The Soldier's Tale premiered via Zoom on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.

The program will be viewable on this page through Sunday, March 20, at 8 p.m. 


 

To view the program and theme guide, click HERE.

DESCRIPTION:
Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale is a timeless work of musical theater that examines the human struggle to live in balance. In this reimagining of the original Russo-French parable, written and illustrated by Catherine Farrington Garcia (USC School of Dramatic Arts), created directed and produced by Catherine Farrington Garcia and Nathan Farrington (Hazard Productions, LA Opera), and conducted by Molly Xiu Turner (Salonon Fellow at the Colburn School), we follow a young and talented soldier in the spring of her life. As the soldier walks, she meets a charismatic stranger in the woods who says he can help her to an illustrious future. Trying on the different lives he offers, she is loath to find that what she thought was everything, isn’t always enough.

This entirely new production will marry theatrical performance, dance, and imagery with Stravinsky’s iconic score, bringing to life a soldier who is living at the heart of the question, “What do I want?” The audience will measure along with her the costs of mastery, family, and fame as she marches to Stravinsky’s music and decides what truly should be at the center of her life.

Bios:
Catherine Farrington Garcia is an actress and creative producer. A BFA graduate of the USC School of Theatre (now called the USC School of Dramatic Arts) and the British American Drama Academy, she was honored to receive the Lipinsky, Aileen Stanley Memorial, and the Jack Nicholson Awards for outstanding performance. She currently works with DreamWorks Animation and is also a creative producer for Hazard Audio.

Nathan Farrington has been the principal bassist for LA Opera since 2016. He regularly appears in the bass sections of many of America's top orchestras. His Los Angeles–based audio company, Hazard Audio Productions, composes for TV and film, connects top classical minds with artistic opportunities in movie and TV production, and stages original concerts and plays around the country.

Molly Xiu Turner conducts and composes music. She is currently a Salonen Fellow at the Colburn Conservatory. Recently, she was featured conducting the Dallas Opera Orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra, Rice Campanile Orchestra, and the Eastern Festival Orchestra. In her own music, she is interested in the balance between strictly dictated elements and more aleatoric notation. She also has a strong interest in contemporary art and she was the artistic director for New Art / New Music at the Moody Center for the Arts from 2017–2019.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative. Organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Co-sponsored by the USC Thornton School of Music.