Brian Current's opera, Airline Icarus, explores themes of hubris mixed with technology, the forced intimacy of strangers, and flying too close to the sun.
Composition History
The idea for Airline Icarus was sparked by composer Brian Current's thoughts on a Korean commercial flight shot down in 1983 and a poem by librettist Anton Piatigorsky.
Recording & Production
This recording of Airline Icarus is the world premiere recording and was made possible with assistance from the Canada Music Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts.
Composer Biography
Brian Current, the composer, has received numerous international awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Barlow Prize for Orchestral Music, and the Italian Premio Fedora for Chamber Opera.
Notable Performances
Airline Icarus was awarded the Italian Premio Fedora Award in 2011 by a jury chaired by Louis Andriessen, a renowned Dutch composer.
Composition History
The librettist, Anton Piatigorsky, proposed the myth of Icarus as the perfect metaphor for the opera, connecting it to modern airline tragedies.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The opera reflects on Daedalus's cry of 'Damn this art' from the Icarus myth, interpreting it as a lament for humanity's endless cycle of creation and potential disaster.
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