Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I THEY SAID IT "Sing again, with your dear voice revealing / _ A tone of some world far from ours.” Page 7 iir j j tvt OAA/1 PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY Wednesday, JNovemDer 3, Z004 poet, -tojane—the keen stars were twinkling" HIGH I Opera at USC’s fall production puts comedic spin on traditional art form By NATALIE NETZEL THE GAMECOCK The School of Music’s Opera at USC ensemble will perform two comic operettas Friday and Sunday at the W.J. Keenan High School theater. With a program that includes comedic elements and romance, Opera at USC’s upcoming production shatters the stereotypical notion of opera as dull and pretentious with fat ladies breaking crystal glasses. The operettas are not as dramatic and heavy as a regular opera. According to Laveta Gibson, administrative assistant at the School of Music, “The plots are simple and engaging (with) spoken dialogue and dance.” You do not have to be a music buff to appreciate these shows. “Operetta is literally ‘little opera,’” explained Ellen Schlaefer, Director of Opera Studies at USC. “These two pieces offer accessible music, fun situations and good singing. They have been fun for the students to rehearse and will be fun for the audience. They are sung in English.” The two selections are both renowned 1870s era works. “Trial by Jury,” a comedic soap opera style piece, was written by Gilbert and Sullivan. “Monsieur Choufleuri” was written by Jacques Offenbach and features pantomime, magic tricks and a can can. With one non-student participating — Gerald Floyd, an experienced player in Columbia’s theater community — the performance is the product of both graduate and undergraduate work. Opera at USC singers receive instruction in voice, stage movement and character development. The program is in its 14th year, but Schlaefer said she thinks USC has had some form of an opera workshop since around the 1940s. The singers, all of who auditioned for their parts, had six weeks of rehearsals in which to perfect their roles. They had to learn blocking, or stage movement, and develop their characters. In the professional world, performers have only about three weeks to prepare. The singers featured in “Monsieur Choufleuri” include Raphael Rada as Choufleuri, Sun-Joo Oh as Ernestine, and Jaeyoon Kim as Babylas. “Trial by Jury” also features Rada as The Judge, Christin Owens as Angelina and Daniel Gainey as Edwin. USC music students will comprise the backing orchestra. Friday’s show will begin at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday performance is a 3 p.m. For further information contact the School of Music at 777-5369 or visit the Web site at www.music.sc.edu. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecockfeatures@givm.sc. edu I PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Clockwise from left: Jaeyoon Kim, Sunn-Joo Oh, Raphael Rada, Christin Owens, Daniel Gainey and Gerald Floyd will perform in two comedic operettas Friday and Sunday. S.C. African-American songs find home at School of Music By JAIME MCSWEENEY THE GAMECOCK Thanks to scholars at the USC School of Music’s Center for Southern African-American Music, a relatively untouched wealth of South Carolinian African-American Music is finally getting the attention it deserves. The Palmetto state abounds with musical and cultural history. In the 1600 and 1700s, the port of Charleston served as a threshold to thousands of Caribbean and African slaves. Many remained in the area and maintained their native African and Caribbean traditions despite slavery. The Center for Southern African American Music preserves this musical culture within its library and on the Internet. In the past, South Carolina harbored a unique environment of remote islands with a higher number of blacks than whites. This unusual situation contributed to the preservation of the original cultures of Africans and Caribbean’s. The goal of the center is to collect, preserve, teach and perform this distinctly African-American contribution to American music. Based in the School of Music library, the Center has been open for about two years. It has collected a mass of recordings, vinyl records, reel-to-reels, field recordings, sheet music, books, magazines and items such as photos and postcards. In addition to this abundance of resources, the Center has a Web site where music, information and a bibliography can be accessed. “Our goal is to digitalize what is in here, so individuals don’t have to actually come to the library to access the archives,” said Jennifer Ottervik, co director of CSAM. This Internet library is particularly important because there are no books on South Carolinian African-American music. “We plow through books of general South Carolina history and weave together what happened here and how the music evolved.” In addition to preserving the culture, publicizing the existence of the culture is equally