right, top to bottom): Nate Tileston, Johan Elbers,
Giuseppe Pino, Nat Tileston<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

QUARRY: AN OPERA IN THREE MOVEMENTS (1976)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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LIVE WORK:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarry: an opera in three movements<\/em>, composed, directed and choreographed by Meredith Monk, is a mosaic of music, images, movement, dialogue, film, sound and light, and premiered at La Mama ETC in New York City in 1976. The three movements are \u201cLullaby,\u201d \u201cMarch\u201d and \u201cRequiem.\u201d It won an OBIE Award in 1976 and is considered by many to be a masterwork of the 20th Century, with revivals taking place in 1985 and 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarry<\/em> centers on the reverie of an American child sick in bed during World War II, a dream that gradually mutates into a nightmare. The child\u2019s illness is a metaphor for the darkness of a world at war. As described by Alan M. Kriegsman of The Washington Post<\/em>, \u201cQuarry <\/em>immerses us in the atmosphere and tenor of the period of World War II, the emergence of Nazism, and the Holocaust\u2026by [evoking] feelings, imagery and sensuous characteristics that are associated with these roots through the power of Monk\u2019s multimedia but non-literal treatment. What is most disturbing and urgent about seeing Quarry <\/em>today is that it resonates with the most fearful anxieties and perils of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Conceived, composed and directed by Meredith Monk
<\/strong>Realized by The House: Tone Blevins, Ping Chong, Steve Clorfeine, Larry Harrison, Monica Moseley, Lee Nagrin, Coco Pekelis, Mary Shultz, Daniel Ira Sverdlik, Gail Tuner, Pablo Vela<\/strong>
Original Chorus: John Bernd, Mabbie Buck, Sarah Chapelle, Margot Corrigan, Gaynor Cot\u00e9<\/strong>, Avi Davis, Ellen Fisher, Ann Gentry, Ellen Goldsmith, Andrea Goodman, Jeannie Hutchins, Susan Marie Kampe, Paul Langland, Andrea Levine, John Miglietta, John Parton, Susan Schott, Amy Schwartzman, Gail Simon, Joshua Sippen, Chris Small, Monica Solem, Mark Sovocool, Laura Tierney, Tom Wilkinson, Cathy Zimmerman
<\/strong>Lighting: Beverly Emmons
<\/strong>Costumes: Larry Harrison<\/strong> and Steve Clorfeine<\/strong>
Decor and objects: Ping Chong <\/strong>and Jean-Claude Ribes
<\/strong>Black and white film segment directed by Meredith Monk
<\/strong>Camera and editing: David Gearey<\/strong>
Assistant Directors: Gail Turner <\/strong>and Ping Chong<\/strong>
Technicians for The House: Tony Giovannetti, Jean-Claude Ribes, Bob Seder, Karen Feinberg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Original Roles in the 1976 Production:<\/strong>
Maid\u2026Coco Pekelis<\/strong>
Child\u2026Meredith Monk<\/strong>
Organists\u2026Steve Lockwood, Andrea Goodman<\/strong>
Woman in a flowered dress\u2026Lanny Harrison<\/strong>
Man and woman with gray hair\u2026Pablo Vela, Lee Nagrin<\/strong>
Three women at a table\u2026Gail Turner, Monica Moseley, Mary Shultz<\/strong>
Old Testament couple\u2026Tone Blevins, Daniel Ira Sverdlik<\/strong>
Visitor at the table\u2026Ann Gentry<\/strong>
Clouds and street\u2026Mabbie Buck, John Miglietta, Ellen Goldsmith, Jeannie Hutchins, Avi Davis, Ann Gentry, Paul Langland<\/strong>
Radio singer\/announcer\u2026Lanny Harrison<\/strong>
The Dictator\u2026Ping Chong<\/strong>
His aide\u2026Steve Clorfeine<\/strong>
Other dictators\u2026Lanny Harrison, Tone Blevins, Pablo Vela, Daniel Ira Sverdlik, Monica Moseley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Quarry: an opera in three movements<\/em> premiered at La Mama ETC in New York City in April 1976 followed by a tour in Italy to the International Music Theater Festival in Florence and The Venice Biennale, a run at the Lepercq Space at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (1976-77), and Walker Art Center in 1977. It received an OBIE Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1976. Revivals took place in 1985 at La Mama, the Kennedy Center, and in 2003 at the Spoleto Festival USA. A suite from Quarry <\/em>with student casts was also presented at the New Mexico School for the Arts in 2015, and at the University of Michigan in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


FILM:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film version of Quarry<\/em>, shot on 16mm in the Lepercq Space at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in January 1977, was directed by Amram Nowak and supervised by Meredith Monk, and includes her short silent film from 1975 of the same name. It was created in partnership with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts as part of their initiative to document ground-breaking live performance for future restaging. In 2019 the film was restored by The House Foundation to DCP with 5.1 sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarry <\/em>is as prescient and relevant today as it was when it was created with its portrayal of the deleterious effect of an autocratic society on the collective mind, body and spirit. It is at once a myth, a documentary and a memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarry <\/em>(1975)
5 \u00bd minutes, black and white, silent, 16mm
Conceived and directed by Meredith Monk<\/strong>
Camera and Editing by David Gearey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarry <\/em>(1977) documentary film
82 minutes, black and white and color, sound, 16mm-to-DCP
Directed by Amram Nowak<\/strong>
Filmed under the supervision of Meredith Monk<\/strong>
Photographed by Jerry Pantzer<\/strong> and David Lerner<\/strong>
Edited by Bob Rosen<\/strong> and Adam Bernardi<\/strong>
Film Consultant: Ping Chong<\/strong>
Editorial Consultants: Lee Nagrin<\/strong> and Coco Pekelis<\/strong>
Filmed for the Jerome Robbins Film Archive, Dance Collection, The New York Public Library

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Trailer for <\/em>Quarry (1977)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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