from Aeolus (2015-2017) a work-in-progress co-created by Ken Ueno, Majel Connery and Thomas Tsang "There is No One Like You" written and composed by Ken Ueno vocals and performance by Majel Connery created during a residency at High Concept Laboratories, April 2015 co-presented by Opera Cabal and High Concept Laboratories hosted by Mana Contemporary Chicago video by Scrappers Film Group AEOLUS is a new opera combining throat singing, multiphonics indie-rock and electronics making its premiere here at National Sawdust. It is written and performed by Ken Ueno (Rome and Berlin Prizes winner) in collaboration with FLUX Quartet (“legendary for its furiously committed, untiring performances,” Alex Ross), and the “haunting, Björk-like vocals” (SF Classical Voice) of Majel Connery. AEOLUS is inspired by the mythological keeper of the winds, Aeolus, from the Odyssey. In the classic tale, wind shapes human destiny. In the opera, wind, reinterpreted as breath, is a compositional tool. AEOLUS charts Ueno’s personal odyssey, linking impressionistic scenes from memories, found objects and literary fragments from the composer’s past. Musically, the opera juxtaposes “arias” by Ueno and Connery; virtuosic, voiceless passages by FLUX; and meditative textual interludes. More Aeolus videos here.