important. Frankie Goodman, head of CSAM’s Educational Outreach Program, said it is part of the center’s goal to help students “develop a deeper “African-American cultural traditions are best reflected in its music.” FRANKIE GOODMAN HEAD OF CSAM'S EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM understanding of black musical and cultural traditions.” Goodman emphasized the social and cultural commentary embedded in African-American spirituals and sees it as a source of potential motivation for today’s students. “African-American cultural traditions are best reflected in its music. There is no other music in the world that expresses the essence so well of a man’s struggles, hopes, dreams and the desires to survive against all odds,” Goodman said. That spiritual tradition is also reflected in blues, jazz and protest songs. The center’s archives and Web site feature music by such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Jabbo Smith and Cat Anderson, along with footage of a Columbia railroad chain gang’s rhythmic renditions. Goodman said the original folk music was borne from the slaves, combining West African rhythm with musical idioms and English learned from the planters. “The spirituals are the first music that comes to us to which we can point as a genuine fusion of African and European musical traditions, born from nowhere else but the creativity and life lovingness of the Africans themselves,” Goodman said. “African Americans transformed the musical landscape; the process that was contained within their own culture brought forth significant implications for the musical culture of the United States and the entire world.” It is this African-American musical landscape that the CSAM preserves and publicizes. For additional information about CSAM call 777-5424 or visit the center’s Web site at www.sc.edu/csam/. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu DANCE PREVIEW i_____I PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Kathryn Jensen and Sarah Coats will play the two Annas in USC Dance Company’s presentation of the contemporary ballet “The Seven Deadly Sins” Thursday and Friday. USC Dance gets sinful in fall show By MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK Vice will take center stage during USC Dance Company’s fall production, which runs Thursday and Friday at the Koger Center. As the South Carolina premiere of the contemporary ballet “The Seven Deadly Sins,” the program will feature the set design of USC’s Nic Ularu and the musical backing of the USC Symphony Orchestra. “The Seven Deadly Sins,” written by Kurt Weill, employs character doubling to explore the main character’s conflicting sides, reason and passion. The well-grounded Anna and her other-self, Anna II, confront sloth, pride, anger, gluttony, lust, greed and envy, over the course of a weeklong journey. “The close interdependence of music and text has made ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ one of the most admired works in the German avant-garde repertory between the two world wars,” said Susan Anderson, the founder and artistic director of USC Dance. “Its intense texture gives the contemporary choreographer a daring and expressive ground for dance.” Though the ballet, itself, may only encompass a seven-day narrative, the production has been a year in the making. The project makes use of multimedia lighting and state-of-the-art projections which, along with the other visual and musical elements, make for “a magical production,” Anderson said. Kathryn Jensen and Sarah Coats will play the two Annas. Jensen, a Greenville native, has performed with the Carolina Ballet for ten years while Coats is an eight-year veteran. Both performed in the company’s productions of “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker.” The production was choreographed by USC Dance’s associate director Miriam Barbosa, a former member of Dzul Dance, the American Dance Theater and the Martha Graham Dance Company. USC Dance Company will also perform George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” which features the music of George Gershwin. The piece features staging by Columbia native and former New York City Ballet soloist Stacey Calvert, who also aided with the USC Dance Spring 2004 production of Balanchine’s “Apollo.” “The Dance of the Hours” from the opera “La Giocanda” will close the evening. The pas de deux symbolizes the passing of time over the course of a day and will be performed by Amanda Jones and USC faculty member Serguei Chtyrkov, director and principal dancer for the Carolina Ballet Ensemble. For more information contact USC Dance at (803) 251-2222 or visit www.cla.sc.edu/THEA. Tickets can be reserved by calling (803) 777-5636. