Racimo con Brio: Arts To-Dos for You

By Victoria Racimo Thursday, January 14, 2010

A lot of wonderful arts events are coming up. And, no flyer miles needed! We’ve got concerts, lectures, art films, meet and greets, theatre openings and more. Here is a list of to-dos for you taking place right here in our Triangle area.

Tonight, you can attend the opening of “Arsenic and Old Lace” at the Williamsburg Players. The unforgettable classic is certainly one to be enjoyed by the whole family. For information: (757) 229-0431.

Beginning Jan. 29, 55 years after the fledgling Norfolk Symphony Orchestra celebrated the end of World War II with its first-ever performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the resilient Virginia Symphony Orchestra celebrates 90 years of music making with this majestic masterpiece. The orchestra, the Symphony Chorus (100 strong) and guest soloists, conducted by JoAnn Falletta perform the “ultimate celebratory piece” Friday, January 29, 8 p.m., Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts; Saturday, January 30, 8 p.m., Chrysler Hall, Norfolk; and Sunday, January 31, 2:30 p.m., Sandler Center for the Performing Arts. An out of the ordinary pre-concert “Ode to Joy” champagne reception at 6 p.m. precedes each performance. Special tickets for the reception are available from the Symphony Box Office.

“This milestone is an important juncture in our orchestra’s history,” says Music Director Falletta, “and to observe the occasion, we want to highlight the orchestra in all its brilliance. Beethoven Nine is the ultimate celebratory piece. The Symphony is paired with Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Britten gives so many of our wonderful musicians an opportunity for a solo.”

When Beethoven wrote the Ninth Symphony in the 1820s, incorporating voices into a symphony was a revolutionary idea; merging Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” into the finale was an even more revolutionary idea. It is said he shattered the cosmos. Beethoven rearranged the stanzas of the poem to suit his musical needs, making it a very personal interpretation of the poem, emphasizing the call to universal brotherhood.

“Beethoven knew how to make an audience sit up and take notice. The brilliant second movement is a virtuoso showpiece for the orchestra. A cacophonous shriek at the start of the finale shatters the celestial calm of the preceding movement. When the chorus re-enters at the finale, it sings forth with the most exuberant declamation yet of praise and thanksgiving,” notes program annotator Laurie Shulman.

“Richard Wagner believed that the Ninth had sounded the death knell of the symphony,” writes Shulman. “History has proved him wrong, both in terms of instrumental symphonies and others that added voices to the orchestral fabric. Wagner was correct, however,” she adds, “in sensing the global impact of Beethoven’s last completed symphony.”

We know many legends about Beethoven. One is that at the finale to the premiere performance of the Symphony No. 9, “Ode to Joy,” the near-deaf Beethoven was still gesturing with his baton, still conducting, although the piece was finished. He had to be turned toward the auditorium to witness the cheering throng.

As it celebrates 90 years, the Virginia Symphony is as resilient as the Ninth Symphony. Through the 1929 crash, the Great Depression, World Wars, storms and floods, name changes, mergers, financial ups and downs, and the aughts Hampton Roads has held onto its dream of a pre-eminent orchestra for the community.

Beginning Jan. 20, and for the second year, the Williamsburg Regional Library will partner with The College of William and Mary on a free series of global films. This year’s series includes five films highlighting the dynamic relationship between film and music in international cinema. Each film will be briefly introduced by William and Mary faculty or visiting scholars. All the films begin at 7 p.m. in the Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland St. For more information, call (757) 259-4070 or visit the WRL online.

Wednesday, Jan. 20
Ba wang bie ji / Farewell My Concubine
(1993/China, Hong Kong/Kaige Chen/171 min./R)
Considered by many to be one of the best Chinese films ever made, this passionate story of a triangle of love and friendship offers an exceptionally rich aural and visual rendering of Beijing opera while delivering an epic treatment of modern China and its ancient musical traditions simultaneously.
Introduced by: Prof. Roy Chan (Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese)

Wednesday, Jan. 27
Opera Jawa
(2006 / Indonesia, Austria / Garin Nugroho / 120 min. / Not Rated)
Married Javanese Ramayana dancers become part of an operatic love triangle in this exotic, beautiful and innovative musical. Opera Jawa generates a combination of cinema and music like none you’ve ever seen or heard before.
Introduced by: Prof. Arthur Knight (Director of Film Studies)

Wednesday, Feb. 3
Once
(2006 / Ireland / John Carney / 85 min. / R); Co-presented as part of Williamsburg Regional Library’s Celtic Film Festival
A street musician and an immigrant in contemporary Dublin are falling slowly for each other, one songwriting session at a time. The power of this simple, moving, Academy Award-winning film rests on director John Carney’s unique, compelling marriage of his dual loves of music and film.
Introduced by: Prof. Christy Burns (Department of English, Women’s Studies, and Film Studies)

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Pakeezah
(1972 / India / Kamal Amrohi /126 min. / Not Rated)
Amrohi’s opulent yet touching magnum opus tells the story of a talented dancer’s journey to escape the brothel in which she was raised – a classic Bollywood “courtesan” film.
Introduced by: Prof. Max Katz (Department of Music)

Wednesday, Feb. 17
Tamra Henna
Co-sponsor: Middle East Studies and the Critchfield Endowment
(1957 / Egypt / Hussein Fawzi / 120 min. / Not Rated)
In this Egyptian musical classic of the 1950s, a lower-class gypsy dancer seeks the finer things in life. The film features Naima Akef, an iconic belly dancer from Egyptian cinema’s golden age.
Introduced by: Sami Abu Shumays

And starting Jan. 23, in addition to checking out a book, you can also check out what life is like in space and meet an astronaut during “Exploring Space With NASA” at the James City County Library.

Co-sponsored by Williamsburg Regional Library and NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., the daylong “Exploring Space With NASA” event kicks off the traveling exhibit “Visions of the Universe – Four Centuries of Discovery” – that will be displayed at the James City County Library, 7770 Croaker Rd. from Jan. 13 through March 26, 2010. “Visions of the Universe” focuses on astronomy through the ages – from Galileo’s initial findings to the latest results of the Hubble Space Telescope.

At the Jan. 23 event, you can meet former astronaut Susan Still-Kilrain, a naval aviator who has flown on two shuttle flights and travelled nearly eight million miles in space. She will present a video of her missions at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Throughout the day, a variety of hands-on activities will be held for children conducted by NASA Langley educators and by staff from the Virginia Air and Space Center. All programs, including the exhibit, are free.

“Visions of the Universe” is presented by The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md.; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass.; and the American Library Association in Chicago, with funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

A full and exciting plate of events indeed. Some of them free - others at a nominal charge. If you can attend, you’ll be supporting these arts organizations and that helps support the economy.