Modicum of Passion

'In an America of the near future, or perhaps the recent past, where men can only wed others of their kind, and women are relegated the tasks of breeding and housekeeping, one happily married couple, Jakob Blythe and Tobias Folwen, have their bliss briefly interrupted.' Thus begins the tragic-comic opera A Modicum of Passion, based on the play by Lauri Bortz, with a musical score composed and conducted for string quartet by Elliott Sharp. This release features an all-star cast of vocalists: jazz sensation Devorah Day, punk prince Ben Miller, (x-Destroy All Monsters), R&B crooner Eric Mingus and indie rockette Joan Wasser, plus a fabulous four musicians--Stephanie Griffin, Conrad Harris, Amy Kimball, Garo Yellin--who are accomplished in all of these genres and more. A Modicum of Passion is a woeful tale of depraved indifference. In this microcosm, empathy is shattered by surrealistic time/space, and love fails to conquer much, if anything at all. The story unfolds in classic operatic format as Elliott Sharp's expressionism takes eerily beautiful twists and turns. This is Sharp at his most lyrical and gothic: the hummable melodies will no doubt surprise his ardent followers. But, loveliness aside, Lauri Bortz's darkly absurdist libretto has found it's perfect musical match.