Harvey Pekar is an American underground comic legend. His graphic novels revolve around his everyday life as a file clerk and record collector in Cleveland, Ohio. With dry humor, he pays special attention to the supposedly boring stories of everyday life and creates amusing episodes with a strong potential for identification. In 2003, Harvey Pekar's film "American Splendor", starring Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti as Pekar and Golden Globe winner Hope Davis, was his big international breakthrough.
The composer Scott Fields got to know Harvey Pekar through his work as a music critic and a respectful and friendly working relationship developed between the artists, who both came from Jewish families, which lasted for many years. Scott Fields has now set a selection of episodes from the comic collection "American Splendor" to music, breaking new ground in contemporary art. In doing so, he explores musical spaces where jazz and new music meet. A video performance created especially for the production makes images and English texts visible and legible, creating an audio-visual Gesamtkunstwerk with surprising elements.
The 90-minute operetta "Pekar" features the Ukrainian singer Tamara Lukasheva, the Taiwanese percussionist Shiau-Shiuan Hung, the French tuba player Maxime Morel, the German accordionist Florian Stadler and the American composer and guitarist Scott Fields.
Scott Fields Ensemble
Tamara Lukasheva, voice (Ukraine)
Florian Stadler, accordion (Germany)
Shiau-Shiuan Hung, percussion (Taiwan)
Maxime Morel, tuba (France)
Scott Fields, guitar (USA)