Concert & Film: The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories

Celebrate the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe at the Morgan Library & Museum this Halloween season. The Curiosity Cabinet, conducted by Whitney George, brings Poe’s best known works to life with a rescoring of the silent films The Tell Tale Heart (1928) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) performed live by an instrumental ensemble. Complementing these cinematic works, the program also presents an intimate musical setting of Poe’s lesser-known poem, Evening Star, and his seminal poem, The Raven.

The Morgan’s collection includes Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, and a selection of rare printed works and letters.

Curiosity Cabinet is a chamber music collective whose performances blur the boundaries between spectacle and satire, inviting audiences into a compelling drama of sound, imagery, and gesture that encourages attentive listening and active viewing. Founded in 2009 by composer Whitney George, the Curiosity Cabinet’s interdisciplinary programming champions new works by living composers. Among the ensemble’s accolades are the Elebash Award for the premiere of Miriam Gideon’s opera Fortunato (2019), the CUNY Graduate Center’s prestigious Robert Starer Award for George’s orchestral work The Anatomy of the Curiosity Cabinet, and the Robert Engelman Award for the premiere performance of George’s monodrama The Yellow Wallpaper. The Curiosity Cabinet has been the ensemble in residence for City Lyric Opera, dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Fresh Squeezed Opera, and New Camerata Opera.