Immersive Opera, Glory Gone, to Premiere at Maxwell Museum

Albuquerque, NM, August 22, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Mexican-American composer Nathan Felix will present his new immersive opera titled Glory Gone at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology (2000 Mountain Rd NW) at UNM on Thursday September 14 at 7:00pm. Glory Gone will be part of a bigger three hour (5pm - 8pm) event hosted at the Maxwell Museum with a theme of Restoring Voices. Restoring Voices is a three hour event that will feature local and UNM student ensembles who will perform original jazz, classical, experimental and avant-garde. The event which was co-curated by Felix and Julián Antonio Carrillo, Maxwell’s Curator of Education & Public Programs is free and open to the public.

Glory Gone explores the theme of restoring voices and the search for one’s purpose and identity in the face of racial discrimination. The narrative follows Gloria, a prolific Hispanic singer who rose from poverty and into the national limelight by crossing over into the American mainstream. After a concert, Gloria is assaulted by an obsessed and jealous photographer. On life support, she fights for her life and survives but is stripped of her singing career. We watch her struggle with her self worth, identity and purpose. The lead role of Gloria will be performed by soprano Jennifer Perez. The cast is rounded out by mezzo-soprano Emily Anderson who plays a superfan, tenor Curtis Storm who plays the photographer and soprano Bailey Barnes who plays a news journalist. This immersive opera will occur in and around various spaces within the Maxwell Museum and museum goers are encouraged to follow the performers as they move throughout the museum and amongst the audience.

Felix is known for his guerilla-style approach in presenting classical music in unconventional spaces and Glory Gone is no exception, with a performance utilizing space, movement, and acoustics to activate the Maxwell both indoors and outdoors. The idea behind Felix’s immersive opera is similar to a flash mob as it revolves around blurring the line between performer and audience by having musical performers move amongst the audience as they perform a cohesive musical composition. The audience is encouraged to follow the narrative of the piece which entails following the soloists but they are ultimately given agency to explore based on feeling, sight and soundscape.

Who: Composer Nathan Felix
What: Premiere of Glory Gone
When: Thursday September 14th at 7:00 pm
Where: Maxwell Museum: 500 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Cost: Free

About Nathan Felix:
Nathan Felix (born 1981) is a Mexican-American, music composer known for his immersive operas and experimental films. His music has premiered in Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Japan, China, Sweden, Denmark, Mongolia and the United States and his music has been featured on the BBC, MTV, NPR & PBS.

His first large work for orchestra was featured by the BBC and later made into a documentary titled, The Curse & The Symphony. The award winning documentary screened at 52 film festivals, and was distributed by Gaiam TV. In 2015, PBS featured Felix's 6-Piano Project, in which he restores abandoned pianos to premiere his works written for six pianos and then donates the pianos to lower income schools. 6-Pianos was nominated for a Lone Star Emmy. The 6-Piano Project has since been commissioned in San Antonio (2016), Barcelona (2017) Melbourne (2017) and Houston (2019).programmatic elements to art galleries.