Thursday, May 21, 2015

Spoleto: a "new" opera to premiere......

A buddy of mine got us tickets yesterday to the last dress rehearsal of the 1652 opera Veremonda, the Amazon of Aragon.’

Spoleto presents a modern day premiere of this Baroque opera  Saturday night, May 23, and I really enjoyed my sneak peek yesterday.

I grew up in Charleston - leaving as a teen to join the  Marines - but this was my first time sitting in a box in the balcony of the Dock Street Theatre and, quite frankly, the seats up there are much more comfortable than those below.

The opera, written about 18 years before settlers landed here to create the Holy City, was only performed twice.

First in Venice, and then Naples, in 1652. It was political, contemporary, and, as opera director Stefano Vizioli says, full of revenge, guilt, and lusty heat. 

“And it’ll be even hotter under my hand,” added the Neapolitan.

Nigel Redden, Director of the Arts Festival, welcomed a small audience of mainly writers and photographers who have greater freedom to capture images during the afternoon last dress rehearsal.

Unfortunately, he said, there was a technical glitz so there would not be an English translation streaming along.

My Italian, she's not too good, so I concentrated on taking pictures and trying to guess who was who.

I figured the handsome tenor had to be the General. Only saw one lady wearing a crown so I'm pretty sure that's Veremonda, the lady in the title, the Spanish Queen, who gathers together an army of Amazons.

Set in Gibraltar, the plot parallels the conquering of Granada—including Gibraltar—by King Ferdinand II (King Alfonso) and Queen Isabella the Catholic (Veremonda) in 1492.

With a bellicose zeal pitted against her husband's indifference, Veremonda sets out to end the war against the Moorish army by forming her own female Amazonian one to carry out the siege.

Being staged for the first time in more than 350 years, it explores the concept of women in power and leadership roles, highly relevant to the current political conversation.

I had no idea what the plot was and there were no prompts to help me figure it out.

Later I read that audiences will enjoy passion, comedy, raunchiness. melancholy, regality, betrayal, defeat and victory. Yikes!

 I saw some funny bits by several actors but mainly had my camera ready to capture visual dramatic or frozen moments that popped up on the stage.

The Amazon soldiers formed a nice chorus line and moved with dance precision even if I had no idea what was providing the necessary suspense and expectations.

"It is my responsibility to bring opera to the people so they can find some personal connection and discovery through it," Director  Vizioli said.



And I am sure there were.
 A comment was made that without the streaming English libretto, one would have to experience it the way it was done three and a half centuries ago.
 Speak - or at least understand - Italian. 

(Click on the pictures for more detail.)

This was not "A Night At The Opera."

More of an afternoon delight following a hearty lunch  around the corner at Hyman's Seafood.

 Hey, there were two of us. I'm watching my diet. LOL.

There is some healthy stuff on that overflowing table.

Collards, for example. Greens are good for you.
As are shrimp & grits.






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posted by chuckography @ 6:52 PM 0 Comments

Thursday, June 06, 2013

2013 Spoleto potpourri....

Back to the golden days of radio.

Voices and Foley sound effects.

A piano and small organ provides ALL the music. A pin-pricked balloon gives a "pop" when needed.

The earth is doomed. In fact, the whole galaxy will disappear.

Good Grief!

Sitting in the sold out Sottile Theater  along with 600 captivated friends, we watched the live-action graphic novel develop with cartoons on the screen, clever sound effects and talented voices.

David Higgins is the voice of Timmy, Danu Uribe is the Pulitzer Prize winning authoress and Christopher Lee Gibson speaks as everybody else. Cami Alys is the Foley artists responsible for the correct sounds at the appropriate time.

Jason Neulander of Austin, Texas, is the writer/Director who created The Intergalactic Nemesis.

He welcomed the audience and expressed his happiness at being in Charleston and part of the famed Spoleto Festival USA.

General Director Nigel Redden had called him with an invitation which he gladly accepted.

During the intermission of Part 1 last night, Nigel could be seen mingling, chatting with fans and friends as the crowd returned to their seats.

The fate of earth still hung in the balance at this point.

A few days ago, a Spoleto-Piccolo music event brought me to Hall's Chophouse on King Street for an afternoon of Jazz.

Lead singer Lyndsey Goodman Moynihan  was joined by Jamie Harris on bass and "Uncle Joe" Wilson on guitar.

The banter between songs was humorous and showed the depth of their friendship.

And their love of music.

Leaving Hall's, I walked through Marion Square and saw a small crowd gathered to enjoy an impromptu bluegrass performance.

Spoleto does indeed bring together friends of the arts.

Did not interrupt the players to get their names but paused for a moment or two to listen and take a few pictures.

Hope they'll get in touch so I can credit them.

I'm scheduled tomorrow evening for a concert on the Cistern Yard area at the College of Charleston.

Andrea, first tropical storm of the 6-month storm season that just started, is also due to skim our coastline tomorrow.

My guess is the venue - to avoid a rain out - will switch to the TD Arena  This would be good as I have not been inside there yet.

Oh, TD stands for Toronto Dominion Bank, the new name after a local financial group was bought that had its name on the 5.100 seat venue. It opened in 2008 as home of the Cougars.

(Click on the photos for more details.)

The fire truck was heading elsewhere.

The TD Arena is fine!


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posted by chuckography @ 1:40 PM 0 Comments