Tuesday Evening, August 11, 2015 at 7:30Thursday Evening, August 13, 2015 at 7:30Saturday Afternoon, August 15, 2015 at 3:00Written on Skin (U.S. stage premiere)Opera in Three PartsMusic by George BenjaminText by Martin CrimpThis performance is approximately one hour and 40 minutes long and will be performed without intermission.Presented in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic as part ofthe Lincoln CenterNew York Philharmonic Opera Initiative(Program continued)The ProgramThe Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Written on Skin is made possible in part by major support from Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon.These performances are made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off.David H. Koch Theater08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 1Mostly Mozart Festival The Mostly Mozart Festival is made possible by Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Howard Solomon,Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, Chris and Bruce Crawford, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. SamuelsFoundation, Inc., Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer Family Foundation, andFriends of Mostly Mozart. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.Artist Catering provided by Zabars and zabars.comMetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln CenterUnited Airlines is a Supporter of Lincoln CenterWABC-TV is a Supporter of Lincoln CenterSummer at Lincoln Center is supported by Diet PepsiTime Out New York is a Media Partner of Summer at Lincoln CenterUsed by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agentfor Faber Music Ltd., London, publisher and copyright ownerUPCOMING MOSTLY MOZART FESTIVAL EVENTS:Thursday Night, August 13, at 10:00 in the Stanley H. Kaplan PenthouseA Little Night MusicInternational Contemporary EnsemblePierre-Laurent Aimard, PianosALLDAI FUJIKURA PROGRAMflicker; Calling; halcyon; Returning; Sakana; The Voice; Glacier; BreathlessFriday and Saturday Evenings, August 1415, at 7:30 in Avery Fisher HallMostly Mozart Festival OrchestraCristian Ma celaru, Conductor M|MLars Vogt, PianoMOZART: Symphony No. 39 BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4 Pre-concert recitals by Jon Manasse, clarinet, Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello, and Jon Nakamatsu, piano, at 6:30Friday Night, August 14, at 10:00 in the Stanley H. Kaplan PenthouseA Little Night MusicLars Vogt, PianoSCHUBERT: Sonata in C minor, D.958BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111M|MMostly Mozart debutFor tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit MostlyMozart.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at(212) 875-5766 to learn about program cancellations or request a Mostly Mozart brochure.Visit MostlyMozart.org for full festival listings.Join the conversation: #LCMozartWe would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract theperformers and your fellow audience members. In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leavebefore the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The taking of pho-tographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building.08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 2Written on Skin (U.S. stage premiere)Opera in Three PartsMusic by George BenjaminText by Martin CrimpMahler Chamber OrchestraM|MAlan Gilbert, ConductorM|MChristopher Purves, The ProtectorM|MBarbara Hannigan, AgnsM|MTim Mead, Angel 1/BoyM|MVictoria Simmonds, Angel 2/MarieM|MRobert Murray, Angel 3/JohnM|MAngel Archivists: David Alexander ParkerM|M, Laura HarlingM|M, Peter HobdayM|M, Sarah NorthgravesM|MKatie Mitchell, DirectorM|MDan Ayling, Associate DirectorM|MVicki Mortimer, Scenic and Costume DesignM|MJon Clark, Lighting DesignM|MPost-performance discussion with George Benjamin, Alan Gilbert, andJane Moss on August 11 Post-performance discussion with George Benjamin and Jane Moss onAugust 13 Written on Skin is a production of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, in co-productionwith the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam, Thtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and The Royal Opera, London. It was commissioned by the Aix-en-Provence Festival,the Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam, Thtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and The RoyalOpera, London.M|MMostly Mozart debutMostly Mozart Festival08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 3RECORD AD08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 4Mostly Mozart Festival Welcome to Mostly MozartI am pleased to welcome you to the 49th Mostly Mozart Festival, our annualcelebrationoftheinnovativeandinspiringspiritofournamesakecomposer.This summer, in addition to a stellar roster of guest conductors and soloists,we are joined by composer-in-residence George Benjamin, a leading contem-porary voice whose celebrated opera Written on Skin receives its U.S. stagepremiere. This landmark event is the first in a series of staged opera works tobe presented in a new partnership with the New York Philharmonic.Written on Skin continues our tradition of hearing Mozart afresh in the contextof the great music of our time. Under the inspired baton of Rene and RobertBelferMusicDirectorLouisLangre,theMostlyMozartFestivalOrchestradelights this year with the Classical repertoire that is its specialty, in additionto Beethovens joyous Seventh Symphony and Haydns triumphant Creation.Guest appearances include maestro Cornelius Meister making his New Yorkdebut;EdwardGardner,whoalsoleadstheAcademyofAncientMusicinaMendelssohn program on period instruments; and Andrew Manze with violin-ist Joshua Bell in an evening of Bach, Mozart, and Schumann. Other preemi-nent soloists include Emanuel Ax, Matthias Goerne, and festival newcomersSolGabettaandAlinaIbragimova,whoalsoperformintimaterecitalsinourexpanded Little Night Music series. And dont miss returning favorite EmersonStringQuartetandartists-in-residencetheInternationalContemporaryEnsemble, as well as invigorating pre-concert recitals and lectures, a panel dis-cussion, and a film on Haydn.With so much to choose from, we invite you to make the most of this rich andsplendid season. I look forward to seeing you often.Jane MossEhrenkranz Artistic Director08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 5By Martin CrimpPART IScene 1: Chorus of AngelsErase the Saturday car-park from the market place,fade out the living, snap back the dead to life.A Chorus of Angels takes us back 800 years, to a time when every book isa precious object written on skin. They bring to life two of the storys pro-tagonists:theProtector,awealthyandintelligentlandowneraddictedtopurity and violence, and his obedient wife, his property, Agns. One oftheangelsthentransformsintothethirdprotagonist,theBoy,anillumi-nator of manuscripts.Scene 2: The Protector, Agns, and the BoyIn front of his wife, the Protector asks the Boy to celebrate his life and gooddeedsinanilluminatedbook.ItshouldshowhisenemiesinHell,andhisown family in Paradise. As proof of his skill, the Boy shows the Protector aflattering miniature of a rich and merciful man. Agns distrusts the Boy andis suspicious of the making of pictures, but the Protector overrules her andinstructs her to welcome him into their house.Scene 3: Chorus of AngelsThe Angels evoke the brutality of the biblical creation story, invent man anddrown him, bulldoze him screaming into a pit, and its hostility to women,invent her/strip her/blame her for everything.Scene 4: Agns and the BoyWithout telling her husband, Agns goes to the Boys workshop to find outhowabookismade.TheBoyshowsheraminiatureofEve,butshelaughs at it. She challenges the Boy to make a picture of a real woman,like herself, a woman with precise and recognizable features, a woman thathe, the Boy, could sexually desire.Scene 5: The Protector and the visitors, John and MarieAs winter comes, the Protector broods about a change in his wifes behav-ior. She hardly talks or eats, has started to turn her back to him in bed, andpretendstobeasleep,butheknowsshesawakeandcanhearhereye-lashes scrape the pillow/like an insect. When Agnss sister Marie arriveswith her husband, John, she questions the enterprise of the book, and in par-ticularthewisdomofinvitingastrangeBoytoeatatthefamilytablewithAgns. The