Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

D Spofe/o ffes/ivaf QlSfTl announces see Staff Reports The Gamecock Scheduled for May 26 to June 11, Spoleto Fes tival USA will take place in the historic theaters, churches and outdoor spaces of Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry. Single tickets for all events went on sale to the general public Jan. 31. “This year’s Spoleto Festival is a journey that spans centuries,” General Director Nigel Redden said. “From the 18th century with Gluck’s grip ping masterpiece ‘Iphigenie en Tauride’ to thp nrF^pnt u/ith fhp nrpmiprp nf a npw i version of Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang’s ‘The Silver Riv- J er, ’ from Verdi’s investigation /y of love, honor and duty in SC ‘Luisa Miller’ to Brecht’s f ®-r biting black comedy ‘Moth- | er Courage and Her Chil- 1 ^ dren’.” \ According to Redden, the Charleston location challenges i them to invent new ways to ex plore the city. Redden said there wil U „ _1 T„„l Cl : U uv jvuipiuiw yjj jv/ui criiupiiu ui i'liUUIC ton Place included with other artists in unique per forming spaces. “The French circus ensemble Les Colporteurs will perform in a tent in Cannon Park, a space we have not used since 1991,” he said. “This year’s Festival Concert, which in previous festivals has been performed in the Gaillard Municipal Audi torium, will be held in Memminger Auditorium, which was Charleston’s major concert hall for many years but was devastated by Hurricane Hugo. The hall provides the right atmosphere for Heiner Goebbels’s ‘Surrogate Cities,’ a monumental work that tells the history of industry in this century.” This year’s Wachovia Jazz series includes jazz singers Kurt Elling and Dianne Reeves, gui tarist Bill Frisell, pianists Fred Hersch and Chick Corea, and vibraphonist Gary Burton with Origin. Jazz performances will take place in venues through out the Lowcountry—from The Cistern and Recital Hall at the College of Charleston and Kiawah Is land Resort to the new North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Music in Time Director John Kennedy has cre ated a festival of new-nrusic within the context of the larger festival. This year’s series takes the pulse of the changes of new music around the world, fea turing recent pieces and premieres by composers including Michael Byron, John Haibison, Jonathan Harvey, Belinda Reynolds, Kaija Saariaho, iuiu uuymiiuau diiu ivemieuy miifeeii, as well as young composers from V Thomas Ades to George Zelenz. -A The series will also pay tribute r\ to Louis “Moondog” Hardin and V' | the 100th birthdays of George I Antheil and Ernst Krenek. A? / CBS Sunday Morning corre / spondent Martha Teichner will y . host four “Conversations With” at the Dock Street Theatre, fea turing discussions with the artistic am behind “The Silver River” (com poser Bright bheng and hbrettist David Henry Hwang); cast members of “Mother Courage and Her Childem;” the artistic team behind “Running Man” (librettist Cornelius Eady and composer Dei dre Murray); and Bill T. Jones. Oilier Ofigfilicjfiis of tfie 2000 7esliuaf In addition to the newly announced events, Spoleto will feature an array of opera, theater, dance and choral, symphonic and chamber music. There will be four opera/music theater works, including “Luisa Miller”, “The Silver River,” “Iplii genie en Tauride” and the new music theater work “Running Man.” The 24th annual festival will al so see the return of the Colla Marionettes in two of their performances, “Aida” and “Around the World in Eighty Days.” Other highlights include the Cullbeig Ballet in Mats Ek’s untraditional “Swan Lake;” the Spole to aeout or Les Grands Ballets Canadiens; Susan Marshall and Com pany in a program of mixed reperto ry; the Bank of America Chamber Music Series at the' Dock Street The atre hosted by Artistic Director for Chamber Mu sic Charles Wadsworth; a choral concert of Poulenc’s Gloria and Brahm’s Alto Rhapsody con ducted by Spoleto Artistic Director for Choral Activities Joseph Flummerfelt; the Westmin ster Choir Concerts and the celebratory Festival Finale at Middleton Place. Opera / TKusic Ofiealer • A new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera “Luisa Miller,” directed by Christopher Alden and con ducted by Yves Abel, with set design by Allen Moyer, light ing design by Allen Hahn and costumes by Kaye \byce will open the festival. Love, intrigue and mur der provide the backdrop to this opera, which received ac colades following its 1849 pre miere in Naples. Described as eloquent and soaring, the score is said to mirror the passion between the title character and Carlo, the Count’s son Rodolfo in disguise. Sondra Radvanovsky will sing the ti tle role, with Dean Peterson as Count Walter. “Luisa Miller” will be sung in Italian with English supertitles in the Gaillard Auditorium. • Christoph Willibald Gluck premiered his “Iphige nie en Tauride” in Paris on May 18, 1779. Considered the crowning glory of Gluck’s ca reer, “Iphigenie en Tauride” was a result of his life long experience as an opera composer and, arguably, the best libretto he ever set. Based on Euripedes’ drama, Nicolas-Francois Guillard’s libretto recounts the reunion of Iphigenie with her brother Orestes. Directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier have been critically acclaimed in past collabora tions, and they join together again to provide this opera for Spoleto. “Iphigenie en Tauride” will be sung in French with English supertitles. • “The Silver River” is a chamber opera based on an ancient Chinese legend in which Night and Day were created through the trag ic and ill-fated love between a heav enly being and a mortal. The leg end of the Silver River will be 1 presented in what has been / called a “bewitching produc- /^ tion populated by Jade Em- J perors, Goddess Weavers and 1 i other celestial beings.” Bright \ Sheng and David Henry Hwang, ' librettist ofthe Tony Award win ning “M. Butterfly,” integrate ele mpnte from hnth Wpctpm and Phit opera in this fascinating and touching fable directed by Singaporean Ong Keng Sen, with set design by Christine Jones, costume design by Ani ta Yavitch, lighting design by Scott Zielinski and choreography by Muna Tseng. • Described as a convergence of jazz and opera, the new music/theater work “Running Man” takes a poignant look at a family’s love for its “lost” son. Author and poet Cornelius Eady and distinguished jazz composer Diedre Murray created this piece in collaboration with director Diane Paulus. Through a cast of six actors and an on-stage six-person band, “Running Man” tells the story of Tommy; a Bril liant and talented black man whose promise drowns in drug use. With the help of an ancestral African spirit, Tommy’s grieving sister and guilt ridden parents remember the young l Tommy. The action takes place in \ a slave cemetery in a small town on the Virginia shore. . Zlfualer • Considered one of < the great dramas of the mod / em stage, “Mother Courage j£ and Her Children” will be / brought to life by London’s renowned Shared Experience Theatre at the Dock Street Theatre. for Mother Courage, war is strictly business — a chance to trade in boots and brandy. SPOLETO see page 4 ' . te : j ji _ Courtesy of Spoleto Festival USA The historic port city of Charleston has hosted the American coun terpart to Italy’s Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) since 1977. The original festival took place in Spoleto, Italy. Mark Gavin Spoleto Festival USA 2000 The new musical theater piece “Running Man,” a combina tion of jazz and opera, will be performed at Spoleto Festival USA 2000, May 26 to June 11.