Bard SummerScape returns June 23–August 14
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — Bard SummerScape returns this summer with eight weeks of live music, opera, dance, and theater from June 23–August 14. Through 12 themed concerts and panel discussions, the 32nd Bard Music Festival, “Rachmaninoff and His World,” offers an intensive reexamination of the contradictory life and times of Sergei Rachmaninoff, complemented by “The Silent Woman” (“Die schweigsame Frau”), the only true comic opera by the composer’s close contemporary Richard Strauss, in a rare new production from German director Christian Räth.
SummerScape 2022 also presents the world premieres of new commissions in both dance and theater. Fisher Center Choreographer-in-Residence Pam Tanowitz premieres a major dance setting of the biblical “Song of Songs” with new music from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, and, to mark Molière’s 400th anniversary, director Ashley Tata puts a feminist spin on the French playwright’s tragicomedy “Dom Juan” in a new translation by Sylvaine Guyot and Gideon Lester.
To complete the lineup, Bard’s beloved Spiegeltent returns after a two-year absence for live music, dancing, and more, featuring the return of Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro’s “Black Roots Summer”; a sneak peek at a new musical from Suzan-Lori Parks, Lileana Blain-Cruz, and Courtney Bryan; and more.
Bard SummerScape 2022 – highlights by genre
Music: 32nd Bard Music Festival, “Rachmaninoff and His World”
This year’s subject is Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943), perhaps the last great exponent of Russian Romanticism, who nevertheless embodied many contradictions. Born into Imperial Russia, he spent more than half his life in Western exile; best remembered as a composer, he made his living primarily as a pianist and conductor; and all too often dismissed by critics as a middle-brow reactionary, he remains adored by audiences for his soaring “big tunes.” Through the prism of his life and career, “Rachmaninoff and His World” presents an illuminating a series of concerts, pre-concert talks, and panel discussions over the final two weekends of SummerScape. On August 5–7, Weekend One traces the complex course the composer navigated between Russia and Modernity, and on August 12–14, Weekend Two investigates his relationship with the New Worlds he went on to conquer. Twelve concert programs spaced over the two weekends explore such themes as composition during the Cold War, virtuoso pianists and their public, and America’s ongoing love affair with Rachmaninoff’s music.
Opera: Richard Strauss’s The Silent Woman (“Die Schweigsame Frau”; new production)
This year’s offering is the only true comic opera by Rachmaninoff’s close contemporary Richard Strauss (1864–1949). Set to a sparkling libretto by Stefan Zweig, after the piece by Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson, “The Silent Woman” (“Die schweigsame Frau,” 1935) is the story of a retired British admiral who craves the quiet life, and of his nephew, his nephew’s wife, and the barber who intervenes between them. Revived only rarely, especially in America, the opera is nonetheless “remarkable for its joie de vivre and, more important, its moments of profound old-world warmth, affection and rapture,” not to mention its “intricate, radiant score” (Los Angeles Times).
Bard’s colorful, fast-paced new production and set design are both by Christian Räth. Italian bass Andrea Silvestrelli sings the role of naval veteran Sir Morosus, with tenor David Portillo as his nephew, Henry; soprano Jana McIntyre as Henry’s wife, Aminta; and Glyndebourne Opera Cup-winning baritone Edward Nelson as the scheming Barber. Supported by the American Symphony Orchestra and Bard Festival Chorale under Leon Botstein’s leadership, “The Silent Woman” runs from July 22–31.
Dance: world premiere of “Song of Songs” by Pam Tanowitz & David Lang
“Song of Songs” is a collaborative new commission from Pam Tanowitz, the Fisher Center’s inaugural Choreographer-in-Residence, and Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer David Lang. Spiritual and erotic, playful and mysterious, the biblical “Song of Songs,” also known as “The Song of Solomon,” is the inspiration for much of the world’s love poetry. Set to Lang’s original choral interpretation of the text, Tanowitz explores her Jewish identity with a major proscenium ensemble dance. A collage of sound, song and movement that reimagines ancient rituals of love and courtship, the work features production design by longtime Tanowitz collaborators Reid Bartelme, Harriet Jung, and Clifton Taylor. “Song of Songs” will premiere to live musical accompaniment in three performances July 1–3.
Theater: world premiere of new adaptation & translation of Molière’s “Dom Juan”
To mark this year’s global celebrations of Molière’s 400th anniversary, SummerScape opens with the world premiere of a bold new take on the French playwright’s 1665 tragicomedy “Dom Juan,” directed by Ashley Tata, from June 23–July 17. Using a new translation commissioned for the occasion from scholar Sylvaine Guyot and Fisher Center Artistic Director Gideon Lester, Tata becomes one of the first female directors ever to tackle the Molière classic. Setting his story in a fantasy world where 17th-century France meets late-1970s America, she raises pertinent questions about class, faith, and gender. Moreover, by casting both the titular libertine and Sganarelle, Dom Juan’s assistant and sidekick, as women, she subverts the play’s traditional patriarchal power structure. Combining slapstick comedy with the taut psychology of a thriller, Tata’s production represents a Dom Juan for the 21st century.