Protector emphatically defends both Boy and book, and threat-ens to exclude John and Marie from his property.Scene 6: Agns and the BoyThe same night, when Agns is alone, the Boy slips into her room to showher the picture she asked for. At first she claims not to know what he means,Mostly Mozart FestivalISynopsisSynopsis08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 6Mostly Mozart FestivalISynopsisbutsoonrecognizesthatthepaintedimageofasleeplesswomaninbedis a portrait of herself, her naked limbs tangled with the covers. As they examinethepicturetogether,thesexualtensiongrowsuntilAgnsoffersherselfto the Boy.PART IIScene 7: The Protectors bad dreamTheProtectordreamsnotonlythathispeoplearerebellingagainsttheexpenseofthebook,butalso,moredisturbingly,thattherearerumorsofasecret page, wet like a womans mouth, where Agns is shown grippingthe Boy in a secret bed.Scene 8: The Protector and AgnsTheProtectorwakesupfromthedreamandreachesoutforhiswife.She,however, is standing at the window watching black smoke in the distance, asthe Protectors men burn enemy villages.Sheasksherhusbandtotouchandkissher,buthesdisgustedatbeingapproached in this way by his wife and repels her, saying that only her child-ishnesscanexcuseherbehavior.Sheangrilyrefusestoacceptthelabelchild, and tells him that if he wants to know the truth about her, he shouldgo to the Boy: Ask him what I am.Scene 9: The Protector and the BoyThe Protector finds the Boy in the wood looking at his own reflection in thebladeofaknife.Hedemandstoknowthenameofthewomanwhoscreamsandsweatswithyou/inasecretbed,isitAgns?TheBoy,notwanting to betray Agns, tells the Protector that he is sleeping with Agnsssister, Marie, and conjures up an absurd scene of Maries erotic fantasies. TheProtector is happy to believe the Boy, and reports back to Agns that the Boyis sleeping with that whore your sister.Scene 10: Agns and the BoyBelieving that what her husband said is true, Agns furiously accuses the Boyofbetrayingher.Heexplainsheliedtoprotecther,butthisonlymakeshermore angry: it wasnt to protect her, it was to protect himself. If he truly lovesherthenheshouldhavethecouragetotellthetruth,andatthesametimepunish her husband for treating her like a child. She demands that the Boy, asproofofhisfidelity,createanew,shockingimagethatwilldestroyherhus-bands complacency once and for all.08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 7Mostly Mozart FestivalISynopsisPART IIIScene 11: The Protector, Agns, and the BoyTheBoyshowstheProtectorandAgnssomepagesfromthecompletedbook, a sequence of atrocities that make the Protector increasingly impatientto see Paradise. The Boy is surprised: he claims that these are indeed picturesofParadisehereonearth;doesnttheProtectorrecognizehisownfamily and property?Agns then asks to be shown Hell. The Boy gives her a page of writing. Thisfrustrates Agns because, as a woman, she hasnt been taught to read. Butthe Boy goes, leaving Agns and her husband alone with the secret page.Scene 12: The Protector and AgnsThe Protector reads aloud the page of writing. In it the Boy describes in sen-suous detail his relationship with Agns. For the Protector, this is devastating,but for Agns it is confirmation that the Boy has done exactly as she asked.Excited and fascinated by the writing, indifferent to his distress, she asks herhusband to show her the word for love.Scene 13: Chorus of Angels and the ProtectorThe Angels evoke the cruelty of a god who creates man out of dust only to fillhis mind with conflicting desires and make him ashamed to be human. Tornbetween mercy and violence, the Protector goes back to the wood, and, cut-ting one long clean incision through the bone, murders the Boy.Scene 14: The Protector and AgnsThe Protector attempts to reassert control over Agns. She is told what to say,whatshemayormaynotcallherself,and,sittingatalongdiningtable,isforcedtoeatthemealsetinfrontofhertoproveherobedience.TheProtector repeatedly asks her how the food tastes and is infuriated by her insis-tence that the meal tastes good. He then reveals that she has eaten the Boysheart.Farfrombreakingherwill,thisprovokesadefiantoutburstinwhichAgns claims that no possible act of violence, not if you strip me to the bonewith acid, will ever take the taste of the Boys heart out of her mouth.Scene 15: The Boy/Angel 1The Boy reappears as an Angel to present one final picture: in it, the Protectortakes a knife to kill Agns, but she prefers to take her own life by jumping fromthebalcony.Thepictureshowsherasafallingfigureforeversuspendedbythe illuminator in the night sky, while three small angels painted in the marginturn to meet the viewers gaze.08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 8Mostly Mozart FestivalIConversation with the DirectorConversation with the DirectorKatie Mitchell speaks with Alain Perroux about the staging of Written on Skin.ALAINPERROUX: YouhavedirectedseveralplaysbyMartinCrimp,notably Attempts on Her Life and The City. What is it that attracts you toCrimps theatrical world?KATIE MITCHELL: I love the precision and the rigor of his language. In hiswork, the language is like a taut muscle, with nothing flabby or slack aboutit. That means the director has to set the bar very high, and really try theirutmost to ensure this language gets across to the audience. I love the chal-lenge that represents. I also love the austerity of the ideas that his worksfeedon,whichareabouttime,failedlove,society,andhowittakesthewrong path. When it starts, you think the play is telling a simple love story between aman and a woman, when in fact its dealing with much broader ideas, likethe failure of communism, the collapse of capitalism, or the meaning of life.Martins plays put caustic language together with big ideas, with a very pre-cise,highlydevelopedsenseofpsychologybecauseMartinisagreatmaster of psychology. Each of his plays is a very finished piece of work.AP: These are qualities that appear in the text for Written on Skin. Do youfind elements in it that are specific to the genre of opera?KM: The biggest difference between one of Martins plays and this operatext is that at a basic level it has fewer words. Martin here creates a veryeconomicallanguagethatallowsGeorgeBenjamintofillthespacesbetween the words with music and sound. This text is just the tiniest bitmore poetic, its closer to a poem than a play, but it responds to the psy-chological demands that theater makes of a text. It manages to distill a nar-rative and dramatic content into a form that can be set to music, withoutlosing the psychological imperatives or clarity.AP: How do you deal with the highly distinctive lines where the charactersare narrating their own actions?KM: This technique is a challenge for the director and the performer, whodoesnt know if he or she is the narrator or the person being narrated! Ofcourse,youcanchoosetoignoreit,butthentheresultwouldturnoutvague. So we have to find a justification to explain why the characters aredescribingthemselvesinthisway,andconsequentlywhytheirpastactions and words are in a present-day frameanother feature that is quiteoriginal and fairly complex to deal with. We decided that there should simply be two very clearly represented peri-ods: that of the narrators, and that of the characters. I thought if the nar-rator-characters relate the things theyre doing, they must have done thembefore. So why not make them come back from the dead and ask them to08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 9Mostly Mozart FestivalIConversation with the Directorrepeat their past gestures? That sounds complicated to me when I describeit, but for the audience it will be very easy to grasp. Youll see people broughtback to life to act out the most difficult parts of their lives again, while theyrenarrating them. Were trying to create a world in which this narration neverdetracts from the power of the human situations that the opera is exploring.AP: Vicki Mortimers sets and costumes also contribute a great deal to mak-ing these different dimensions clear. How do you go about making two dif-ferent periods co-exist in the same space?KM: There are two periods being shown in this opera, and our aim was tomakethisclearonstage.Atthebeginning,wespentalotoftimedoingresearch on the 13th century and on events that happened to real people. Itsourjobtomakesurethattheperformersgesturesseemastrue,precise,and