Bard SummerScape 2016 Opens Next Week with Exploration of “Puccini and His World” in NY’s Hudson Valley (July 1–Aug 14)

Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. – The curtain rises on the 2016 Bard SummerScape Festival on Friday, July 1, ushering in seven weeks of music, opera, theater, dance, film, and cabaret. At the heart of these offerings is the 27th Bard Music Festival, which explores “Puccini and His World” through eleven operatic, orchestral, and chamber programs – four of which feature the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein – supplemented by panel discussions and special events (August 5–7; August 11–14). Other SummerScape highlights include Iris, a forerunner of Madama Butterfly by Puccini’s close contemporary Pietro Mascagni, in a rare, fully staged production from fast-rising director James Darrah (July 22–31); the world premiere of Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed, four puppet plays from leading Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero, as newly unearthed and reimagined by Dan Hurlin (July 7–17); the world premiere of Fantasque, a new ballet set to the music of Respighi and Rossini by John Heginbotham and Amy Trompetter (July 1–3); a film series on “Puccini and the Operatic Impulse in Cinema” (July 21–August 14); and cutting-edge cabaret, live jazz, dancing and more in Bard’s authentic Belgian Spiegeltent (July 1–August 13). All SummerScape offerings take place in the striking Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and other venues on Bard College’s idyllic Hudson River campus.

What critics are saying about Bard SummerScape…

“ Ever a hotbed of intellectual and aesthetic adventure.” (New York Times)
“Seven weeks of cultural delight.” (International Herald Tribune)
“One of the major upstate festivals.” (New Yorker)
“A highbrow hotbed of culture.” (Huffington Post)
“The smartest mix of events within driving distance of New York.” (Bloomberg News)
“Leon Botstein’s Bard SummerScape and Bard Music Festival always unearth piles of buried treasure.” (New Yorker)
“One of the best lineups of the summer for fans of any arts discipline.” (New York Sun)
“One of the great artistic treasure chests of the tri-state area and the country.” (GALO magazine)
“One of the New York area’s great seasonal escapes.” (American Record Guide)
“A haven for important operas.” (New York Times)
“An indispensable part of the summer operatic landscape.” (Musical America)
“Botstein and Bard SummerScape show courage, foresight and great imagination, honoring operas that larger institutions are content to ignore.” (Time Out New York)
“A spectacular venue for innovative fare.” (Travel and Leisure magazine)
“It’s hard not to find something to like, and it’s even harder to beat the setting.” (New York Post)
“The experience of entering the Fisher Center and encountering something totally new is unforgettable and enriching.” (Time Out New York)

…and about the Bard Music Festival
 “The summer’s most stimulating music festival.” (Los Angeles Times)
“It has long been one of the most intellectually stimulating of all American summer festivals and frequently is one of the most musically satisfying.” (Wall Street Journal)
“Part boot camp for the brain, part spa for the spirit.” (New York Times)
“A highlight of the musical year.” (Wall Street Journal)
“The most intellectually ambitious of America’s summer music festivals.” (Times Literary Supplement, London)
“One of the ‘Ten Can’t-Miss Classical Music Festivals.’” (NPR Music)
“A two-weekend musicological intensive doubling as a sumptuous smorgasbord of concerts.” (New York Times)
“An always intrepid New York event.” (Time Out New York)
“Nothing quite compares to the fascinating summer programs popping out of Leon Botstein’s brain.” (Bloomberg News)
“One of New York’s premier summer destinations for adventurous music lovers.” (New York Times)

Past seasons at Bard SummerScape

2015: Chávez and His World
2014: Schubert and His World
2013: Stravinsky and His World
2012: Saint-Saëns and His World
2011: Sibelius and His World
2010: Berg and His World
2009: Wagner and His World
2008: Prokofiev and His World
2007: Elgar and His World
2006: Liszt and His World
2005: Copland and His World
2004: Shostakovich and His World
2003: Janáček and His World
2002: Debussy and His World
2001: Mahler and His World
2000: Beethoven and His World
1999: Schoenberg and His World
1998: Tchaikovsky and His World
1997: Haydn and His World
1996: Ives and His World
1995: Bartók and  His World
1994: Schumann and His World
1993: Dvořák and His World
1992: Richard Strauss and His World
1991: Mendelssohn and His World
1990: Brahms and His World

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SummerScape 2016: key performance dates by genre
MUSIC
Bard Music Festival, Weekend One: “Puccini and Italian Musical Culture” (Aug 5–7)
Bard Music Festival, Weekend Two: “Beyond Verismo” (Aug 11–14)

Complete program details follow.

