It hasn’t been easy getting “Dust” to the Mannes stage: The production was delayed a year because of the challenge of producing an experimental work in an environment set up for more traditional repertoire. “It feels amazing to be doing something that speaks to today, and not the 18th century,” she said. The language of “Dust,” and the demands it places on singers to control pitch and rhythm of the spoken word, are rarely called for outside of Ashley’s body of work. For the young cast, it’s a bit as if they were spending several semesters becoming fluent in Basque. Still, administrators and teachers at Mannes insisted that the benefits to the students would carry over into the professional world.

Source: New York Times January 27, 2017 21:56 UTC