Hymn to Dionysus (Born of Semele) (2022)

The Homeric Hymns often served as preludes to performances and public events. We've constructed our own prologue from the fragmented first hymn to Dionysus. We adapt the story of his genesis, born from his mortal mother Semele's desire to look directly upon God's true form. In the most common telling of this story, pregnant Semele is obliterated by the sight of her divine lover Zeus. Here we shift the narrative frame and ceremonially conjure Dionysus, imploring the "bull-god" of performance, madness, and transformation to bless our proceedings.