Peak Performances Presents Inbal Oshman's M STABAT MATER

Peak Performances presents M Stabat Mater, a choreographic exploration of motherhood from Inbal Oshman. With a title that encompasses "M," the most common sound in the word for "mother" within languages all over the world, M Stabat Mater probes the joys and sorrows of the experience. Oshman's piece, set to baroque music, explores the vulnerability and tenderness required of mothers, and the strength and ferocity that come with the territory. She borrows from the mythological mothers of history, including the Mary of Christianity, the violent Hindu goddess Kali, and the Four Matriarchs of the Old Testament: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. New York Baroque Incorporated, one of the ensembles responsible for "the fast-growing vitality of the early music scene in New York" (the New York Times), performs Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's 1736 piece Stabat Mater live on period instruments.

While pregnant with her third child, Oshman was inspired by 18th-century Italian composer Pergolesi's version of Stabat Mater, the medieval hymn about Mary's vigil at the foot of the cross. "This performance...is the realization of a fantasy of mine," she told the Jerusalem Post in 2014, prior to the Israeli premiere of M Stabat Mater. "Several months ago, I saw that the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra was performing Stabat Mater. I sat there in the auditorium, which was packed to the brim, in complete ecstasy... I believe very strongly in evoking emotion through physicality." Oshman began developing M Stabat Mater during a residency in Bangalore at the Attakkalari Center for Movement Arts, where it first premiered for their 2013 biennial, before moving on to Israel and Europe. The piece emulates the baroque composition that inspired and accompanies it, and is broken into 12 parts, each reflecting a different aspect of femininity.

Performing the work at the Alexander Kasser Theater are dancers Ilana Bellahsen, Luciane Castro Fontanella, Almog Kidron, and Ayelet Nadav, singers Sherezade Panthaki (soprano) and Christopher Ainslie (countertenor), and New York Baroque Incorporated, who will also perform Concerto for Strings, No. 2 in G minor by Francesco Durante Affettuoso. The creative team includes Yannets Levi (Dramaturg), Tamar Orr (Lighting Design), Maor Tzabar (Costume Design), Ofer Laufer (Technical Manager), and Dikla Leibovitz (Producer).

This U.S. premiere is part of Israel's Dance Fest at 70, honoring the 70th anniversary of the birth of Israel, sponsored by Israel's Office of Cultural Affairs in North America.

Performance Schedule and Ticketing

Performances of M Stabat Mater will take place at the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University (1 Normal Ave, Montclair, NJ), Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13 at 7:30pm; Saturday, April 14 at 8pm, and Sunday, April 15 at 3pm. Preshow conversation on the artists' inspiration takes place Thursday, April 12, at 6pm.

Tickets, affordably priced at $20 (and free for Montclair undergraduates), be purchased at www.peakperfs.org or 973.655.5112.

Credits

Programs in Peak Performances' 2017-18 season are made possible in part by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Peak Performances gratefully acknowledges the support of Israel's Office of Cultural Affairs in bringing Inbal Oshman to the United States. This production is part of Israel's Dance Fest at 70, honoring the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel, sponsored by Israel's Office of Cultural Affairs in North America.

About Inbal Oshman

Inbal Oshman's dance works find inspiration in diverse cultural sources. Her movement and artistic vision offer a united compound of mythical, historical and cultural elements from different worlds. Oshman creates dance for stage, public spaces and screen. Her pieces are shown and performed in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, India, Portugal, Serbia, Cyprus and other countries. In 2013, Oshman was a resident choreographer at Attakkalari Dance Company, Bangalore, India where she created "M" to Stabat Mater by Pergolesi for the company's 4 senior dancers. In 2015 she was a resident choreographer in Kyoto Art Center, Japan, where she created the dance film The Cuckoo's Cry. This film has been shown in a variety of festivals around the world and is part of Ikono TV repertoire. Since 2016 M is performed in Europe with Camerata Geneva. As of January 2016, Oshman is a resident artist in Fest'Factory, Bat-Yam, Israel. During her residency, she has created and performed Homeless Lullaby, a dance piece inspired by lullabies from around the world. Homeless Lullaby will be performed in Dresden, Germany in 2018. Constantly researching theory of the choreographic act, Oshman is also a graduate of the Philosophy and History Department of Tel-Aviv University. Other dance pieces by Oshman: Fitting Room, Yellow Bride, Gradation, Rising Down and Border Lines.

About New York Baroque Incorporated

New York Baroque Incorporated (NYBI) is a conductorless orchestra on period instruments in New York City, bringing vital, informed, and fresh performances of a wide range of 17th and 18th-century repertoire, and creating a vibrant landscape for collaborations between historical performance and living composers. Since its creation, NYBI has received critical praise for its energy, virtuosity and entrepreneurship, and was lauded by the New York Times for its "do-it-yourself spirit." Highlights of season 2016-17 include the modern-day premiere of Santa Rosalia (1687), one of four surviving oratorios by Bonaventura Alliotti. The players of NYBI include winners of the Early Music America/Naxos Recording Competition, Audience Award winners of EMA Baroque Performance Competition, finalists of the York Early Music Competition, and recipients of the Jacob K. Javits and Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships. Members have recorded for Avie, Naxos, Sony and Decca, and have appeared at festivals from Marlboro to Mostly Mozart to Boston Early Music Festival. Teaching positions held by NYBI musicians include The Juilliard School, University of Minnesota, Stony Brook University, Temple University, University of North Carolina, University of Delaware, and Peabody Institute.

About Peak Performances

Peak Performances is a program of the Office of Arts and Cultural Programming at Montclair State University and has been honored by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts with an Arts Citation of Excellence and Designation of Major Impact. Programs in this season are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.