Lisel x gorilla vs. bear takeover: Meredith Monk – Atlas

I recently took part in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s production of Meredith Monk’s opera “Atlas.” It’s an ensemble piece, kind of about the majesty of the earth and our connectedness as humans, with implications for climate change and the uncertain future.

there's no language throughout the piece so the vocalizing is all on made up syllables, like "ah" or "heyo," intuitive ways of communicating without language divisions. There’s a lot of using our voices to make strange sounds, nasal, vocal fry, yelps, yodels, imitating animals in the forest, etc. all of the music is also connected to dancing -- meredith's whole thing is that movement and music are linked in the body and that they should intuitively inform each other. I've loved meredith's work for a long time, working with her was a dream.

here’s my favorite movement -- Lisel