Tiger at the Gates
COMPOSER / Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama
Director: Gary Logan
Scenic Designer: Vivienne Liu
Costume Designer: Jessica Cronin
Sound Designer: Travis Joseph Wright
Lighting Designer: John A. Mitchell
Media Designer: SooA Kim
"William Lowe's score is mesmerizing."
- The Pittsburgh Current
"Tiger at the Gates" was originally written in French by Jean Giraudoux in 1935 titled "The Trojan War Will Not Take Place." Christopher Fry translated the play and changed the title in 1955 creating the piece we know today. This production focused on making this ancient story timeless and modern. The composition accomplished this by using classical instruments with modern techniques.
In their climactic confrontation, Ulysses tells Hector the conversation is "a duet before the full orchestra" - sparring before the inevitable war. Therefore I maintain a thinner orchestration to represent Andromache, Cassandra, and Hector's state of denial about the advent of the Trojan War.