geoff @ carnegie hall!

The main reason I was in New York City was to see Geoff perform at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with soprano Dawn Upshaw in a show staged by Peter Sellars. The three of them (and others) put on a production of Kurtag’s Kafka Fragments, a piece I imagine to be overwhelmingly difficult to pull off. But they played absolutely brilliantly, and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Of course, I had my opinions about various aspects of the production, but Dawn and Geoff were AWESOME. I don’t know how Geoff made his part sound so easy. And you really haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Dawn Upshaw use two bottles of dishwashing detergent to act out a scene between two lovers. One of the bottles of detergent was a bottle of Dawn Detergent, of course. ;)

After the show there was a little cast party on the Upper West Side, where we socialized and ate Livia’s delicious lasagna. It was great to see Ozzie, who had come into town to see the show, and I met Morris Acevedo, with whom I’ve traded e-mails in the past.

By the way, I have to say that taking photos of everything has been very rewarding. I actually have a picture of <a href=”javascript:LaunchImagePage(‘/music/golijov/images/1017/20021017_155202_1.htm’);”">the moment Peter Sellars met Geoff Nuttall, which was during a tour of Osvaldo’s Passion.

UPDATE New York Times Articles [before, january 9] [review, january 12]

The review of the show was glowing — as good as a review could be. I’m so proud of Geoff! Here’s an excerpt:

Mr. Nuttall, also barefoot, with a wild mane of hair and scruffy beard and wearing torn black jeans and a baggy shirt, was an equal partner in this drama. Playing with stunning technique and volatility, he had the kinetic presence of a charismatic rocker.
- (New York Times)

It was pretty cool because when I arrived in New York (days before the show), Geoff was telling a story about Todd’s offense upon seeing the shoes that Dawn were supposed to wear. His horror eventually resulted in both Geoff and Dawn being barefoot on stage. I love the little backstories in performances. :)

Web coverage from my friends: [meredith: "sweet and poignant and funny and desperately sad..."]

See some pictures:

Geoff Nuttall, backstage at Zankel Hall (Carnegie)

Here's a snippet of the Kurtag piece Geoff performed with Dawn Upshaw

Kurtag's Kafka Fragments @ Zankel Hall at Carnegie: Geoff Nuttall, Dawn Upshaw, Peter Sellars

Clarinet man Todd Palmer pours champagne

Geoff opens bottle #2

Geoff toasts to the success of the opening night of Kafka Framents

Soprano Dawn Upshaw, composer Osvaldo Golijov, and master stager Peter Sellars toast in celebration of the opening of Kafka Fragments at Carnegie

Geoff pours himself a drink on cellist Claire Bryant's head

Dawn Upshaw, Geoff Nuttall, Osvaldo Golijov, Claire Bryant

Livia Sohn, Osvaldo Golijov, Claire Bryant, Todd Palmer, Morris Acevedo, David Rowe, Pedja Muzijevic, and others

Geoff Nuttall with Peter Sellars

Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, Osvaldo Golijov

Geoff Nuttall, Pedja Muzijevic, Osvaldo Golijov, and Peter Sellars

Pedja Muzijevic, Dwan Upshaw, Osvaldo Golijov, and Peter Sellars

Geoff Nuttall and Livia Sohn

Peter Sellars, David Rowe, and Geoff Nuttall

The only shot I'm in: Claire Bryant, Geoff Nuttall, Livia Sohn, Pedja Muzijevic, and me