Ryan Edwards, MASARY Cofounder

MASARY was invited into the design team for Boston Lyric Opera’s recent production of Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) by Gustav Mahler, conducted by David Angus and directed by Anne Bogart. This piece is a song cycle, with poems set to music in 5 parts. It is not a ‘grand story’ opera, a retelling of a Greek legend, or even a story you know already. The musical material is gorgeous, and the text is sung in German, though the original text is from a “free” setting (which means Mahler took liberties with the original text) of ancient Chinese poems. Interesting.

It is a text that deals with existence, nature, drinking, and farewells. Between each of these songs by Mahler, stage director Anne Bogart wove a new character and original text in English. Delivered passionately and still extremely raw by Ellen Lauren, the character of “the Mother” becomes a pivot point I became very connected to. Around her are two additional characters who deliver their words / thoughts / experiences through singing the operatic text in German: wild, epic performers, world-class artists belting it out in an intimate urban theater for 250. Brandon Jovanovich is the nice guy powerhouse, friendliest and a most nuanced, truly physical performer. It is he who we observe (and perhaps journey with) through his peace with this plane, and then his crossing over to another. Simultaneously we enjoy Raehann Bryce-Davis who holds every bit of our attention with her voice, but has a world of expressions in her eyes, her mouth. She is curious, in love, with lives with longing. These three live in the same room, at different times, though we are invited to perceive them concurrently, overlapping, journeying.

What worked was a brilliant director secure and inspired and patient and decisive at the helm of an experienced team, with a company that backed the idea fully. A dream. Truly. A key element that worked, specifically, was the novel setting of the work with new text, a gentle but profound layer of story, of time scales, but, critically - of wonder. Not just as in “awe” but more as in “I wonder what's going on right now…. Hmmmm I think I get it, I think this means this” wonder that draws you in, invites you to the table of questions effortlessly, and then sits down and deals the deck, plays the game, looks you right in the eye and goes all in. It is a triumph to have a sublime piece of music that welcomes this narrative weave, and we as an audience do get to walk in, wonder what the story is about, engage personally and invest, and be rewarded with conceptually and narratively driven decisions from top to bottom.

*Ryan Edwards (MASARY) & Anne Bogart (Director)*

We have had occasion to build a relationship with and collaborate on small projects with BLO. The invitation to join the team for Song of the Earth was extended by Bradly Vernatter (ED) and Nina Yoshida-Nelson (AD) and they introduced our studio to Anne. At first it was unclear what we would contribute - were we scenic, were we sonic, were we lighting? And yes, we are all those things, but in the theater these are managed areas of expertise that collaborate, but are distinct. So we were considered “experience design” which is kind of cringy, yes, but in the end still kind of works.

Raehann Bryce-Davis singing with supertitles on the left and scenic elements on the right.
*Photo by Nile Scott Hawver*

This production was the first in a newly re-claimed urban theater, recently brought back to theatrical use by BLO…so this project was a birth, a beginning and an experiment. We settled quickly into the team and joined the dreams of the space being manifested for this opera. Our collective (and a lot of this is about Samo, Masary co-founder and production beau extraordinaire) ability to work with theater technicians and in theatrical languages and yours truly’s ability to read the score, building cues off of musical events - these chops certainly allowed us to keep up with the team around us. Haydee Zelideth (costumes), the sorceress of textiles quietly brought a history to these characters. Sara Brown’s set design brought to life a set that was not in one reality but in many, and yet somehow was extremely real. Brian Scott’s lighting was a master class in subtly creating weather systems on stage, small temperature changes that deepened the organic relationship of the people and the place.

Anne very wisely had determined early that the piece needed a window, so the set featured a desk, a bed, and a window. The window became an opportunity to explore place, to travel with the audience, to obscure, to dissolve what we would see together, perhaps including the audience more deeply in the various journeys underway on the stage. We did this with a ground-mounted projection system casting onto a liquid crystal film material (funny story there, if you catch me IRL) that can switch between being be transparent or opaque instantly - allowing for a “snap” between a dream, a vision, and then “snap” right back into the room.

Theater space before any staging or scenic was installed.

Picture taken during tech time of full set, lighting, and projection.

In addition to the window, we also proposed a rethinking of the way the super titles are presented, opting to vary the dynamic and formal presentation of the text, and integrating it into the scenic through projection. Exploring and creating a musical, narrative-relevant presentation for the titles became a major obsession of mine and Samo’s and. It feels like it worked well, and that the dynamism gained was accepted as the titles emerged and disappeared into and from the upstage scenic brick wall.

These shows in late March of 2026 were the first presented in this theater, a gift to this city, and a new space for making art. Our (Masary’s) humble place in the long story of art, creatives, nightclubs, and more in this neighborhood means so much to us. We love our fair cities of Boston and Cambridge and while we enjoy a region that supports the arts generally, we all are always on the hustle, always focussed on the work and working. So to gain ground in the creative camp is a big deal, and a major accomplishment. Bravo BLO~!

Song of the Earth: Creating with Boston Lyric Opera

Remembering Memory / Diffusion as we near its 3-year anniversary