Jay Reise ’72 recently attended a performance of his opera “Rasputin” in Moscow as part of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Reise has been a professor of music at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts and Sciences since 1980.
Major: English Literature
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA.
Job Title: Professor of Music Composition at UPENN
“Rasputin,” an opera with music and libretto by Reise, is based on the notorious career of the Mad Monk of Russia, Grigory Rasputin. His compositions this past weekend, conducted by Alexander Briger, marked the opera’s 10th anniversary in repertory in Moscow. In a program note, Reise said that he sees “Rasputin” as representative of “the brutal and chaotic new world of the 20th century.”
Reise plans on returning to Russia next summer for another performance of “Rasputin” in Tyumen, Siberia.
