A TRIO OF MUSIC VIDEOS
Misha Penton: soprano, creative director/director, and producer
The Captured Goddess, October 2015, music of Dominick DiOrio.. ravens & radishes, April 2014, music of George Heathco. Lyrics, Misha Penton. Selkie, 2013, music of Elliot Cole. Libretto, Misha Penton.
About the Videos
THE CAPTURED GODDESS
Music by Dominick DiOrio
Misha Penton, soprano, director, producer
Meredith Harris, viola
Kyle Evans, piano
Toni Valle, dancer and choreographer
Fiery flames and smoldering vapor plumes. Wildflowers and wild grasses. An elemental goddess at the mercy of humankind.
Amy Lowell's 1914 poem, "The Captured Goddess"
American poet Amy Lowell’s 1914 prescient and haunting poem, "The Captured Goddess", is told through intense imagery, shot on location: from Houston's Memorial Drive wildflowers to the blazing flares and glowing smoke plumes of our city's ship channel. A seven minute mini-opera, "The Captured Goddess" illuminates contemporary urban life and our ever-pressing forward, ever-changing world.
Misha Penton, director. Raul Casares, director of photography. Cliff Davis, editor. Audio recorded by Todd Hulslander at The Geary Performance Studio, Houston Public Media. Produced by Misha Penton.
Digital EP: in addition to the "The Captured Goddess", the EP includes two scenes from the chamber opera, Klytemnestra, the original subversive female, with music by Dominick DiOrio and words by Misha Penton
RAVENS & RADISHES
Misha Penton, soprano, director, producer, concept, lyrics
Music by George Heathco
ravens & radishes is a five movement operatic song cycle composed by George Heathco, setting the re-imagined fairytale poetry of soprano, Misha Penton. "sheep's clothing", the movement featured in this video, has a touch of dark fairytale macabre— the narrator, a She-Wolf, methodically stalks children in the forest...
Digital Booklet and liner notes.
Misha Penton, soprano. George Heathco, electric guitar. Daniel Saenz, cello. Meg Brooker, dancer and choreographer
Director, Misha Penton. Director of Photography, Raul Casares. Editor, Cliff Davis. Set Design, Dave Nickerson. Makeup Artist, Julia Wagener. Audio, Todd Hulslander and George Heathco. Recorded at the Geary Performance Studio Houston Public Media. A Divergence Vocal Theater Production
SELKIE
Misha Penton, soprano, director, producer, concept, lyrics
Music: Elliot Cole
Misha Penton, soprano
Meredith Harris, viola
Kyle Evans, piano
Meg Brooker, dancer and choreography
— from "Selkie, a sea tale", composer Elliot Cole’s lush musical setting of fairytale poetry by soprano Misha Penton.
Selkies are ephemeral half-human, half-seal beings. They are transformative creatures that inhabit liminal spaces; exist at the edge of dusk and dawn; in the between-time of solstice and equinox; and where root meets earth and sea washes sand. When the moon swells to its fullest, Selkies shed their seal skins, reveal their human form, and dance on our northernmost beaches— their skins ready for the taking. Selkie, a sea tale’s poetry is a dreamscape of human fragility, longing and loss, written from a sailor’s wife to a her selkie love, and culminates in her willingness to release him back to the sea…
Director: Misha Penton. Director of Photography: Raul Casares. Second Camera: Dave Nickerson. Editor: Cliff Davis. Audio recording: Todd Hulslander. Audio recorded at The Geary Performance Studio Houston Public Radio. A Divergence Vocal Theater Production