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatitres@givm.sc. edu CONCERT REVIEW Two student wind ensembles blow away audience Monday USC Wind Ensembles concert ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By KIT CURTIN THE GAMECOCK Student musicians of Wind Ensembles 1 and II gave a spirited performance Monday night at the Koger Center. Wind Ensemble I, which includes some of the top wind, brass and . percussion players at USC, is conducted by David O’Shields. Wind Ensemble II is conducted by James Copenhaver. Wind Ensemble II opened the evening with the jaunty Sousa march “The Rifle Regiment.” Next, they performed the suite from the ballet “Pineapple Poll,” composed by Arthur Sullivan, best known for his work as part of the famed operetta-writing duo Gilbert and Sullivan. From the intricate swirl of 16th notes at the beginning to the exciting finish featuring percussion and full band, Wind Ensemble II performed these winning dance melodies with virtuosity and overall clarity. “The Immovable Do” by British composer Percy Grainger proved less interesting. This peculiar title refers to CHRIS LIVINGSTON/THE GAMECOCK James Copenhaver conducts the Wind Ensemble II Monday night. The concert featured soloist Wendy Cohen (left) a USC alumna. the solfege note ‘do,’ or C. A high concert C is held throughout the entire piece. Wind Ensemble II delivered a solid performance of this unusual, if unexciting, work. Symphony for band “Apocalyptic Dreams” by contemporary composer David) Gillingham was one of the highlights of the evening. Its three movements, “The Vision,” “Cataclysmic Events,” and “Messianic Kingdom” illustrate the prophecies of Earth’s final days found in Revelation through dramatic and evocative music. Chromatic trills in the flutes, haunting motifs and chilling use of percussion created an atmosphere of impending doom. The ensemble ♦ Please see ENSEMBLE, page 8 Jude Law hits movie role and gene pool jackpots By KAREN HELLER KRT CAMPUS NEW YORK — Jude Law, who is in an astonishing six movies this season, does not disappoint. He’s as handsome in person, with eyes the color of the Caribbean, lashes the length of the Channel, a melting smile, a Cary Grant-caliber jaw. He once roomed with Ewan McGregor, which might be too much superior DNA for one flat. Law isn’t short, as many actors are, all head atop truncated legs, but about 5-foot-11. And, true, he’s rocker thin, more prone to smokes than the gym. Is it fair to begin with Law’s looks? At 31, he’s an accomplished actor, twice nominated for Oscars (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”). In seven years of moviemaking, Law has worked with many top directors and actors. Everyone praises his professionalism. He even does a good job at feigning interest in the junket interview, as he sits here talking about “Alfie,” set to open Friday. But the looks trump all. His appearance is the elephant in the room. Quite possibly, He’s “too good looking,” which he mocked on last week’s “Saturday Night Live.” Law’s kind of handsome makes other men uneasy, prone to making remarks like “He’s prettier than any of his costars.” In the case of “Alfie,” this means Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, Nia Long and 22-year-old Sienna Miller, Law’s significant other and a one-name phenom in the fashion press. Law doesn’t use his looks as a weapon. His stance is cool, courteous. This day he is also tired, distracted and, like many Englishmen, dentally challenged. Law’s output this quarter ranges from “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” in which he’siieard as the title character though not seen, to “Alfie,” where he’s in every scene. “I made these six movies over a period of two years, and here they are being released in (three) months,” Law said, sitting in one of those nondescript hotel suites movie stars tend to sit in. He stars in David O. Russell’s “I (heart) Huckabees” and Kerry Conran’s “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” both out now, as well as Mike Nichols’ “Closer,” due Dec. 3, and Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” (briefly, as Errol Flynn), set for Dec. 17, the same day as “Lemony Snicket.” “Alfie” is a remake of the 1966 classic that branded Michael Caine a star, the story of a callow, basically unrepentant cad. “There’s no pattern to how I select roles, or perhaps there is but it’s some unconscious pattern,” Law said. “I think, on the whole, there’s more texture to these roles. I always believe we’re all made up of good and bad bones. If you can bring something attractive to someone deeply unattractive, you’ve achieved something, and vice versa.” With “Alfie” and the existential “Huckabees,” Law has ventured into comedic roles, albeit unconventional ones. “A lot of romantic comedies that came my way weren’t something I felt, at the time, particularly interested in doing, yet I’m a huge fen of the romantic comedies of the ’30s, ’40s and even ’50s,” Law said. “But I’ve never enjoyed that genre so much in modern cinema.” Before “Alfie,” he was against reviving someone clse’s role. “Looking back on it, I don’t know what I was thinking (in accepting the ♦ Please see JUDE, page 8