Pol­i­tics is art and art is pol­i­tics. In this case a can­tata based on the Sen­ate Judi­ciary Com­mit­tee hear­ings of for­mer Attor­ney Gen­eral Alberto Gonzales. Unless you were under a rock for the past decade you remem­ber the infa­mous hear­ings in which Alberto Gon­za­las denied that he hired and espe­cially fired attor­neys based on their polit­i­cal align­ment. This can­tata uses the hear­ing transcripts.

A won­der­ful musi­cal expe­ri­ence and a new polit­i­cal moment for us all. Oh, did we men­tion Arlen Spec­tor is a soprano?

from the press release:

Philadel­phia, PA – “The Gon­za­les Can­tata,” a gender-bending 40-minute choral work, will be given three per­for­mances as part of the 2009 Philadel­phia Fringe Fes­ti­val. The can­tata takes its libretto directly from the 2007 Sen­ate Judi­ciary Com­mit­tee hear­ings in which dis­graced for­mer Attorney-General Alberto Gon­za­les famously said “I don’t recall” more than 71 times. Per­for­mances will take place at the Rotunda at the Uni­ver­sity of Penn­syl­va­nia, 4011 Wal­nut Street, on Fri­day Sep­tem­ber 4 at 7PM, Sat­ur­day Sep­tem­ber 5 at 7PM, and Sun­day Sep­tem­ber 6 at 2PM.

Com­poser Melissa Dun­phy, an incom­ing Penn doc­toral can­di­date, was inspired to write the Gon­za­les Can­tata after hear­ing PA Sen­a­tor Arlen Specter grilling Alberto Gon­za­les in an NPR story in 2007. She counts among her musi­cal influ­ences Han­del, Phil Kline, John Adams and P.D.Q. Bach. In a state­ment against the preva­lence of men in pol­i­tics, the gen­ders of the main roles have been reversed – Gon­za­les, Specter and Patrick Leahy are set in the soprano reg­is­ter, while a tenor sings Sen. Diane Fein­stein – and the staid atmos­phere of the Capi­tol build­ing has been replaced by the pageantry of Miss America.

Despite the polit­i­cal nature of the piece, Dun­phy insists that the Gon­za­les Can­tata is a study of char­ac­ter rather than politics.

“This is a human­ist drama, not a par­ti­san state­ment. We see Gon­za­les’ mis­takes, but we also feel some real pathos for a man who has dug him­self into a ter­ri­ble hole.” Dun­phy is nor­mally seen onstage in Philly as “undoubt­edly the city’s lead­ing Shake­speare ingénue” (Philadel­phia Inquirer).

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Press Photo by Matt Dun­phy, www.bitrotten.com Pic­tured: Melissa Dunphy

The Gon­za­les Cantata

Fri­day, Sep­tem­ber 4th at 7PM
Sat­ur­day, Sep­tem­ber 5th at 7PM
Sun­day, Sep­tem­ber 6th at 2PM

The Rotunda
4011 Wal­nut Street, Philadel­phia, PA 19104

Tick­ets: $20,
pur­chase at the door or through the Live Arts and Philly Fringe Box Office

Melissa Dun­phy
contact@melissadunphy.com

(484) 340‑2530 (cell)

www.gonzalescantata.com

www.melissadunphy.com