Carnegie Hall Hosts Theatrical Concert: El Dorado – A Musical Portrait of Edgar Allan Poe
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NEW YORK - Californer -- This one-night-only theatrical concert reimagines Poe's most haunting and evocative poems—The Raven, Annabel Lee, Lenore, and more—through a bold fusion of literature, original music, and dramatic storytelling.
Adapted from the original musical Edgar Visited by award-winning composer Phyto Stratis, the program features orchestrations by Broadway veteran Kim Scharnberg (The Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel). The result is a sweeping and emotionally rich narrative that paints an intimate psychological portrait of one of America's most enigmatic literary icons.
Broadway tenor Dan Hoy (The Pirates of Penzance) portrays Poe, guiding the audience through a visceral journey marked by grief, madness, and memory. Baritone Mark Ryan Anderson (Thrill Me, Shanghai) and soprano Ariadne Anna (Carnegie Hall debut, 2022) personify the ghosts and phantoms that haunt Poe's imagination. Mezzo-soprano Hilary Baboukis adds depth and warmth to the soundscape with her resonant vocal tone.

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This concert marks the first fully orchestrated realization of the musical—a milestone that began during the height of the pandemic, when Stratis composed music for friends Ariadne Anna and Mark Ryan Anderson. What started as a simple collaboration grew into a theatrical exploration of Poe's life, his loves, and—most of all—his loss. The first composition from the project, Alone, received the Adaptation Award at the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival in 2023. A developmental reading followed at NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program in 2024.

"I am thrilled to share music that began in the basement of a Manhattan church during Covid—now brought to life at Carnegie Hall with full orchestration," says composer Phyto Stratis.

Stratis is a graduate of NYU Tisch's prestigious Musical Theater Writing Program. His off-Broadway musical Serenade premiered at Carroll Place—a historic venue once frequented by Poe—and was featured in The New York Times' spotlight "Regilding the Gilded Age." He recently directed the acclaimed Mikis Theodorakis Tribute Concert at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium), and his original musical Imprisoned Graves played to a full house at Queens Theater in the Park.

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El Dorado offers a rare and powerful theatrical experience—a poignant journey into the mind of Poe, where music, memory, and myth converge.
Click link for Tickets https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2025/06/02/Amazonas-2025-0800PM or by call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.