

THE MAIDEN TOWER
chamber opera
Program notes cont'd:
After a number of upwards expansions, the daughter, finally satisfied with the height of the structure, climbs to the top of the tower and throws herself to her death.
The compactness of this story reminded me of both Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Because of my work with computer electronics and my dissertation topic (the electro-acoustic Synchronisms series by Mario Davidovsky), I wanted to incorporate the use of electronics into the opera. Because I wanted the use of electronics to be organic to the story, I revamped the tale to incorporate a computer into the drama. The main influences for this work include the ruthlessly efficient works Britten’s operatic masterpiece Turn of the Screw and Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat, and the stunning and glorious sound-world of Georges Aperghis’ Machinations.
Justine F. Chen
September 2005
New York, NY
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JUSTINE F. CHEN
COMPOSER AND VIOLINIST
BREAKING NEWS:
WORLD PREMIERE TODAY! of THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING!! with librettist David Simpatico,COT, director Peter Rothstein and Maestro Lidiya Yankovskaya! March 23 & 25 2023! JOIN US in CHICAGO Tix Chicago Tribune COT Interview Out Chicago
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NYC! Come join Johnathan McCullough and Carol Wong in this free performance of my Platform Anxiety song! April 13, 2023 8 PM
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Maryland Opera Studio for their beautiful performance of TWA - a new opera with librettist Jacqueline Goldfinger!
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