The Angel's Share presents Gregg Kallor's Frankenstein and The Tell-Tale Heart in the Green-Wood Cemetery Catacombs
The Angel’s Share will close its first season October 10-12 with an operatic double bill from composer and pianist Gregg Kallor, including the world premiere of his setting of sketches from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (celebrating the 200th anniversary of the book’s publication) – the heartbreaking story of a living, feeling creature, brought into the world only to be forsaken by his creator and left to fend for himself – as well as a reprise of his acclaimed setting of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Tell-Tale Heart.
The Angel’s Share is a new concert series by Unison Media and The Green-Wood Historic Fund that features opera and chamber music concerts in Green-Wood’s remarkable Catacombs.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano will perform the monodrama, The Tell-Tale Heart, as well as the role of Elizabeth Frankenstein, baritone Joshua Jeremiah will sing The Monster, and tenor Brian Cheney will sing Dr. Frankenstein. Sarah Meyers will direct both pieces, and Kallor will lead from piano, accompanied by Joshua Roman on cello.
Kallor will also release a new recording of The Tell-Tale Heart and other songs on October 5, with soprano Melody Moore and Joshua Roman on cello, to coincide with the performances.
The Angel's Share series takes its name from the distiller’s term for whiskey that evaporates while maturing in the barrel, thus going to the angels. Accordingly, each performance will begin with a pre-concert reception with food, drinks, and a whiskey tasting overlooking the Manhattan skyline and the New York Harbor at sunset. At dusk, guests will then follow a candle-lit pathway down to the Catacombs for the performance. Whiskey sponsors for the Kallor performances include Virgil Kaine Lowcountry Whiskey Co., Prizefight Irish Whiskey, Stillhouse Van Brunt, and Five & 20.
The new series follows Unison Media’s acclaimed Crypt Sessions, which debuted at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem in 2015. The intimate performances have generated unprecedented attention, with tickets selling out within minutes of the on-sale date. The New York Times included one of last year’s Crypt Sessions on its list of the “Best Classical Music Performances of 2017.”
Incorporated in 1838, The Green-Wood Cemetery stretches across 478 pastoral acres in Brooklyn and boasts extraordinary works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century sculpture, statuary and architecture. Home to thousands of historic figures, The Green-Wood Cemetery offers tours of its grounds, concerts, book readings and other public events throughout the year. Green-Wood has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. The Green-Wood Historic Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization created to maintain Green-Wood’s monuments and buildings of historical, cultural, and architectural significance; to advance public knowledge and appreciation; and to preserve the natural habitat of one of New York City’s first green spaces.