Borrowing the title from “Lasciatemi morire," the Monteverdi aria, Joseph Keckler approaches the canon of tragic opera as a "body perfumed with death" as he ties together and performs fragments of hundreds of operatic death scenes in this work-in-progress preview of a new durational piece. Straddling the worlds of music, art, performance and theater, Joseph Keckler has garnered acclaim for his rich, versatile 3+ octave voice and sharp wit. Most recently, Keckler playied Chaliapin in the opening run of Dave Malloy’s musical Preludes, directed by Rachel Chavkin and playing at Lincoln Center Theater. In 2013 Dixon Place commissioned his performance piece, I am an Opera. Keckler has been featured on BBC America’s The Nerdist and WNYC Soundcheck, and has appeared at venues including South by Southwest, Joe’s Pub, New Museum of Contemporary Art, Merkin Hall, Union Hall, and BAM. He has received residencies from MacDowell and Yaddo, as well as a Franklin Furnace Grant and a Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Work from New York Foundation for the Arts. The Village Voice named him “Best Downtown Performance Artist, 2013.”