ROME IS FALLING

Rome is Falling 

Conceived & Composed by DOUG BALLIETT

August 10, 2024 | 4pm
The Clark Art Institute
Williamstown, MA

Tickets

Ariadne Greif*, soprano
Reggie Mobley*, countertenor
Paul Appleby, tenor
Doug Williams*, bass-baritone
Joe Monticello*, flute
Clay Zeller-Townson*, bassoon
Keir GoGwilt, violin
Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Doug Balliett, composer/double bass
Josh Stauffer*, electric guitar
Elliot Figg*, keyboard I
Mikael Darmanie*, keyboard II
Jonny Allen, percussion
Young person’s choir* (with Caitlyn Koester*)

*Denotes guest artists

Rome was one of the greatest civilizations in the world; yet, like all empires, it fell. Why, and how? The story is a mixture of politics, betrayal, immigration, religion, climate, pandemic, natural disaster, xenophobia, and bad luck (in short, everything human, and everything we face today). Rome is Falling, an opera composed by American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) member Doug Balliett, is a zany lesson on the absurdity of what can happen when powerful people lose power. In his ever-prescient, ever-joyful way, Balliett brings audiences of all ages on a musical journey through a world that includes lollipops, a ridiculous number of characters, and an emperor with a chicken fetish.

Tickets $10 ($8 members, $7 students,$5 children 15 and under).