Shakespeare in Music Festival, Sept – Oct 2009

Every season Utah Symphony | Utah Opera links by theme a few of its performance offerings, and then in our Education Department, we check in with potential partner organizations and imagine events to add into the schedule that will deepen and broaden our understanding and appreciation of the theme.  Last year, we went to virtual Vienna during our festival, and this year we will investigate Shakespeare in Music.

The performances at the center of this year’s festival are a symphony concert at the end of September that will include Berlioz’ Romeo and Juliet and Smetana’s Richard III.  The opera is Verdi’s Macbeth.  No better month to perform it in than October!  A fortunate coincidence is Ballet West’s programming of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in late October.  For those of us in love with the works of the Bard thanks to annual treks to the Utah Shakespearean Festival, we’ll delight in a new way to extend that festival experience by attending these concerts.

One more performance we’ve been able to add to the list is one by our Utah Opera Ensemble Artists.  Many composers have been inspired by Shakespeare’s plays and created operas based on them, but not all of those operas make it regularly to mainstage productions.  Our Principal Coach, Carol Anderson, is working with director Peter Webster to select some superb scenes from other Shakespearean operas, and then our Opera Artists will present them in concert on Thursday, October 29, in the Thompson Music Room in Gardner Hall at the U of U.

Four Thursday evening events in September will lead up to the opening performance in the festival by Utah Symphony:

On Sept 3, we’ll delve into what music was like in Shakespeare’s day.  April Greenan from the U of U School of Music will tell us all about Renaissance music, and she’ll be able to use a Renaissance band (named Dorian Mirth) to illustrate.  We hope people who still have their recorders from 4th grade—excellent Renaissance musical instruments—will bring them and learn the melody together, which they can then perform with the band.  The two lines of melody are available on our website.  And the fun won’t stop there:  Challe Carter will teach interested audience members a Renaissance dance that goes with the tune, and we’ll have a grand finale of recorder-players tooting along with the band, while others do the dance.  This will all take place in the Dance Studio on the 3rd floor of the Utah Opera Production Studios, starting at 7 PM.

On Sept 10, Shakespeare guru Michael Bahr from the Utah Shakespearean Festival will give a presentation about the music that is in Shakespeare already:  the poetry, and also the actual songs that Shakespeare wrote into some of his plays, especially the comedies.  He’ll talk about the variety of choices stage directors in Cedar City have made about how to stage them, and what music to use (since Shakespeare didn’t leave notes about melodies or arrangements).  This event will take place in the Salt Lake Art Center auditorium, 20 S West Temple, starting at 7 PM.

On Sept 17, we’ll have another fantastic food event.  Last year we went to the Vienna Bistro for Viennese coffee and desserts.  This year we’ll visit Elizabeth’s Bakery and Tea Shop across 700 East from Trolley Square to taste samples of traditional British food.  Some of the foods date back to Shakespeare’s time, so maybe Shakespeare enjoyed some of these treats as well.  On the menu, in addition to tea, will be three “savory” items, and three sweets:  Cornish pasty, sausage roll, cucumber sandwich, scone with jam & clotted cream, shortbread, and trifle.  This event starts at 7 PM at 575 South 700 East, and does involve a $10 charge per person. Tickets can be purchased at the USUO Ticket Office, 801-533-NOTE (6683).  There is a limit of 50 people for this event, but we’ll look into an overflow day on Friday if Thursday night fills up quickly.

On Sept 24, Bettie Jo Basinger from the School of Music at the U of U will talk about versions of Shakespeare plays that have appeared in opera productions, symphony concerts, and films.  Many fantastic scores have been created to accompany movie versions of Shakespeare plays.  Come sample some of them with us.  At the Salt Lake Art Center auditorium, 20 South West Temple, starting at 7 PM.

We also have several opportunities for patrons to learn more about Verdi’s opera version of Macbeth in this festival.  One is our Opera Preview Lecture in the 4th floor meeting room of the downtown public library on Wednesday, October 14th, also at 7 PM.  Tom Cimarusti from Texas Tech will talk about Verdi and the history of this opera, and will also introduce the audience to music from the opera so they’ll know more to listen for when they attend a performance by Utah Opera.

We’re also happy to offer interested community members another on-line course about an opera from OPERA America.  People who sign up will receive ‘lessons’ about the opera, with musical excerpts to listen to and pictures to enjoy, on four consecutive Tuesdays, starting Sept 22.  The course is free, and you can sign up for it by clicking HERE.  We’ll send you a confirmation of your registration, and you can look forward to the Tuesday shipments.

I hope you’ll find these added events attractive, and come join us for a variety of Shakespeare in Music festival events.