Soprano Reilly Bianchi Nelson to Headline ‘Songs of Glass & Iron’
By David SalazarToronto-based soprano Reilly Bianchi Nelson and composer-pianist Friedrich Heinrich Kern are set to present Kurt Weill’s “Songs of Glass and Iron” on Jan. 29, 2025 at Pamenar, Kensington Market in Toronto.
The music-theatre exploration of displacement and belonging through the works of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht has a runtime of 60 minutes and blends classical Weill songs with contemporary electronics, improvised textures, and bilingual spoken text in German and English.
The program features Weill songs including “Je ne t’aime pas,” “Youkali,” “Surabaya Johnny,” “Nanna’s Lied,” “Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?,” and “Ballade vom ertrunkenen Mädchen,” alongside Kern’s original electronic compositions and improvisations.
“Weill’s outsider perspective—Jewish German composer in exile—speaks powerfully to modern wanderers and people who live between worlds,” Nelson said per an official press release. “We’re interested in the possibility that exists in displacement, in translation, in never quite arriving.”
Reilly Bianchi Nelson draws inspiration from singing actresses such as Lotte Lenya and Teresa Stratas, and is a Lotte Lenya Competition laureate and recognized Kurt Weill scholar. Her recent work spans performances with Jazz at Lincoln Center, Pacific Opera Victoria, Tapestry Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Temerty Hall with The Happenstancers.
Friedrich Heinrich Kern is a composer, pianist, and glass harmonicist whose work spans classical performance, contemporary improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration, specializing in creating otherworldly sonic textures with glass instruments.
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