Program

Kevin Puts, Emily – No Prisoner Be

1. They shut me up

2. I was the slightest in the House —

3. The Soul selects her own Society

4. Again — his voice is at the door

5. Interlude No. 1

6. I dwell in Possibility

7. Because I could not stop for Death

8. A Bee I personally knew (Scherzo No. 1)

9. I Felt a Funeral

10. I reason, Earth is short

11. A little Snow

12. I tie my Hat — I crease my Shawl

13. "Hope" is the thing

14. Interlude No. 2

15. The Props assist the House

16. There is a solitude of space

17. Could I ride but indefinite (Bee Scherzo No. 2)

18. So set its Sun in Thee

19. Her Face

20. Tell Her

21. His Feet are shod with Gauze (Bee Scherzo No. 3)

22. Wild Nights!

23. There is another sky

24. 'Tis true — They shut me in the Cold

25. If I can stop one Heart from breaking (on Praetorius "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming")

26. No Prisoner Be

Joyce DiDonato performs Kevin Puts's Emily – No Prisoner Be, with Time for Three

An evening of song dedicated to Emily Dickinson

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Cast

Joyce DiDonato — Mezzo-soprano

Time for Three

Nicolas Kendall — Violin, Viola, Vocals

Charles Yang — Violin, Vocals

Ranaan Meyer — Double bass, Vocals

Program notes

The luminous Joyce DiDonato, one of the most celebrated vocalists of the 21st century, lends her mellifluous mezzo-soprano to the introspective, off-kilter, humorous and heartbreaking poetry of Emily Dickinson in Emily – No Prisoner Be, a boundary-blurring song cycle written for her by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts that "pulsates with restlessness" (New York Times). Joined by the Grammy-winning trio Time for Three, gifted instrumentalists and singers who envelop solo lines with lush harmonies, DiDonato pays homage to the famously reclusive poet with a fully committed theatrical performance of a cycle that she calls "the pinnacle of great, masterful storytelling through music and poetry." A series of accomplished art songs with modern flair, Emily – No Prisoner Be is a unique musical experience in which "artistic currents come together with a confident, wide-reaching manner of expression" (Gramophone).