believable as in real life, within a powerful world. We looked closely atthearchitectureandclothesofthatperiod,andreaditsliterature.Anditdawned on us that we couldnt stay completely in the 13th century. It clickedinto place when we realized that we did not have to follow the rules of nat-uralism. The tone of the opera is like a form of surrealism, the surrealism ofdreams, where everything looks real down to the last detail, but without thelogicoflife.Inadreamlikethat,thepeopleofthe13thcenturycancomeback to life and act in the world of today. That makes the mixture of todayand long ago much easier.AP: To what extent does George Benjamins music influence your production?KM:Inanoperaproductionthemusicdeterminesallyourchoices,muchmore than the text of a play. Usually I decide whether to accept or turn downa project Im offered on the basis of the sound. Sometimes the plot is inter-esting,butreallywhatpersuadesmetoacceptordeclineanofferisthesound of the work. I decided to agree to direct Written on Skin after I heard[George Benjamins] Into the Little Hill. I thought, Thats a fascinating musi-cal landscape, so beautifulI have to do it!ExtractoftheFestivaldAix-en-Provence2012programbook,courtesyofFestival dAix-en-Provence. Translation from the French by Kenneth Chalmers.08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 10Mostly Mozart FestivalINote on the MusicNote on the MusicBy Paul SchiavoWritten on Skin (200912)GEORGE BENJAMINBorn January 31, 1960, in LondonWhatistherelationshipbetweenspiritualexperienceandphysicalpas-sion?Howdoesthepastinformthepresent,andviceversa?Canartspeak truth to power, and at what cost? Can love and self-sacrifice over-come violence and cruelty?These are some of the questions posed in Written on Skin, the provoca-tive opera by composer George Benjamin and author Martin Crimp. Firstperformedin2012attheAix-en-ProvenceFestival,WrittenonSkinreceivesitsU.S.stagepremiereatthisyearsMostlyMozartFestival,where Benjamin is composer-in-residence. Written on Skin is his secondopera,andhissecondcollaborationwithCrimp.Theirearlierchamberopera, Into the Little Hill (2006), will also be performed in concert at AliceTullyHallonSunday.Althoughexecutedonalargerscale,WrittenonSkin extendsthemes,dramaturgicaldevices,andmusicalproceduresbroachedintheearlierwork.Amongthesearetheinvestingofacen-turies-oldtalewithmodernsignificance;examiningthepositionofartandartistsinacorrupt,materialistsociety;mergingnarrationanddia-logueintoanovelhybrid;andusingunconventionalinstrumentstoachieve new sonorities.It may seem surprising that Benjamin waited until he was 50 before com-posing his first full-scale opera. Born in London in 1960, he began writingmusicearlyandwasonly16whenhewasadmittedtotheParisConservatory, where he studied with Olivier Messiaen and attended theFrench composers famed analysis class. Unbeknownst to his students,Messiaen was at that time working on his opera Saint Franois dAssise,and he devoted his classthe last one he taught before retiring from theConservatory facultylargely to examining major operas. Yet that study,andfurtherworkatCambridgeUniversity,didnotlureBenjaminquicklyintoopera.Infact,hedidntleapquicklyintoanycompositionalgenre.Instead,Benjaminproceededdeliberatelyduringhis20sand30s,grap-pling with the problems of late-modern music, in which old rules and pro-cedures no longer held sway and composers faced a dizzying array of pos-sibilities. Working slowly, he established a coherent and expressive styleand made his reputation chiefly by way of orchestral music.Significantly, though, Benjamins orchestral compositions tended to drawinspiration from literary or pictorial ideas. Ringed by the Flat Horizon, hisfirstmajorwork(completedwhenhewas20),evokesthepictureofathunderstorm in the New Mexico desert and verses by T.S. Eliot. At FirstLight wasinspiredbyapaintingofTurners,andSuddenTime takesitstitleandgenerativeideafromtheWallaceStevenspoemMartial08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 11Mostly Mozart FestivalINote on the MusicCadenza.Otherearlyworksusepoetictextsmoreexplicitly.AMindofWinter is a setting for soprano and small orchestra of another Stevens poem,The Snow Man, Benjamins music evoking the bare, frozen landscape sug-gested by the verses. Upon Silence, for mezzo-soprano and strings, employsas its text William Butler Yeatss Long-legged Fly.All this suggests a composer for whom opera would seem a fertile medium.Benjamin long considered writing such a work, and for years he jotted downinanotebookpossiblesubjectsforoperatictreatment.Hislistreportedlyextended to some 50 ideas before a chance meeting with Crimp, in 2005, ledtothecreationofIntotheLittleHill.Benjamincompletedthescoreforthatpieceinsixmonthsveryquickly,byhisstandardsandWrittenonSkinconfirmed that opera was indeed a congenial format for him. The composercredits both the narrative structure of opera and his collaborator for the rela-tive ease with which he was able to compose these works. Its having a storyto tell, and its having such an interesting and provocative and structural andimaginative person to work with, he told an interviewer. He [Crimp] multi-plies my speed of composition by eight times....Benjamins contribution to both operas has proved dynamic and imaginative,and his music for Written on Skin illuminates the story in remarkable ways.Avoiding the conventions of Romantic operabig arias, excessive emotionaleffusion, purely illustrative sonoritiesit conveys the tension, violence, andtendernessofthevarioussceneswhilecreatingwhatisoftenanother-worldly atmosphere. The fairly large orchestra for which it is scored includesunusual instruments, among them bass viol, cowbells, mandolins, and glassharmonica.Thevocallinesareseamlesslywovenintoafabricofkaleido-scopically changing instrumental colors and textures. Integration of vocal andinstrumental music, a goal of modern opera for well over a century, has rarelybeen so well-achieved. WrittenonSkin islooselybasedonanincidentthatreportedlybefelltheCatalan troubadour Guillem de Cabestaing (11621212). As related in a razo,anexplanatorytextgivingbackgroundtoatroubadoursstory-song,Guillemfellinlovewithhispatronswife,withtragicconsequences.Inrefashioningthe story as an opera, Crimp has preserved its essence while making notablechanges. For one thing, the identities of the main characters are altered. Thevengeful husband is known only as the Protector, a title replete with irony.His wife is called Agnsfittingly, since she is indeed a sacrificial lamb. Andinstead of a troubadour, her lover is a visual artist, a maker of illuminated man-uscripts, the ornately illustrated tomes that were so laboriously created duringthe Middle Ages. He, too, is not named but is called only the Boy, a monikersuggestive of youth and innocence. So, too, does his voice; Benjamin wrotethe role for a countertenor.ThetextincludesabandofangelswhofunctionlikethechorusinGreekdrama. These celestial beings also provide one of the protagonists, the Boy,08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 12Mostly Mozart FestivalINote on the Musicwho appears as an angel transformed. Crucially, however, the Boy is not justan angel but an artist. The opera clearly equates the two and implies that theBoysangelicattributesarealsothoseofartistsgenerally.Butuniquelytoartists, the Boy is able to impart meaning to human experience. On one level,he can extol his patrons riches and high social standing. More essentially, theBoyvalidatesAgnssexistencenotonlybyshowingherlovebutbytrans-forming that experience into art. In a crucial scene, Agns, upon hearing the account of their passion the Boy haswritten, demands to be shown the word for love in his manuscript, as thoughthe emotion she has felt will become real, or least attain heightened reality, bybeingtransformedintoasymbol.Herethefullimportoftheoperastitlebecomes clear. Written on Skin indicates not just script upon the artificial skin ofparchment by which books were created in the Middle Ages, it also tells of thepower of writingof artto move us viscerally and even awaken us physically.PaulSchiavoservesasprogramannotatorfortheSt.LouisandSeattleSymphonies, and writes frequently for concerts at Lincoln Center.Copyright 2015 by Paul Schiavo08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 13Mostly Mozart FestivalIConversation with the ComposerThefollowingisexcerptedfromaninterviewwithGeorgeBenjaminby