OPERA
Pietro Mascagni: Iris
Sosnoff Theater
July 22* & 29 at 7:30 pm
July 24*, 27 & 31* at 2 pm
Tickets start at $25

DANCE
John Heginbotham and Amy Trompetter: Fantasque (world premiere)
Sosnoff Theater
July 1 & 2 at 7:30 pm
July 3* at 2 pm
Tickets start at $25

THEATER
Dan Hurlin: Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed (world premiere)
LUMA Theater
July 7, 8, 9*, 14, 15 & 16 at 7:30 pm
July 10*, 13 & 17* at 2 pm
Tickets start at $25

FILM SERIES
“Puccini and the Operatic Impulse in Cinema”
Ottaway Film Center
Thursdays and Sundays, July 21–Aug 14
Tickets: $10

SPIEGELTENT
Live Music, Cabaret, Festival Dining, and After Hours salon
Dates, times, and prices vary

Venues:
SummerScape opera, theater, and dance performances and most Bard Music Festival programs are held in the Sosnoff Theater or LUMA Theater in Bard’s Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry and celebrated since its opening as a major architectural landmark in the region. Some chamber programs and other BMF events are in Olin Hall, and the Spiegeltent has its own schedule of events, in addition to serving as a restaurant, café, and bar before and after performances. Film Series screenings are at the Jim Ottaway Jr. Film Center in the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Center.

New York City Round-Trip Coach Transportation:
To make a reservation on the round-trip SummerScape coach provided exclusively to ticket holders for specific performances indicated by * in the listings above, call the box office at 845-758-7900 or select this option when purchasing tickets. The round-trip fare is $40 and reservations are required. The coach departs from behind Lincoln Center, on Amsterdam Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets. Find additional details at: fishercenter.bard.edu/transportation.

The festival offers a wide variety of dining options, including a full service bar/restaurant in the Spiegeltent, pre-ordered picnics, and venue concessions. Visit fishercenter.bard.edu/visit/eatstay for detailed information and reservations.

Special discounted dining and transportation packages are available for select dates.  Visit fishercenter.bard.edu/tickets/packages for details.

 

Program details of Bard Music Festival, “Puccini and His World”
WEEKEND ONE: Puccini and Italian Musical Culture

Friday, August 5
2016 Bard Music Festival Opening Night Dinne
5:30 pm
Tickets include a pre-performance dinner in the Spiegeltent and a premium seat for the evening’s concert. To purchase opening night dinner tickets, contact the Box Office at 845-758-7900 or [email protected]. The Spiegeltent will be closed for regular dining on the evening of the dinner.

 

 

Program One*

Opera, Politics, and the Italian

Sosnoff Theater

7:30 pm Performance with commentary by Leon Botstein; with Melody Moore, soprano; Russell Thomas, tenor; Paul Whelan, bass-baritone; Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; The Orchestra Now, conducted by Leon Botstein

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Requiem (1905)
Intermezzo and Act IV of Manon Lescaut (1893)
Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870)
Hymn to Garibaldi (1861)
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
“Va pensiero” from Nabucco (1841)
Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–86)
Overture from I promessi sposi (1856; rev. 1872)
Arrigo Boito (1842–1918)
Excerpt from Nerone (1877–1918)
Alfredo Catalani (1854–93)
Excerpt from Loreley (1890)
Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945)
Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana (1890)

Tickets: $25–$75

 

Saturday, August 6
Panel One
Puccini: The Man and the Reputation
Olin Hall
10 am–noon
Christopher H. Gibbs, moderator; Alessandra Campana; Arthur Groos; Arman Schwartz
This panel discussion with renowned scholars will include a short question and answer period.

