Introducing Vaugirard, Odette’s Ascent to the Throne, a new music-theatre work by creator and composer Mardi-Ellen Hill. Will a young woman of royal blood find her way out of a stellar maze of time and space?

Peter Goodman from Newsday, described the music of Vaugirard as “‘unabashedly lyrical… informed in places by the cunning simplicity of Phillip Glass and elsewhere by post romantic sentiment”·and he calls the text “telegraphic and allusive, expressive of love and betrayal.:”

Iris Fanger of the Boston Herald in describing Vaugirard says “I loved it immediately and I can think of a dozen ways to stage Vaugirard because its qualities are visual, sensual and subtextual, as well as being music that I enjoy for just listening… l was struck by the evocative quality of her music and the sense of new viewpoint”.

Bruno Palmer- Poroner of Artspeak says “something has already been said about the unique talent of the creator; she possesses a relentless even ruthless power of organization. Hill is a born musician who began to compose at a very early age; she writes music as a painter paints. Upon listening one can literally ‘see’ the music, making it excellent for opera.”

Ms. Hill’s work has been performed at the International Festival in Cologne, Germany; the Sodra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden, the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, the Boston Shakespeare Theatre, La Mama, the University Theatre of New York, University, Bard College, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Ms. Hill created four new works for the New Dramatists in conjunction with the Minnesota Opera.

She has received many commissions including one as the first American composer to work at the Groupe Musique Vivantes De Lyon, France. Most recently, a Canadian and French sponsored event showcased Ms. Hill’s work at Steinway Hall, NYC. Ms. Hill, a recipient of many honors and awards was recently awarded an Annette Kade fellowship from Arts International for her work in France and has received funding from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Upcoming plans for the 94-95 season include lectures at Trinity and Mt. Holyoke Colleges and a residency at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Canada.