Alain Perroux.ALAIN PERROUX: Would it be right to think of your first operatic work, IntotheLittleHill,asastagealongtheroadtothelargeformthatyouvedeveloped in Written on Skin?GEORGEBENJAMIN:Writingmusicforthetheaterhasalwaysbeenanambition of mine, and it is something that transferred into my instrumentalpieces. But up until now I had held back from writing an opera for three rea-sons: I didnt feel technically ready, I found it hard to arrive at a way of com-posing that allowed me to be direct, authentic, and modern all at the sametime, and most of all, I hadnt yet found the right person to collaborate with.After 20 years of looking, I had almost given up hope, when, thanks to theefforts of a mutual friendthe scholar and violist Laurence DreyfusI cameintocontactwithMartinCrimp.AnotherfactorwastheenthusiasmofJosphineMarkovits,musicaldirectoroftheFestivaldAutomneinParis.She offered to present our first opera as part of a retrospective of my musicin Paris in 2006, and so we wrote Into the Little Hill. I had only six monthsto compose this first opera, so I had to be pragmatic. It was going to be thelongest piece I had written, by far, at 40 minutesand at the time I couldntenvisage writing a complete opera for a full orchestra. After that experience,which proved most happy, Martin and I wanted to work together again. AP: Thequestionfacedbyeveryoperacomposeristhenecessityofthemusic in relation to the text. How have you answered it?GB: This is the question I asked myself in every bar. What is the dramatic pur-pose of the music if it is not to be reduced to creating a generalized emotion,likeinfilmmusic?Whatisitspurposeateverysecondofthedramaandwithin the structure of the opera? Because it doesnt make sense if the over-all form works well, but the intensity of the moment is weak, or vice versa.Besides, its not possible any more to compose operas as was done in the19th century or in the early 20th. Now that were accustomed to cinematicrealism, it seems impossible to me to write a realistic opera like those fromthe turn of the 20th century. To me, a domestic drama with post-serial musicsounds wrong; youre always asking the question, Why are they singing?AP: In what way did Martin Crimps theatrical world make it possible for youto resolve this issue?GB: In both our operas, Martin and I chose ancient stories observed from acontemporary vantage point. And the means of employing this element ofperspectiveareincrediblysimple:thecharactersaretheirownnarrators.Ifindthistechniqueinterestingforanumberofreasons.Thesingerscandemonstrate to the audience that the dramatic situation is artificial: whatson stage does not pretend to be reality. The audience can then perhaps bemoreatease,asthereisnoattempttodisguisethestrangenessoftheConversation with the Composer08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 14Mostly Mozart FestivalIConversation with the Composermedium, and I believe this in turnalmost paradoxicallyopens the way fora greater degree of spontaneity and dramatic immediacy. AP: Over all, your vocal writing is extremely varied.GB: I above all wanted to avoid the zigzagging clich of much contemporaryvocal writing. So in the main I avoided constant changes of register, and cer-tain disjunct intervals which have become somewhat stale to my ears. I wasparticularly keen for the vocal line to reflect the characters intentions at everymoment, through their tessitura, rhythmic pacing, and intervallic flavor, as I trytoservethedramaandfindadegreeoftruth.Ivetriedtoavoidagenericresponse to the text at all times. Besides, the vocal parts of Written on Skinwere not composed in the abstract, but specifically for the singers who firstperformed the roles. I met each singer a long time before starting to compose,and took page after page of notes on the specific qualities of their voices. AP:Yourorchestrationisalsoveryvaried.Youhaveafairlyclassicbasisofstrings,woodwind,andbrass,butwithalotofpercussionandsomerareinstruments like the bass viol and the glass harmonica added. What is the rea-son for this unusual amalgam?GB: ItsessentialthatmostofthewordsareaudibleandIdidntwantthesingerstohavetoshoutandfighttheorchestra.Sotheorchestralnormisrestraint and clarity. As a result, the rare moments when this norm is brokenmake an impact. I use the orchestra like a colored background, almost as anilluminatormight;itenvelopsthesingersinaconstantlychangingtissueofsound.Conventionalinstrumentsaresometimesusedinwaysthatareany-thing but conventional. For example, in Scene 7, the scene of the Protectorsnightmare, I wanted the characters to sing in a rapid, hushed manner, and thatmeans that the orchestra has to be very soft. But because this was a night-mare, I also felt the necessity to create a lumpy, heavy, thick, almost sicken-ing sound, akin to the feeling of being trapped in a bad dream. So at that pointmany instruments play, but all in the low register, and most with special mutesthat dampen the sound. AP: Verdi spoke of the tinta or distinctive color that he tried to find for eachopera. What would you say was the color of Written on Skin?GB: Althoughweweretellingthisstoryfromacontemporarypointofview,theimageofmedievalilluminatorsandtheirtechniquewasakeysourceofinspiration for both Martin and me. What does one see in an illumination? Aformalframe,sometimeswithahighdegreeofcolorfulornamentation,andinside this frame a fairly abstract representation of a religious scene or a scenefrom nature. The score of Written on Skin is something similar: it is made upof a succession of frames. These are not presented as segregated blocks, forthe music flows across them, but beneath the rhythmic and architectural sur-face you find a continuous sequence of frames. 08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 15Mostly Mozart FestivalIConversation with the ComposerInUmbertoEcosbookOnBeauty Idiscoveredsomeimagesoftheapoca-lypsefromaremarkable11th-centurySpanishmanuscript.ThebookdatesfromaperiodbeforethatofWrittenonSkin.Itsstyleismoreprimitive,butthe colors of its illuminations are absolutely extraordinary: they all share a sim-ilargeometricbackgroundagainstwhichareplacedfantasticallyinventiveimagery.Therelationshipbetweentheformalbackgroundandthisfantasticimagery is all the more astounding in that they never merge, but interact. Theresultiscoarserandlessdecorativethaninthemostfamousilluminatedbooks, such as Les Belles Heures du Duc de Berry. Less ornate, less complex,with primary colors, but an extraordinary range of imagery. This is the tinta thatI was looking for in Written on Skin.ExtractoftheFestivaldAix-en-Provence2012programbook,courtesyofFestival dAix-en-Provence. Translation from the French by Kenneth Chalmers.08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 16Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsGeorgeBenjamin(composer)studiedcompositionwithOlivierMessiaenand piano with Yvonne Loriod. His first orchestral work, Ringed by the FlatHorizon,wasperformedattheBBCPromswhenhewasonly20.AntarawascommissionedbyIRCAM(InstitutdeRechercheetCoordinationAcoustique/Musique)forthetenthanniversaryoftheCentrePompidouin1987. Mr. Benjamin conducted the first performances of Sudden Time at theMeltdownfestivalatSouthbankCentrein1993andThreeInventionsforchamber orchestra at the Salzburg Festival in 1995. The London SymphonyOrchestra and Pierre Boulez gave the world premiere of Palimpsests in 2002to mark the opening of the LSOs season-long retrospective of his work, ByGeorge, a project that also included the premiere by Pierre-Laurent Aimardof Shadowlines. Mr. Benjamins Into the Little Hill, a chamber opera to a text by Martin Crimp,premieredinParisin2006aspartofaretrospectiveofhisworkattheFestivaldAutomne.WrittenonSkin,theirsecondcollaboration,wascom-missionedandpremieredbytheAix-en-ProvenceFestivalandhassubse-quentlybeenscheduledinover20citiesworldwide.Theoperahasbeenrecorded and broadcast, and is the recipient of prizes in the UK and abroad.Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Crimp are now working on their third operatic creation,afull-scaleoperafortheRoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden,tobepre-mieredin2018.Hislatestwork,DreamoftheSong,forcountertenor,femalevoices,andorchestra,willbepremieredbytheRoyalConcertgebouw Orchestra in September 2015.Mr. Benjamin is a CBE, Commandeur dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres,andanHonoraryMemberoftheRoyalPhilharmonicSociety.HelivesinLondon,andsince2001hehasbeentheHenryPurcellProfessorofCompositionatKingsCollege,London.Mr.BenjaministhissummersMostly Mozart Festival composer-in-residence.George BenjaminMAURICE FOXALLMeet the Artists08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 17Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsMartin Crimp (text) was born in 1956andbeganwritingfortheaterinthe1980s.HisplaysincludeTheRestWill Be Familiar to You from Cinema(2013), In the Republic of Happiness(2012),PlayHouse(2012),TheCity(2008),FewerEmergencies (2005),CruelandTender (2004,writtenfordirector Luc Bondy), Face to the Wall(2002),TheCountry (2000),AttemptsonHerLife (1997),TheTreatment (1993),GettingAttention(1992),NoOneSeestheVideo(1991), Play with Repeats (1989), Dealing with Clair (1988), and Definitely theBahamas (1987). His work is translated into many languages and produced allover the world.Mr.CrimpstranslationsincludeGrossundKlein(2012),Rhinoceros(2007),The False Servant (2004), The Triumph of Love (1999), The Maids (1999), TheChairs (1997), Roberto Zucco (1997), a new version of The Seagull (2006) forLondonsNationalTheatre,andacontemporaryadaptationofTheMisanthrope (1996).Mr. Crimp has written two opera texts for George Benjamin: Into the Little Hilland Written on Skin.Alan Gilbert (conductor), music direc-toroftheNewYorkPhilharmonic,beganhistenurewiththeorchestrain2009,thefirstnativeNewYorkerin the post. He and the Philharmonichaveintroducedthepositions ofcomposer-in-residence,artist-in-residence,andartist-in-association;CONTACT!, thenew-musicseries;theNYPHILBIENNIAL,anexplo-ration of todays music; and the NewYorkPhilharmonicGlobalAcademy,collaborationswithpartnersworld-wideofferingtrainingofpre-professionalmusicians,oftenalongsideperfor-mance residencies.Martin CrimpGAUTIER DEBLONDE/NB PICTURESAlan GilbertCHRIS LEE08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 18Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsInthe201516seasonMr.GilbertconductsRichardStrausssEinHelden -leben to welcome concertmaster Frank Huang, Carnegie Halls opening-nightgala, and five world premieres. He will co-curate the second NY PHIL BIEN-NIAL and perform on violin in Messiaens Quartet for the End of Time. He alsoleadsthePhilharmonicaspartoftheShanghaiOrchestraAcademyResidency and Partnership and appears at Santa Barbaras Music Academy ofthe West. Philharmonic tenure highlights have included acclaimed stagings ofLigetisLeGrandMacabre,Janc eksTheCunningLittleVixen,StephenSondheimsSweeneyTodd starringBrynTerfelandEmmaThompson,andHoneggers Joan of Arc at the Stake starring Marion Cotillard, as well as 24worldpremieres,TheNielsenProject,VerdisRequiem,BachsB-minorMass,thescorefrom2001:ASpaceOdysseyalongsidethefilm,MahlersResurrectionSymphonyonthetenthanniversaryof9/11, andninetoursaround the world. Conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and prin-cipalguestconductorofHamburgsNDRSymphonyOrchestra,Mr.Gilbertregularly conducts leading orchestras nationally and internationally. In 201516hemakesdebutswithTeatroallaScalaOrchestra,StaatskapelleDresden,AcademyofSt.MartinintheFields,andtheLondonSymphonyOrchestra,and he returns to the Cleveland Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan SymphonyOrchestra. The Juilliard Schools director of conducting and orchestral studies,hishonorsincludeelectiontotheAmericanAcademyofArts&Sciences(2014) and a Foreign Policy Association Medal (2015).BaritoneChristopherPurves(TheProtector)hasreceivedmuchpraisefor his acclaimed interpretations of adiverse range of roles and repertoire.Highlightsin201415includePhilipGlasssThePerfectAmericanwithOperaQueensland attheBrisbaneFestival;HandelsMessiah inPerth,Adelaide,andMelbourne,andwiththeWash ingtonSymphonyOrches -tra; the title role of Gianni Schicchi atOpera North; St. John Passion at theRoyalConcert gebouw;St.MatthewPassion with the Academy of Ancient Music; Pellas et Mlisande at WelshNational Opera; and Saul at Glyndebourne.In 201314 Mr. Purvess engagements included Alberich in Das Rheingold atHoustonGrandOpera,SharplessinMadamaButterfly atLyricOperaofChicagoandScottishOpera,WrittenonSkinwithOpraComiqueinParis,Christopher PurvesCHRIS GLOAD08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 19Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsElgars The Kingdom at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra,Haydns Die Schpfung with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, HandelsMessiah with Le Concert dAstre, and Berliozs Lenfance du Christ with theBBCSymphonyOrchestra.Otherrecentoperatichighlightsincludeappear-ances at the Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, SalzburgerFestspiele, Berlin and Bavarian State Operas, Netherlands Opera, and EnglishNational Opera.Mr. Purves has a great affinity for contemporary repertoire and has originatedroles in a number of world premieres, most notably the Protector in GeorgeBenjaminsWrittenonSkinattheAix-en-ProvenceFestival,RoyalOperaHouseCovent Garden, Bavarian State Opera, and Netherlands Opera, and theroleofWaltDisneyinThePerfectAmericanatMadridsTeatroRealandEnglish National Opera.An established singer of Baroque music, Mr. Purvess recent highlights includeappearanceswiththeOrchestraoftheAgeofEnlightenment,AcademyofAncient Music, Gabrieli Consort, and Le Concert dAstre. In 2012 his debutsoloCD,HandelsFinestAriasforBaseVoice,withArcangeloandJonathanCohen, was released on Hyperion Records to critical acclaim.AfrequentguestoftheBerlinPhilharmonic,sopranoBarbaraHannigan (Agns) has appeared withmost of the other leading orchestrasand conductors worldwide, includingSimon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, KirillPetrenko,AlanGilbert,AntonioPappano,andEsa-PekkaSalonen.Muchsoughtafterincontemporarymusic, Ms. Hannigan has devoted anextraordinaryamountofherlifetosingingthemusicofourtime,andhasgivenover80worldpremieres.ShehasworkedextensivelywithcomposersincludingGyrgyLigeti,PierreBoulez,HenriDutilleux,GeraldBarry,SalvatoreSciarrino,GeorgeBenjamin,and Hans Abrahamsen, to name a few. As a singing actress, her operatic repertoire includes her highly praised debutasBergsLuluatLaMonnaieinBrussels,MarieinZimmermannsDieSoldaten at the Bavarian State Opera, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, alsoatLaMonnaie.ShewillmakeroledebutsasMlisande(Aix-en-ProvenceFestival) and in La voix humaine (Paris National Opera) this season. Barbara HanniganRAPHAEL BRAND08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 20Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsMs.Hanniganmadeherownconductingdebutin2010attheThtreduChteletinPariswithStravinskysRenard,andhassinceconductedthePraguePhilharmonicOrchestra,NationalAcademyofSt.CeciliainRome,GothenburgSymphonyOrchestra,WDRSymphonyOrchestraCologne,Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Her con-ducting debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was awarded De Ovatieprize for the best classical concert of 2014.For her performances in 2012 and 2013 Ms. Hannigan was named Singer oftheYearbyOpernwelt magazineandMusicalPersonalityoftheYearbytheSyndicate of the French Press. Her 2013 Deutsche Grammophon recording ofDutilleuxs Correspondances with Salonen and the Orchestre Philharmoniquede Radio France won the Gramophone Award as well as Frances Victoires dela Musique.BritishcountertenorTimMead(Angel1/Boy)mostrecentlytri-umphedinthetitleroleoftheU.S.premiere of Handels Riccardo primoatOperaTheatreofSaintLouis.Highlightsofthe201415seasonincluded the title role in Philip GlasssAkhnatenatOperaVlaanderen,theworld premiere of Theo LoevendiesTheRiseofSpinoza attheConcertgebouw,BachsB-minorMasswiththeEnglishConcert,Messiah with the Handel and HaydnSocietyandAcademyofAncientMusic,andasolorecitalinRome.ThisautumnMr.MeadwillmakehisroledebutasOberoninBrittensAMidsummer Nights Dream at Bergen National Opera.OperatichighlightsincludeGoffredoand EustazioinRinaldo;thetitleroleinGiulio Cesare at Glyndebourne; Endimione in La Calisto at the Bavarian StateOpera;theVoiceofApolloinDeathinVeniceatEnglishNationalOperaandtheNetherlandsOpera;TolomeoinJuliusCaesarandOttoneinLincoronazione di Poppea at English National Opera; the title role in Orlandoat Scottish Opera and Chicago Opera Theater; and the world premiere of TheMinotaur for the Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden. In concert Mr. Mead has sung with the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra oftheAgeofEnlightenment,LeConcertdAstre,RoyalScottishNationalOrchestra, Les Arts Florissants, London Handel Festival, the Netherlands BachSociety, the English Concert, Akademie fr Alte Musik Berlin, and the DresdenTim MeadBENJAMIN EALOVEGA08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 21Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsBaroque Orchestra, among others. His extensive discography includes BachsSt.MatthewPassionandB-minorMass,Handeloperasandoratorios,andMonteverdis Lincoronazione di Poppea. Mr.MeadstudiedmusicasachoralscholaratKingsCollege,Cambridge,before continuing his vocal studies at the Royal College of Music. In1999mezzo-sopranoVictoriaSimmonds(Angel2/Marie)sanganacclaimedRosinainIlbarbierediSiviglia forBritishYouthOperaandSestoinLaclemenzadiTito forGlyndebourneTour.In2000Ms.SimmondsmadeherEnglishNational Opera debut as Nancy Tangin John Adamss Nixon in China, andshewentontobecomeacompanyprincipal.ShehassungatallofthemajorUKoperacompaniesandcre-ated the title role in Jonathan Doveshighly acclaimed The Adventures of Pinocchio for Opera North, a role that shereprisedin2010.EngagementsabroadincludeappearancesattheAix-en-ProvenceFestival,StaatstheaterStuttgart,OpernhausHalle,andtheNetherlands Opera.RecentandfutureoperaticcommitmentsincludeFox inTheCunningLittleVixen for Garsington Opera, a new commission by Luke Bedford for the RoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden,MadHatterandAlicesMotherinAliceinWonderland, Minsk Woman in Jonathan Doves Flight for Opera Holland Park,andBoy inJoannaLeesTheWayBackHome forEnglishNationalOpera. Ms. Simmonds sang a major role in the world premiere of Written on Skin, aswellasattheNetherlandsOpera,OpraComique,RoyalOperaHouseCovent Garden, La Scala, Wiener Festwochen, and the Bavarian State Opera.She reprises the role in a European tour with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.OtherengagementsincludeatourtoSingaporewithLondonSinfonietta,JanceksGlagoliticMass withtheCambridgeUniversityMusicalSociety,Beethovens Ninth Symphony for Garsington Opera, Verdis Requiem for theGuildhall School of Music and Drama, Haydns Lord Nelson Mass with City ofLondonChoir,ElgarsTheDreamofGerontius inWellsCathedralandwithBerliner Kantorei, Tippets A Child of Our Time with the Auckland PhilharmoniaOrchestra, and a recording of Offenbachs Fantasio for Opera Rara.Victoria SimmondsMAT SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 22Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsTenorRobertMurray(Angel3/John)studiedattheRoyalCollegeofMusicandtheNationalOperaStudio. He was a Jette Parker YoungArtistattheRoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden.Operaticrolesinclude Don Ottavio in Don GiovannifortheRoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden,thetitleroleinAlbertHerring forGlyndebourneTour,TomRakewell in The Rakes Progress forGarsingtonOpera,FerrandoinCosfan tutte for Opera North, Benvolio inRomoetJuliette attheSalzburgFestival,theEarlofEssexinBrittensGloriana attheStaatsoperHamburg,andBobBolesinPeterGrimes attheAldeburgh Festival.ConcertperformancesincludeHaydnsLordNelsonMass withJohnEliotGardiner for the BBC Proms, the Evangelist in Bachs St. John Passion for theLondonHandelFestival,MendelssohnsElijah attheBBCPromswiththeGabrieli Consort & Players, and Mozarts Requiem at Londons Mostly MozartFestival at the Barbican Centre with Harry Christophers and the Sixteen. At theAldeburghFestivalhehasperformedBrittensWarRequiem withSimoneYoung,andBrittensOurHuntingFathers withtheCityofBirminghamSymphonyOrchestraandThomasAds.AttheEdinburghInternationalFestival Mr. Murray has performed in Strausss Elektra with the Royal ScottishNational Orchestra and Edward Gardner, Deliuss A Mass of Life with AndrewDavis, and Purcells King Arthur, or The British Worthy with Harry Christophersand the Sixteen. Recent and future engagements include a tour of Handels Messiah with theAcademy of Ancient Music, Haydns Creation with Gustavo Dudamel and theSimn Bolvar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, a return to Bostons Handeland Haydn Society, and a tour of George Benjamins Written on Skin with theMahler Chamber Orchestra.Robert MurraySUSSIE AHLBURG08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 23Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsActor David Alexander Parker (AngelArchivist) trained at Arts EducationalSchoolsLondonandalsoearnedabachelors degree with honors in the-ater,film,andtelevisionfromtheUniversityofLeeds.Hestartedact-ing at a young age while touring withtheNationalYouthMusicTheatreand began television work at age 16ontheBBC.In2012and2013Mr.ParkertouredthroughoutEuropeaspartoftheoriginalactingensembleinWrittenonSkin.HehasalsoplayedFriarLawrenceinShootingStarsTheatreCompanysproductionofRomeo and Juliet. Mr. Parker has appeared in the feature film Psychotic andtheshortfilmShifter, shownatLondonsFrightFestattheEmpireLeicesterSquare.HealsoappearsintheshortfilmsVersus, TheGuardianofThebes,Grace Under Pressure, and The Green Man. He recently appeared in a com-mercial for Bulmers Cider and will appear in both a documentary for DiscoveryID and a Virgin Stills campaign later this year.LauraHarling(AngelArchivist)stud-iedfineartatKingstonUniversitybeforetrainingasanactoratDramaStudioLondon.Hertheatercreditsinclude Lovesong of the Electric Bear(theHopeTheatre),SayItwithFlowers (HampsteadTheatre),Written on Skin (Royal Opera HouseCoventGardenandEuropeantour),OnMisanthrope (EtceteraTheatre),TheMoonflower (RiversideStudios),WomanBomb (TristanBates),DidoandAeneas (theActorsChurch),AMidsummerNightsDream (RosePlayhouse),AWomanAlone (JackStudioTheatre),AChristmasCarol (Barbican/RoyalShakespeareCompany),andMorning and Evening (Hampstead Theatre). She has appeared in several filmsas well, including Robert Altmans Gosford Park, Suri Krishnammas New YearsDay, and Jeff Woolnoughs Lost Souls. Ms. Harlings television credits includeSilentWitness,MyFamily,Casualty,DavidCopperfield,TheHistoryofTomJones,aFoundling (BBC);InvasionEarth (BBCScotland);andYoungJaneinJaneEyre (LondonWeekendTelevision).Ms.Harlingalsoworksasatheaterproducer.In2010sheestablishedFirstDraftTheatre,wheresheworkswithwriters to develop new ideas. David Alexander ParkerLaura Harling08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 24Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsActor Peter Hobday (Angel Archivist)trained at the Royal Central School ofSpeechandDramainLondon.Histheatercreditsinclude TheCherryOrchard(YoungVic), Bird (ForwardTheatreProject,UKtour201415),SayItwithFlowers (HampsteadTheatre),OnMisan thrope(EtceteraTheatre), Hugh (Arcola Theatre), Sold(PleasanceCourtyard),TheEdge(NewDiorama),andDivineWords(CentralSchoolofSpeechandDrama). Hehasalsomadeseveraloperaappearances,includingperformancesinTheWayBackHome(YoungVic)andWrittenonSkin(RoyalOperaHouseCoventGardenandEuropeantour). He has performed in the film Roses in Winter and also has appeared ontelevision in The Mimic.Sarah Northgravess (Angel Archivist)theatercreditsincludeappearancesinKatieMitchellsproductionsofAlcina (Aix-en-ProvenceFestival),SayItwithFlowers(HampsteadTheatre Downstairs), and Written onSkin (Aix-en-Provence Festival, RoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden,andEuropean tour), as well as AttemptsonHerLifeandIvanov(NationalTheatre).Ms.NorthgraveshasalsoappearedinClaimandShame(Theatre503),ADollsHouse(GreenwichPlayhouse),TisPityShesaWhore (WhiteBear),MissJulie(BrockleyJack),DangerousCorner (UKtour),MurderbyMisadventure (UKtour),Storeys(ManintheMoon),BloodyPoetry (BristolOldVicStudioandtour), A Clergymans Daughter (Southwark Playhouse), King Jamess Ear (OldRed Lion), Doctor Faustus, Leonardos Last Supper, and The White Devil. Shehas appeared in a short film, Train Station.Katie MitchellKatieMitchells(director)recenttheaterproductionsincludeHappyDays(Schauspielhaus, Hamburg), a remounting of five of her previous productionsPeter HobdaySarah Northgraves08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 25Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsatBrandstichter2015(Stadsschouwburg,Amsterdam);2071(RoyalCourtTheatre,London);TheCherryOrchard (YoungVic,London); TheForbiddenZone(SalzburgFestivalandSchaubhne,Berlin); ASorrowBeyondDreams(Burgtheater, Vienna); Lungs and The Yellow Wallpaper (Schaubhne, Berlin);The Rest Will Be Familiar to You from Cinema (Schauspielhaus, Hamburg); SayIt with Flowers and The Trial of Ubu (Hampstead Theatre); Night Train (Schau -spielKln,AvignonFestival,andBerlinsTheatertreffen); TenBillion(RoyalCourt and Avignon Festival); Rings of Saturn and Waves (Schauspiel Kln); andHansel and Gretel and A Woman Killed with Kindness (National Theatre).Ms.MitchellhasbeenanassociatedirectorattheRoyalShakespeareCompany,theNationalTheatre,andtheRoyalCourtTheatre.Operaproduc-tions include Alcina (Aix-en-Provence Festival); The Way Back Home (EnglishNationalOpera/YoungVic);TrauernachtandTheHouseTakenOver(Aix-en-Provence Festival); Le vin herb (Berlin State Opera); Written on Skin (Aix-en-Provence Festival and Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden); Al gran sole caricodamore(BerlinStateOperaandSalzburgFestival); Orest(DeNederlandseOpera); and Clemency (Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden). For film and tele-vision,Ms.MitchellhasdirectedThe WidowingofMrsHolroyd,Jenufa,Rough for Theatre II, and The Turn of the Screw. She was awarded an OBE in2009 for services to drama.Dan AylingDan Aylings (associate director) directing credits include Vast White Stillness(BrightonFestival/SpitalfieldsMusic);Struileag(CommonwealthGames,Glasgow); works for the TNE Festival (Historic Dockyard, Chatham); WrittenonSkin(TorontoSymphonyOrchestra,NetherlandsOpera,WienerFestwochen,OpraComique);CITY(NorwichandNorfolkFestival);RememberMe(SoundandSpitalfieldsFestivals); Clemency (EdinburghInternational and SO Festivals); FLOW, Fewer Emergencies, and City of LostAngels(PrintRoom);AgaintheRoomWasPlungedintoSilence (BarbicanTheatre);AsICrossedaBridgeofDreams andCricketRemixed (AlmeidaTheatre);andShoot/GetTreasure/Repeat andEschara (UKtour,UnionTheatre).Hisassociate/assistantdirectorcreditsincludeAlcina (Aix-en-Provence Festival), The Man Jesus starring Simon Callow (UK tour), Cos fantutte (EnglishNationalOpera),WrittenonSkin(Aix-en-ProvenceFestival,Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden), Clemency (Royal Opera House 2), Heartof Darkness (ROH2, Opera East), and Four Quartets (Lincoln Center), amongothers. Mr. Ayling has also worked extensively with Almeida Opera, Cryptic,and National Youth Music Theatre.Mr.AylingtrainedatBirkbeck(UniversityofLondon),wherehereceivedamasteroffineartdegreeintheaterdirecting,andtheGuildhallSchoolofMusicandDrama,wherehereceivedabachelorsdegree(Hons)instagemanagement and technical theater. 08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 26Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsVicki MortimerBornintheUK,VickiMortimer(scenicandcostumedesign)studiedattheSlade School of Fine Art. She has worked regularly with Katie Mitchell, inclu-dingfor KtaKabanov andJephtha (WelshNationalOpera),Algransolecaricodamore(SalzburgFestivalandBerlinStateOpera), Parthenogenesis(RoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden,LinburyStudioTheatre),St.MatthewPassion (Glyndebourne), Written on Skin (Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden,Aix-en-ProvenceFestival),Neither(BerlinStateOpera),Trauernacht (Aix-en-Provence Festival), and The Way Back Home (English National Opera and ParisNationalOpera),aswellasmanyproductionsatLondonsNationalTheatresuch as The Cat in the Hat, Pains of Youth, Ivanov, Attempts on Her Life, ThreeSisters, Waves, and The Seagull. Other work includes Die Entfhrung aus demSerail,DieMeistersingervonNrnberg,andCosfantutte(Glyndebourne);Wozzeck (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and TheSilverTassie (setdesigns);Othello,BurntbytheSun,andLastoftheHaussmans (National Theatre); The Country, The City, and My Zinc Bed (RoyalCourt Theatre); and designs for the Donmar Warehouse, Almeida Theatre, andRoyalShakespeareCompany.Ms.MortimersdancedesignsincludeRavenGirl (Royal Ballet), Genus (Paris Opera Ballet), and Yantra (Stuttgart Ballet). Jon ClarkJonClark(lightingdesign)studiedatBrettonHall,LeedsUniversity.Hisrecent opera work includes Krl Roger (Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden);WrittenonSkin (RoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden;Aix-en-ProvenceFestival;ThtreduCapitole,Toulouse;NetherlandsOpera);ThePerfectAmerican (Madrids Teatro Real, English National Opera); Wozzeck, Caligula,and TheReturnofUlysses(ENO); Macbeth(Copenhagen);Labohme(Dutch National Opera and ENO); and Footfalls and Neither (Schiller Theatre,Berlin). Mr. Clarks recent theater lighting designs include King Charles III, forwhich his lighting was nominated for an Olivier Award; American Psycho andKingLear(AlmeidaTheatre);TrelawnyoftheWells (DonmarWarehouse);The Beaux Stratagem, Othello, The Effect, Hamlet, Collaborators, Greenland,TheCatintheHat,PainsofYouth,andBeautyandtheBeast(NationalTheatre,London);Hamlet,TheTempest, KingLear,TwelfthNight,andTheComedyofErrors (RoyalShakespeareCompany);ThePride (RoyalCourtTheatre); A Season in the Congo and A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic);andTheCommitments andMadeinDagenham (WestEnd).Mr.Clarkhasdesigned for dance companies internationally. Future projects include LuciadiLammermoorandLtoile(RoyalOperaHouseCoventGarden),MuchAdo about Nothing (National Theatre), and Dr. Seusss The Lorax (Old Vic). Mahler Chamber OrchestraThe Mahler Chamber Orchestra, renowned for its passion and creativity, was08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 27Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the Artistsfoundedin1997withthesharedvisionofbeingafreeandinternationalensemble.Theorchestraisanomadiccollectiveofexceptionalmusicians,with 45 members of the core ensemble spanning 20 different countries anduniting for specific tours in Europe and around the world. The orchestra is onthe move nearly 180 days per year, and has so far performed in 35 countriesacross five continents. It is governed collectively by its management team andorchestra board, and decisions are made democratically with the participationof all musicians.At the heart of the orchestras music making is a shared passion for chambermusic.ItscorerepertoireliesintheVienneseClassicalandearlyRomanticperiods;thegroupalsoperformscontemporaryworksandworldpremieres.The orchestra received its most significant artistic impulses from its foundingmentor, Claudio Abbado, and from Conductor Laureate Daniel Harding. PianistLeifOveAndsnes,violinistIsabelleFaust,andtheconductorsDanieleGattiand Teodor Currentzis are current artistic partners who inspire and shape theorchestra during long-term collaborations. Highlightsthissummerincludetheconclusionofafour-yearproject,TheBeethoven Journey, with Leif Ove Andsnes, in Norway and at the BBC Promsin London, a return to the Lucerne Festival with Gatti, and the launch of a CarlNielsen portrait at the Musikfest Berlin.The orchestra musicians all share a strong desire to continually deepen theirengagement with audiences. This has inspired a growing number of offstagemusicalencountersandprojectsthatbringmusic,learning,andcreativitytocommunities around the globe. Jane MossJane Moss, Lincoln Centers vice president of programming since 1992, wasnamedEhrenkranzArtisticDirectorofLincolnCenterin2011,apositionthatincludes her role as artistic director of the Mostly Mozart Festival. In that capac-ity,shehasinitiatedandledthetransformationandexpansionofthefestivalinto a multidisciplinary, multilayered, and far-reaching exploration of its name-sake genius and his influence on succeeding generations. Ms. Moss has alsocreatedseveralmajornewinitiativesatLincolnCenter,includingtheinterna-tional, multi-genre Lincoln Center Festival, the New Visions series, which linksthe worlds of the theater and classical music, and Lincoln Centers AmericanSongbook series, which focuses on classic and contemporary expressions ofAmericansong.Inthefallof2010Ms.MosslaunchedthemultidisciplinaryWhite Light Festival, focused on exploring the many dimensions of transcen-dence and our interior lives as expressed by a dynamic, international spectrumof distinctive music, dance, and theater artists. The programming she has intro-ducedanddirectsrepresentsacontinuingcontributiontothevitalityofNewYorksculturallandscape.Ms.MossalsooverseesGreatPerformers,LincolnCentersmajorseason-longclassicalmusicseries;MidsummerNightSwing;08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 