On October 7, National Sawdust celebrated the CD release of Du Yun’s Pulitzer-prize-winning opera “Angel’s Bone” with a performance of excerpts from the work. The concert was preceded by a panel during which ethnomusicologist Lara Peligrinelli moderated a discussion between Du Yun, librettist Royce Vavrek, and conductor Julian Wachner. Through vocal, acoustic, and electronic sound, Du Yun’s opera tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. XE, a middleman and middlewoman who exploit fallen angels to make ends meet. During this performance, Wachner conducted five musicians of NOVUS NY performing the brash and visceral accompaniment, which included a killer oboe solo from Stuart Breczinski. Vocalists Abigail Fischer and Kyle Pfortmiller lent their voices to the parts of Mrs. and Mr. XE, but it was Du Yun’s utterly extraordinary, unrestrained performance of the Girl Angel that stole the show.
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