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January
1997 - Gian-Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors
The story of Amahl and the Night Visitors is, in the words of
the composer, a child's fantasy, based on the Scriptures. It is a story
of simplicity, virtue, and love; characteristics frequently and painfully
missing from today's world. It is a Christmas fantasy of the arrival of
the three traveling kings at the manger of the newborn Christ Child. Performed
in full costume in the lovely Avalon Theatre, this mini opera, featured
mezzo-soprano, Patty Rubin, and seventh grader, Scott Meyers from Kennet
Square, Pa. as Amahl. Other prominent soloists included Ed Nordby, Jeffrey
Baer, Lawrence Holmes and David Hearn.
 May
1997 - Giuseppe Verdi's "Requiem"
This colossal piece of music has been referred to as the "most exciting
piece of music ever written." It was performed by more than 70 singers
and a 40 member orchestra, including numerous offstage brass players to
"sound the final trumpet" before judgement day. Verdi's burial-mass composition,
the most famous reqiuem of all time, was originally written for Manzoni,
an Italian political figure. Verdi's Requiem is dramatically
conceived, covering the full range of dynamics and emotions in the style
of the Romantic composers. Soloists Brian Meneely, Katherine Turner Barlow,
David Neal and Robin Shapiro were featured.
November 1997 - An
Evening with Cole Porter
A live musical tribute to Cole Porter who created some of America's
most loved music of the theatre and movies and bequeathed us a legacy of
commentary on life in these United States. Songs such as "Begin the
Beguine", "In the Still of the Night", "Anything Goes", and
others transported us back to the heyday of the 1930's. Denise Carlson,
an Avalon favorite, was the special guest artist. This concert was in the "caberet style" at the historic Avalon Theatre, playing to packed houses
for both performances. Other numbers included: "Another Op'nin, Another
Show", "From this Moment On", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "I Love Paris",
"Too Darn Hot", "True Love", "Be a Clown", and "Night and Day". |