28andthefreeLincolnCenterOutofDoorssummerseries.Shehasplayedanimportant role as an innovator in musical and music-based presentation and isa recipient of the French Order of the Legion of Honor.Prior to joining Lincoln Center, Ms. Moss worked as an arts consultant, design-ing and developing projects and programming initiatives for a variety of foun-dations and arts organizations, including the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Fundand the Pew Charitable Trusts. As executive director of Meet The Composer,anationalorganizationservingAmericancomposers,Ms.Mosscreatedthecountrys largest composer commissioning program, as well as a program sup-portingcollaborationsbetweencomposersandchoreographers.Inaddition,she served as executive director of New Yorks leading Off-Broadway theatercompany, Playwrights Horizons, and executive director of the Alliance of Resi -dent Theaters/New York.Mostly Mozart FestivalLincoln Centers Mostly Mozart FestivalAmericas first indoor summer musicfestivalwaslaunchedasanexperimentin1966.CalledMidsummerSerenades: A Mozart Festival, its first two seasons were devoted exclusivelyto the music of Mozart. Now a New York institution, Mostly Mozart continuestobroadenitsfocustoincludeworksbyMozartspredecessors,contempo-raries,andrelatedsuccessors.InadditiontoconcertsbytheMostlyMozartFestivalOrchestra,MostlyMozartnowincludesconcertsbytheworldsoutstandingperiod-instrumentensembles,chamberorchestrasandensem-bles,andacclaimedsoloists,aswellasoperaproductions,dance,film,late-nightperformances,andvisualartinstallations.Contemporarymusichasbecomeanessentialpartofthefestival,embodiedinannualartists-in-residence,includingOsvaldoGolijov,JohnAdams,KaijaSaariaho,Pierre-LaurentAimard,andtheInternationalContemporaryEnsemble.Amongthemany artists and ensembles who have had long associations with the festivalareJoshuaBell,ChristianTetzlaff,ItzhakPerlman,EmanuelAx,GarrickOhlsson, Stephen Hough, Osmo Vnsk, the Emerson String Quartet, FreiburgBaroqueOrchestra,OrchestraoftheAgeofEnlighten ment,andtheMarkMorris Dance Group.Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.LincolnCenterforthePerformingArts(LCPA)servesthreeprimaryroles:presenterofartisticprogramming,nationalleaderinartsandeducationandcommunity relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenterof more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educa-tionalactivitiesannually,LCPAoffers15programs,series,andfestivals,includingAmericanSongbook,GreatPerformers,LincolnCenterFestival,LincolnCenterOutofDoors,MidsummerNightSwing,theMostlyMozartFestival,andtheWhiteLightFestival,aswellastheEmmyAwardwinningMostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the Artists08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 29Mostly Mozart FestivalIMeet the ArtistsLiveFromLincolnCenter,whichairsnationallyonPBS.AsmanageroftheLincolnCenter campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complexand the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus reno-vation, completed in October 2012.Mahler Chamber OrchestraViolin IHenja Semmler(Germany),ConcertmasterAnnette zu Castell(Germany)Kirsty Hilton (Australia)Lisa Lee (United States)Sophie Rowell(Australia)Timothy Summers(United States)Tristan Thry (France)Yi Yang (China)Violin IIJohannes Lrstad(Sweden), PrincipalMichael Brooks Reid(Australia)Christian Heubes(Germany)Andrea Kim (Germany)Jana Ludvickova (CzechRepublic)Sonja Starke (Germany)ViolaBatrice Muthelet(France), PrincipalYannick Dondelinger(United Kingdom)Aurlie Entringer(France)Hanne Skjelbred (Norway)Delphine Tissot (France)Eve Wickert (UnitedStates)CelloFrank-MichaelGuthmann (Germany),PrincipalDavid Drost (Germany)Stefan Faludi (Germany)Christophe Morin(France)Thomas Reler(Germany)Philipp von Steinaecker(Germany)BassAxel Ruge (Germany)Sung-Hyuck Hong(South Korea)Apostol Kosev(Bulgaria)David Murray (UnitedStates)FluteChiara Tonelli (Italy) Bastien Pelat (France),PiccoloJlia Gllego (Spain),Piccolo/Alto FluteOboeMizuho Yoshii-Smith(Japan)Akiko Butsuda (Japan)ClarinetVicent AlberolaFerrando (Spain)Benot Savin (France)Nina Janen-Deinzer(Germany), Bass ClarinetJaan Bossier (Belgium)BassoonFredrik Ekdahl(Sweden)Alessandro Battaglini(Italy), ContrabassoonHornStefn Jn Bernhardsson(Iceland)Luise Bruch (Germany)Peter Erdei (Hungary)Tobias Heimann(Germany)TrumpetChristopher Dicken(United Kingdom),Piccolo TrumpetBrandon Ridenour(United States),Piccolo TrumpetValentn Garvie(Argentina)Sarah Slater (Australia)TromboneAndreas Klein(Germany)Iaki Ducun (Spain)Mark Hampson (UnitedKingdom)TubaJonathan Riches(United Kingdom)PercussionMartin Piechotta(Germany)Igor Caiazza (Italy)Christian Miglioranza(Italy)Rizumu Sugishita(Japan)HarpGael Gandino (France)Glass HarmonicaPhilipp A. Marguerre(Germany)Bass Viola da GambaLoren Ludwig (UnitedStates)MOLINAVISUALS08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 30Mostly Mozart Festival Lincoln Center Programming DepartmentJane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic DirectorHanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music ProgrammingJon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary ProgrammingJill Sternheimer, Acting Director, Public ProgrammingLisa Takemoto, Production ManagerCharles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingKate Monaghan, Associate Director, ProgrammingClaudia Norman, Producer, Public ProgrammingMauricio Lomelin, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingJulia Lin, Associate ProducerNicole Cotton, Production CoordinatorRegina Grande, Assistant to the Artistic DirectorLuna Shyr, Programming Publications EditorClaire Raphaelson, House Seat CoordinatorStepan Atamian, Theatrical Productions Intern; Annie Guo, Production Intern; Grace Hertz, House Program InternProgram Annotators: Don Anderson, Peter A. Hoyt, Kathryn L. Libin, Paul Schiavo, David WrightFor Written on SkinRobert Mahon, Associate Director, ProductionBlair Hartman, Assistant Production CoordinatorAndrew Hill, Production ElectricianCeleste Montemarano, SupertitlesFor Aix-en-Provence FestivalGerry Cornelius, Musical AssistantAlphonse Cemin, Pianist/RepetitorMatt Hellyer, Scenic AssistantMatthew Watkins, Stage ManagerEster Pieri, Deputy Stage ManagerJerome Lasnon, Chief CarpenterRaphael Caron, Deputy Chief CarpenterJeremie Allemand, ElectricianAnnabel Cartallas, WardrobeMarion Rinaudo, PropsStphan Hugonnier, Company ManagerDavid H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Centeroperated byCity Center of Music and Drama, Inc.Board of GovernorsAlair Townsend, ChairmanGillian Attfield, Secretary-TreasurerRandall BourscheidtRandal R. Craft Jr.Marlene HessRobert I. LippIra Millstein08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 31Ex-Officio Hon. Bill de Blasio, Mayor of the City of New YorkHon. Gale A. Brewer, Manhattan Borough PresidentHon. Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker of the New York City CouncilHon. Tom Finkelpearl, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural AffairsFoundersFiorello H. LaGuardiaNewbold MorrisMorton BaumFounding DirectorsMrs. Lytle Hull (18931976)Mrs. Arthur M. Reis (18891978)Governors EmeritiMartin E. Segal (19162012)Martin J. OppenheimerNancy LassalleStaffDavid P. Thiele, Managing DirectorTheater ManagementJoseph Padua, Director of OperationsMeghan VonVett, Technical DirectorMari Eckroate, House ManagerLauren Rosen, Performance ManagerEdward J. Gebel, Chief EngineerTodd Tango, TreasurerWilliam Holze, Assistant TreasurerFrank Lavaia, Master CarpenterThomas Maher, Master ElectricianBen Dancyger, Master of PropertiesRafael Diaz, Maintenance SupervisorDarwin Gonzalez, Performance PorterClement Mitcham, Security SupervisorAracely Diaz, Mail Room SupervisorInformation TechnologyStephan Czarnomski, DirectorYolanda Colon, Assistant ManagerJohn Abramowsky, Sr., ProgrammerEric Farrar, Support SpecialistAnthony Vignola, Network EngineerTelephone Sales & Customer ServiceNadia Stone, DirectorRosemary Sciarrone, Assistant ManagerKeyvan Pourazar, Assistant ManagerShirley Koehler, Assistant to the DirectorThe David H. Koch Theater is owned by the City of New York, which has givenfunds for its refurbishment and which provides an operating subsidy through theDepartment of Cultural Affairs.Mostly Mozart Festival 08-11 Skin_GP2 copy7/30/152:46 PMPage 32