User:Giantsaresmall/Giants are small

Giants Are Small is a critically acclaimed production company, known for creating groundbreaking spectacles, featuring a mix of theatre, multimedia and music. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company was founded in 2007 by visual artist/director Doug Fitch, filmmaker/producer Edouard Getaz and multimedia entrepreneur Frederic Gumy, after two years of experimental developments.

Since its early days, the company has collaborated with the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Origins
Doug Fitch and Edouard Getaz were introduced to each other by a common friend, shortly before the production of The Soldier's Tale, which Fitch was going to direct for the New York Philharmonic (2005). As the pre-production appeared to be fairly chaotic, Getaz proposed to step in at the last minute and became the de facto producer of the show. The show, based on Fitch's first attempt to create live animation simultaneously to an orchestra playing the score, turned out to be a great success. After this first fruitful collaboration, the two went on their separate ways until Fitch showed Getaz and Gumy some samples of the work he had done for the Los Angeles Opera and the Walt Disney Company. Getaz, a longtime concert and multimedia producer and filmmaker, and Gumy, a multimedia entrepreneur, who had known each other from their days in Switzerland, had plans to develop a production company in the US. The association with Fitch appeared as a great way to start and shortly after forming Giants Are Small (2007), the trio entered into an agreement with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to present an adaptation of Peter and the Wolf at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which became the first official production under the Giants Are Small banner.

First production: The Soldier's Tale (2005)
Fitch's and Getaz' first collaboration, Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale, was presented in 2005 at the Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City. It was presented by the New York Philharmonic, directed by Fitch and produced by Getaz. The production featured F. Murray Abraham (Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus), Tony Award nominated actress Marian Seldes and actor Tim Blake Nelson. This was the first time "live animation" — a technique utilizing puppeteering miniature elements in front of a camera to create moving images that are projected on a large screen in real time in synch with the orchestra’s performance — was brought to a large audience.

Peter and the Wolf (2008) / Symphonic version
In 2008 the company presented a new version of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a production that merged live classical music, live animation, and video effects together in real time. The show was directed by Fitch and produced by Getaz. The story of Peter and the Wolf was preceded by a prequel by Giants Are Small, Peter and the Duck, featuring all the characters of Sergei Prokofiev's original story, taking place in modern days Hollywood and underscored with excerpts from iconic classical music pieces (including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Pier Gynt's Hall of the Mountain King, etc.). The famous "meadow" into which Peter walks in the opening scene of Peter and the Wolf was turned into the garden of a movie star. The production was presented at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in September and October 2008 and was an instant success.

Le Grand Macabre (2010)
In 2010, Giants Are Small created a production of Gyorgi Ligeti’s absurdist opera Le Grand Macabre with the New York Philharmonic, directed by Doug Fitch (who also designed the set), conducted by Alan Gilbert and produced by Edouard Getaz. The production, which was sold out before it opened, was elected "Best Opera of the Year" by the New York Times, the New York Magazine and TimeOut NY. The production was described as "a major event on the New York cultural scene" (The New York Times), "a multimedia spectacular" (The New York Magazine) and "a substantial hit" (Opera News). The production featured a first-class cast including Eric Owens, Melissa Parks, Barbara Hannigan and Mark Schowalter. Costumes were designed by multi-Tony Award winner Catherine Zuber. Giants Are Small's live animation was based on designs by Doug Fitch.

The Cunning Little Vixen (2011)
In 2011, Giants Are Small and the New York Philharmonic paired again to present a new production of Leos Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen, directed by Doug Fitch (who also signed the costumes and co-signed the set design with Tony nominated set designer Skip Mercier), conducted by Alan Gilbert and produced by Edouard Getaz. The show was choreographed by Tony nominated choreographer Karole Armitage and featured a large cast, including Isabel Bayrakdarian, Alan Opie, Melissa Parks and the Children Choir of the Metropolitan Opera. The production, which was also sold out before it opened, was described as "another success" (New York Times) and "another winner" (Washington Post).

Artistic Collaborations
Over the years, Giants Are Small has developed a strong relationship with New York Philharmonic's Music director and conductor Alan Gilbert (who has conducted both Le Grand Macabre and Cunning Little Vixen). The company has also worked on an on going basis with lighting designer Clifton Taylor, Tony nominated set designer Skip Mercier, kinetic sculptor Chris Fitch and projection designer Marty Brinkerhoff.

Giants Are Small has collaborated with costume designer and multi-Tony Award winner Catherine Zuber for their production of Le Grand Macabre, Tony nominated choreographer Karole Armitage for The Cunning Little Vixen and Drama Desk winner puppet designer Michael Curry for Giants Are Small's upcoming production of Peter and the Wolf.