New classes start
Sightreading for Singers

4:15pm -- Claremont
Pergolesi's 'Stabat Mater'

7:30pm -- Pasadena  

USC Choir & Brass  

'To Saint Cecilia'
by Norman Dello Joio

 
7:30pm -- Los Angeles
Visions & Voices:
Preview: 'The Face'

 

7:30pm -- Los Angeles
USC Thornton Chamber Singers
American Voices

8pm -- Santa Monica   

Alexander Technique for Performers

8pm -- Claremont
Pomona College Glee Club

Not just music

Multidisciplinary project from USC composer blends the arts anew

Opera is more than text on a tune.  It is, by design and since its invention, the confluence of many different art forms, and has long been considered one of the most complex and, hopefully, nuanced art forms in the modern world.  But although music, dance, costuming, lighting, visual arts, and more have long celebrated their partnership in the opera house, it is far less common to see smaller works mix disciplines (usually due to budget constraints), and even less often that film is part of the picture (forgive the pun).  Therefore, composers tend to be less keen to dive into an ambitious combination, for fear that the work will have fewer opportunities for staging.  Thornton faculty member Donald Crockett's new project accepts that challenge, and he is a logical bearer of this particular torch, considering that his works are so often described by reviewers using visual terms such as "kaleidoscopic" and "iridescent". 

 

Collaborating with poet (and fellow USC faculty member)

David St. John, the duo has created "a multidisciplinary chamber opera featuring music, film and choreography".  Exploring themes of creativity, loss and the price of fame, this adaptation of St. John's "novella in verse" is set in present-day Venice Beach, with the focus on a poet named Raphael, in the waning days of his career. He attempts to cope with the loss of his lover, Marina as a film is being made to chronicle his life, allowing us to glimpse his very human frailty as his own life is transmogrified from one mode of communication to another. The unusual artistic team includes French filmmaker and stage director Paul Desveaux and European but notably African-influenced choreographer Yano Iatrides, two innovative artists who have worked together several times before. 

 

The project is still in progress -- as of this writing, the official

website forThe Face lists it as "70% funded".  This preview event includes comments, readings and Q&A with the work's creators and cast, as well as the performance of selected sections, semi-staged, with the USC Thornton Contemporary Music Ensemble.  The international cast includes British tenor

 

 

Daniel Norman as Raphael, with baritone Thomas Meglioranza (the movie producer), mezzo Janna Baty (the director), and soprano Jane Sheldon as Cybele, the young actress playing Marina in the film. 

 

Related events: Two open rehearsals are offered in preparation for this event:  an orchestral rehearsal on 4/23 and a stage rehearsal on 4/24.  Click here for information. 

 

 

USC Visions & Voices presents

From Poem to Stage: THE FACE

by Donald Crockett and David St. John

 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 7:30pm

University of Southern California

University Park Campus
Bovard Auditorium (ADM) 

Map & Directions 

Free admission, RSVP required
Reservations -- USC students, staff & faculty

Reservations -- General public 

 

  

 Event Listing       USC event info     

Join mailing list -- The Face 

 

Spring may sound like many things:  birds chirping, the buzz of festive flying things, the crackle of renewal. But there is also the sound of wrapping up: the end of the school year, that is.  We mentioned a few school productions last week, and would like to link to a few more here, as a tribute to the annual ritual spotlight on future talent:

    Humperdinck's beloved 'Hansel and Gretel' at CSU FULLERTON
   
    Britten's creepy-cool 'Owen Wingrave' at USC
   
    Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro' at CSU LONG BEACH:

    CSUF Brass with Vocal Soloists

    Borodin, Mozart and Brahms from POMONA COLLEGE Choir & Orchestra (with stellar local soloists!)

    'American Voices' from the USC Thornton Chamber Singers
    (in preparation for their conference trip to New Zealand!):
   
Faculty are also wrapping up their projects, including composer DONALD CROCKETT, who previews his film/dance/chamber opera with an event titled, 'From Poem to Stage: THE FACE' at USC on Wednesday the 25th.  Get your (required) RSVP for this fascinating happening settled early...

The ST. PETERSBURG MEN's ENSEMBLE performs a free concert in Long Beach on Friday, and at the same time, four versatile voices groove as CORNER POCKET VOCAL JAZZ QUARTET in Redondo Beach.  All this, plus the VERDI CHORUS (getting smoochy), Schubert's 9th at Disney Hall, Pergolesi in Claremont, and of course, much more.  Find your favorite bird song, sing a happy tune, and as always, thank you for supporting live singing!