Press Release

Villa Theater Lab: Homeric Hymns


Photo: Vikk Shayen 

At the Getty Villa

Friday, April 21, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.

 

LOS ANGELES - The Getty Villa Theater Lab Series continues this month with Los Angeles-based performance troupe Four Larks. With a chorus of actors, musicians, and dancers, award-winning Four Larks will perform a selection of poems from the Homeric Hymns. The lab series features work-in-progress versions of new translations/adaptations of Greek and Roman plays as well as contemporary works inspired by ancient literature.
 
The Homeric Hymns are a collection of partial and complete songs from the seventh and sixth centuries BC, written in the style of the Homeric epics. They reflect the earliest stories about the major Greek gods and were recited in public to honor them. The beautiful poems offer clues to the spiritual and cultural practices of the Greeks, where poetry, belief, and daily practice were intertwined. Passed down in fragments through varies translations, the ancient hymns were meant to be malleable. Whether used to appeal, rally, seduce or indoctrinate, the hymns were evolving documents, tailored to meet a specific function for their audience.
For their through-composed performance at the Getty Villa, Four Larks has adapted a collection of the hymns tailored for 2017. The new compositions borrow from the surviving fragments and the corresponding pantheon of Greek deities to address current political concerns. Specifically, the hymns celebrate collective action and the power of group resistance, they call for the protection of mother earth and the powerful female deities who govern her cycles, they praise curiosity and scientific inquiry, they ward against tribalism and isolationism, and they exalt diversity, hospitality, and cultural exchange. 
 
All performances take place in the Villa Auditorium. Tickets are $7 and can be reserved by calling 310-440-7300 or at http://www.getty.edu/museum/programs/performances/theater_lab.html.
 
Credits:
 
by Four Larks
 
Concept and Performance Score by Mat Sweeney, Devised with Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, Composed with Ellen Warkentine, Lyrics adapted with Jesse Rasmussen from the Homeric Hymns.
 
Set and Properties Designed and Constructed by Sebastian Peters-Lazaro with additional design by Regan Baumgarten and assistance from Katy Schwartz
 
Costumes by Mieko Romming
 
Music by Mat Sweeney and Ellen Warkentine, with additional compositions, arrangements and improvisations by the musicians.
 
Sound Engineered by Danny Echevarria
 
Staging and Choreography by Mat Sweeney and Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, with contribution and development from the performers.
 
Stage Management and Production Assistance by Miranda Peters-Lazaro
 
Performers:
Max Baumgarten
Danny Echevarria (violin & guitar)
Maya Gingery (flute)
Jodie Landau (vibraphone)
Matt Orrenstein (double bass)
Lukas Papenfusscline (banjo & harmonium)
Prudence Rees-Lee (cello)
Linnea Sablosky (percussion)
Lisa Salvo (percussion)
Zachary Carlisle Sanders
Ellen Warkentine (woodwinds)
Cassandra Blair Ward
Eli Weinberg

 
The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the  visual  arts that includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation  Institute, and the Getty Foundation. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs serve a varied audience  from  two  locations: the  Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades.
 
The J. Paul Getty Museum collects Greek and Roman antiquities, European paintings, drawings, manuscripts, sculpture and decorative arts to 1900, as well as photographs from around the world to the present day. The Museum’s mission is to display and interpret its collections, and present important  loan exhibitions and publications for the enjoyment and education of visitors locally and  internationally. This is supported by an active program of research, conservation, and public  programs  that seek to deepen our knowledge of and connection to works of art.
 
Visiting the Getty Villa
 
The Getty Villa is open Wednesday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Tuesday and most major holidays, open on July 4. Admission to the Getty Villa is always free, but a ticket is required for admission. Tickets can be ordered in advance, or on the day of your visit, at www.getty.edu/visit or at (310) 440-7300. Parking is $15 per car, but reduced to $10 after 3 p.m. Groups of 15 or more must make reservations by phone. For more information, call (310) 440-7300 (English or Spanish); (310) 440-7305 (TTY line for the deaf or hearing impaired). The Getty Villa is at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway,  Pacific Palisades, California.

Same-day parking at both Museum locations (Getty Center and Getty Villa) is available for one fee through the Getty’s Pay Once, Park Twice program. Visit the Museum Information Desk at the Center or the Villa to obtain a coupon good for same-day complimentary parking at the other site.
 
Additional information is available at www.getty.edu.
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