Medea
New Focus, 2025
9/10
The composer Michael Hersch turns the tragedy of Medea into a new opera for soprano, chamber voices and ensemble via these 4 involved selections.
“Medea I” opens with the chilling keys and Sarah Maria Sun’s animated voice that makes for a captivating start, and “Medea II” follows with the Ensemble Musikfabrik’s ambient gestures which suit the expressive voices.
On the back half, “Medea III” focuses on a distinct tonality that builds into tense bouts of mouth acrobatics from Sun amid the cinematic swells, while “Medea IV” blends the woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion with dynamic singing.
A highly meticulous, harmonic and powerful body of work, Hersch’s telling of the psychological trauma of the story weaves in and out of many diverse and captivating textures.
Travels well with: Steven Ricks- Mythological Fragments; Leilehua Lanzilotti & David Kaplan- Scott Wollschleger: Lost Anthems