Free and open to the public

 

Program Two
Sons of Bach, Sons of Palestrina
Olin Hall
1 pm Pre-concert Talk: David Rosen
1:30 pm Performance: Cecilia Violetta López, soprano; Laura Flax and Shari Hoffman, clarinets; Allegra Chapman ’10, Anna Polonsky, Orion Weiss, and Brian Zeger, piano; Daedalus Quartet

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Crisantemi (1890)
Songs
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)/Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924)
From Ten Chorale Preludes (1898)
Domenico Puccini (1772–1815)
Piano Sonata No. 17 in A Major (n.d.)
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
String Quartet in E minor (1873)
Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–86)
Il Convegno (c.1856)
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876–1948)
Quattro rispetti, for soprano and piano, Op. 11 (1902)
Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 35 (1902)
Alfredo Casella (1883–1947)
From A la manière de . . ., Op. 17 (1911–13)

Tickets: $40

Program Three
The Symphonic and the Operatic
Sosnoff Theater
7 pm Pre-concert Talk: Ellen Lockhart
8 pm Performance: Kelly Kaduce, soprano; Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano; Michael Wade Lee, tenor; Louis Otey, baritone; Orion Weiss, piano; members of the Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director; and others

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Il tabarro (1916)
Capriccio sinfonico (1883)
Giuseppe Martucci (1856–1909)
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 40 (1878)

Tickets: $25–$75

Sunday, August 7

Panel TWO
Defining the Italian: The Role of Music
Olin Hall
10 am–noon
Emanuele Senici, moderator; Linda Hutcheon; Michael Hutcheon; Michael Kaye
This panel discussion with renowned scholars will include a short question and answer period.

Free and open to the public

Program Four
The Search for a Successor: Opera after Verdi
Olin Hall
1 pm Performance with commentary by Emanuele Senici; with Cecilia Violetta López, soprano; Teresa Buchholz, mezzo-soprano; Theo Lebow, tenor; Steven LaBrie, baritone; Aubrey Allicock, bass-baritone; Anna Polonsky and Erika Switzer, piano
Arias and ensembles from operas by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), Antônio Carlos Gomes (1836–96), Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919), Alberto Franchetti (1860–1942), Francesco Cilea (1866–1950), Umberto Giordano (1867–1948), Italo Montemezzi (1875–1952), and Riccardo Zandonai (1883–1944)

Tickets: $40

Program Five*
Realism and Fantasy: New Directions in Opera
Sosnoff Theater
3:30 pm Pre-concert Talk: Arman Schwartz
4:30 pm Performance: Talise Trevigne, soprano; Nora Sourouzian, mezzo-soprano; Alex McKissick and Sean Panikkar, tenors; Steven LaBrie, baritone; Levi Hernandez and Paul Whelan, bass-baritones; Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein; directed by Mary Birnbaum; scenic design by Grace Laubacher; lighting design by Anshuman Bhatia; projection design by Andrew Lazarow

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Le Villi (1884)
Jules Massenet (1842–1912)
La Navarraise (1884)
Tickets: $25–$ 75

SPECIAL EVENT

Thursday, August 11
Spaghetti Western
Spiegeltent
8 pm Performance: Contemporaneous
Ennio Morricone (b. 1928)
From The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966, arr. V. Alexim, 2016)
From Il mercenario (1968, arr. D. Mattingly, 2016)
David Lang (b. 1957)
ark luggage (2012)
Simple Song #3 (2015)
Yotam Haber (b. 1976)
New Ghetto Music (2011)
Andrew Norman (b. 1979)
Music in Circles (2012)
Clara Iannotta (b. 1983)
D’après (2012)

Tickets: $15–$40

WEEKEND TWO: Beyond Verismo

Friday, August 12
Program SIX
Futurism, Popular Culture, and Technology
Sosnoff Theater
8 pm Performance with commentary by Anna Celenza; with Blair McMillen, piano; The Orchestra Now, conducted by James Bagwell; and others

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Scossa elettrica (1899)
Francesco Balilla Pratella (1880–1955)
Excerpt from La guerra (1913)
Alfredo Casella (1883–1947)
Excerpts from Cinque pezzi (1920)
Works by Luigi Russolo (1885–1947), Franco Casavola (1891–1955), Silvio Mix (1900–1927), Zez Confrey (1895–1971), and others
With a showing of Rapsodia Satanica (1915), a film by Nino Oxilia, with music by Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945) performed live

Tickets: $25–$60

Saturday, August 13
Panel THREE
Artists, Intellectuals, and Mussolini
Olin Hall
10 am–noon
Joseph Luzzi, moderator; Victoria de Grazia; Ben Earle; Benjamin Martin
This panel discussion with renowned scholars will include a short question and answer period.

