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Event
Wagner, Verdi and Beyond: The Perfect Fool
New York-based ensemble enCANTA Collective presents Wagner, Verdi and Beyond: The Perfect Fool at 5:00 pm on Sunday, December 8, at All Saints Church, 230 East 60th Street, NYC. Open to children and adults of all ages, the concert celebrates the bicentennial year of Wagner and Verdi, featuring works of Ben Moore, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi and Gustav Holst. Performers include sopranos Katherine Copland, Jessica Doolan, Chelsea Feltman, Jessi Goebel, Karen Ho, Samantha Jeffreys, Dasha Jensen, and Nina Riley; mezzo-sopranos Tammy Coil, Sarah Kraus and Noor Sandhu; tenors Jon Thomas Olson, Alejandro Salvia and Leslie Tay; baritones Donald Boos, Greg Hoyt, Gerald Yarbray; basses Peter Hamon and Gabriel Rollinson; pianist Nobuko Amemiya; actors Giancarlo Osaben, dancer/choreographer Danielle Harper and stage director Mo Zhou.
Giants of the opera Wagner and Verdi intriguingly shares the same birth year 1813. They never met, only acknowledging each other at times in a unique way. Musically the two composers were leagues apart, representing the two strong cultures of Italy and Germany of the nineteenth century; nonetheless, both made powerful marks on the history of art. Commemorating such masterstrokes, the enCANTA musical celebration of Wagner and Verdi promises to be compelling and rich.
Tickets are available here at BrownPaerTickets.com or reserve at encantacollective@gmail.com; by phone 917-397-0129; at the door (limited number) for $20/10 seniors & students. All Saints Church is located at 230 East 60th Street between Third and Second Avenue. For more information, please contact encantacollective@gmail.com or visit www.encantacollective.com.
ABOUT the PROGRAM
New York composer Moore's "Time to Begin" for voice and piano, based on Verdi's letter declining the invitation to become the director of Naples Conservatory, while simultaneously conveying his sincere love to the past and future generations.
"Faust Lieder" by Wagner is a quasi-theatrical setting for multiple voices to the text by Goethe. Wagner was merely nineteen when he completed this cycle, owing to the circumstance that his sister, Rosalie, was well-received Gretchen in the Leipzig Theater production of Faust. The selection includes Brander's Song of the Rat and Mephistopheles' Song of the Flea in Auerbachs Keller, Mephistopheles' mocking "serenade," a desperate "Gretchen am Spinnrade" and a melodrama by Gretchen declaiming her prayer to the Virgin Mary.
A tribute to Verdi spotlights on charming maidens created through his operas: Nanetta from Falstaff, Amelia from Simon Boccanegra, and Giulietta from Un Giono di Regno. With a keen sense of drama and wit, stage director Zhou threads the sequence of scenes: the endearing duet between Nanetta and Fenton, followed by the poignantly passionate father-daughter duet between Amelia and Doge, and lastly the Rossinian bubbling sextet in which Giulietta and her forbidden young lover exchange their affection under convoluted comical surroundings.
"The Perfect Fool" is a comic chamber opera with music and libretto by the British composer Holst, twisting the works of Verdi and Wagner's Parsifalits Arabic origin, "Far Parsi" meaning "pure fool." Like many musicians of his generation, Holst came under Wagner's spell after encountering the Ring cycle when he was eighteen, thus becoming an ardent Wagnerite. The premiere of The Perfect Fool in 1923 at Covent Garden was received enthusiastically, with its unique, parodic, and whimsical nature. The story reveals Magician's desire to conquer Princess utilizing the Love Portion, with interventions of Troubadour and Pure Fool. Directors Amemiya and Zhou capture subtle notes of humor and metaphor, creating a delightful stage treat for the festive season.
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LocationAll Saints Church (View)
230 E. 60th (between 3rd and 2nd ave)
New York , NY 10022
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
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