Free and open to the public

Program SEVEN
Reinventing the Past
Olin Hall
1 pm Pre-concert Talk: Byron Adams
1:30 pm Performance: Kelly Newberry, mezzo-soprano; César Delgado and Theo Lebow, tenors; Jesse Mills, violin; Rieko Aizawa, piano; Daedalus Quartet; The Orchestra Now, conducted by Zachary Schwartzman

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Salve Regina (before 1880)
Ed. & arr. Alessandro Parisotti (1853–1913)
Selections from Arie antiche
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), ed. Malipiero
Works
Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)
From Quattro liriche (1920); Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1 (1920)
Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882–1973)
String Quartet No. 3 “Cantari alla madrigalesca” (1931)
Alfredo Casella (1883–1947)
From 11 Pezzi infantili, Op. 35 (1920)
Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–75)
Tartiniana 1 (1951)

Tickets: $40

Program EIGHT
Music and Fascism in Italy
Sosnoff Theater
7 pm Pre-concert Talk: Ben Earle
8 pm Performance: Marnie Breckenridge, soprano; Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Hymn to Rome (1919)
Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968)
Sinfonia del fuoco (1914)
Alfredo Casella (1883–1947)
Elegia eroica, 29 (1916)
Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–75)
Partita for Orchestra (1930–32)
Goffredo Petrassi (1904–2003)
Magnificat (1939–40)

Tickets: $25–$75

Sunday, August 14
Program NINE
Italian Choral Music since Palestrina
Olin Hall
10 am: Performance with commentary by James Bagwell; with Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; Alexander Bonus, organ; Bard Festival Chamber Players

Works by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–94), Orazio Vecchi (1550–1605), Luca Marenzio (1553–99), Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613), Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), and Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968)

Tickets: $40

Program TEN
After Puccini
Olin Hall
1 pm Preconcert Talk: Richard Wilson
1:30 pm Performance: Teresa Buchholz, mezzo-soprano; Elmira Darvarova, violin; Sam Magill, cello; Colin Davin, guitar; Blair McMillen and Anna Polonsky, piano; Bard Festival Chamber Players

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Pezzo per pianoforte (1916)
Franco Alfano (1875–1954)
Concerto, for piano, violin, and cello (1933)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968)
From The Divan of Moses-Ibn-Ezra, Op. 207 (1966)
Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–75)
Musical Notebook of Annalibera (1952)
Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007)
Ricercare and Toccata on a theme from The Old Maid and the Thief (1951)
Luciano Berio (1925–2003)
Chamber Music (1953)

Tickets: $40

Program ELEVEN*
The Turandot Project
Sosnoff Theater
3:30 pm Pre-concert Talk: Christopher H. Gibbs
4:30 pm Performance: Elizabeth Byrne, Cecilia Violetta López, and Melody Moore, sopranos; Kendra Broom, mezzo-soprano; Richard Cox, Marc Molomot, and Russell Thomas, tenors; Steven LaBrie, baritone; Aubrey Allicock, Matthew Burns, and Paul Whelan, bass-baritones; Nathan Stark, bass; Bard Festival Chorale & James Bagwell, choral director; American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director; and others; directed by R. B. Schlather; designed by Paul Tate dePoo III; lighting design by JAX Messenger

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)/Luciano Berio (1925–2003)
Act 3 from Turandot (1924/2001)
Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924)
Turandot (1917)

Tickets: $25–$75

Bard SummerScape ticket information

Tickets for all Bard SummerScape events are now on sale. For tickets, subscriptions, dining packages, and further information on all SummerScape events, call the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7900 or visit fishercenter.bard.edu/summerscape. Fisher Center members receive priority access to the best seats in advance, and those who join the Center’s email list receive advance booking opportunities as well as regular news and updates.

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© 21C Media Group, June 2016