Spiegeltent: live music, dancing & dining in the tent of mirrors
Now back after a two-year absence, the mirrored tent provides the environment for cutting-edge live music and dancing on Fridays, Saturdays, and some Sundays throughout the festival, June 24–August 13. Highlights include the return of “Black Roots Summer,” a celebration of Black roots music curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro. Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, OBIE Award-winning director Lileana Blain-Cruz, and Rome Prize-winning composer Courtney Bryan will present a first look at music from their Fisher Center-commissioned adaptation of Scott Joplin’s 1911 opera “Treemonisha.” Full programming and schedule will be announced in April.
Gala: Summer Enchanted Evening
On July 16, Bard’s Montgomery Place Campus plays host to Summer Enchanted Evening, a special gala celebration to benefit the Fisher Center and Bard Music Festival.
SummerScape tickets: Tickets for mainstage events go on sale on March 9, starting at $25, and Spiegeltent tickets go on sale in April. For complete information regarding tickets, series discounts and more, visit the Fisher Center website or call Bard’s box office at 845-758-7900.
—A.K.
* * *
Berkshire Waldorf High School to host open house
STOCKBRIDGE — Berkshire Waldorf High School will hold an open house, Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m., at the school: 14 Pine Street in Stockbridge, on the corner of Pine and Shamrock streets.
The program will include a student panel, and guests are welcome to ask questions about the students’ high school experience, the work they’ve done this year, and their plans for the future.
The school offers honors-level, college preparatory academics and is also well-integrated into the larger community, offering classes and workshops in renowned artists’ studios, the use of local labs and gyms, field trips to events and museums in the Northeast, international travel, and more.
A specially-curated presentation of student work will be on view, including math, science, humanities, and technology projects. Light refreshments will be served. Parents, students, friends, community members, and younger siblings are all welcome.
—A.K.
* * *
Black Legacy Project world premiere to be held at Colonial Theatre March 6
SHEFFIELD — Music in Common announces the world premiere of The Black Legacy Project (Black LP), a musical celebration of Black history to advance racial solidarity, equity, and belonging. The Black LP is a national project produced in partnership with community stakeholders at the local level. As it travels the country, the Black LP brings together Black and White artists, and artists of all backgrounds, to record present day interpretations of songs central to the Black American experience and compose originals relevant to the pressing calls for change of our time. Community roundtable discussions help inform how these songs are interpreted and written.
The Black Legacy Project launched in September 2021 in the Berkshires and will travel to Atlanta, Los Angeles, the Mississippi Delta, Denver, the Arkansas Ozarks, and Boise in 2022–2023.
On Sunday, March 6 at 7 p.m., the Black Legacy Project will make its world premiere at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. The free event will include a preview screening of the documentary short about the Project produced by OUTPOST, a concert, and a community conversation. Wanda Houston, Billy Keane, Gina Coleman, Matt Cusson, Rufus Jones, Annie Guthrie, Diego Mongue, and Eric Reinhardt are just a few of the artists who will be performing.
In November 2021, more than three dozen local musicians came together to record six songs that addressed the theme “hope in a hateful world” by examining and reimagining the works “Strange Fruit,” “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and “We Shall Overcome.” Artists also wrote two originals, “Rise Up” and “It’s About More,” addressing the theme. These six songs will be performed at the March 6 premiere and released later this spring. In September 2021, more than two dozen Berkshire residents tackled this difficult theme head on in two online roundtable discussions, which helped inform the interpretations of the songs.
“The Black Legacy Project in the Berkshires has been in the works for a year and a half, and it is great to see it coming together,” said Mia Shepherd, local co-director of the project. “The March 6 event is not the culmination, but rather just the beginning of an ongoing effort to build solidarity, equity, and belonging in the Berkshires and beyond through the power of civic engagement and the universal language of music.”
The Black LP Berkshires is supported by a long list of local partners including OUTPOST, Lee Bank Foundation, the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative Community Film Fund, the Feigenbaum Foundation, Berkshire Bank, Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, Greylock Federal Credit Union, The Guthrie Center, Housatonic Heritage and the Oral History Center, Deep Red Studios, Berkshire Theatre Group, Trattoria Rustica, Lenox Cultural Council, and Darrow Music Collective. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
The Black Legacy Project is produced by Music in Common, a non-profit organization that repairs the fractures dividing communities worldwide through collaborative songwriting, multimedia and performance. Since 2005, Music in Common has directly served thousands of people in more than 300 communities across the globe and across religious, ethnic, cultural, and racial axes. The organization was founded by singer-songwriter and producer Todd Mack in response to the murder of his friend and bandmate, Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter abducted by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002.
—A.K.
* * *
CozQuest to host three pop-up markets featuring local artisans
BERKSHIRE COUNTY — CozQuest will host three pop-up markets during the month of March to encourage people to get out and support local artisans who bring their unique beauty to the Berkshires.
The first market will be at Hotel on North on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m., upstairs in Shire Hall, and will be filled with woodworkers, jewelry designers, macrame makers, artists of all types, and even a dog-treat baker.
The second market will be held in partnership with Lanesborough Local, on Saturday, March 19 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Selected North County artists and creators will be on hand to share their wares.
The final market of the month will be at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, on Saturday, March 26 from 1–5 p.m., and include makers, bakers, beer brewers, photographers, and a canoe builder.
—A.K.
* * *
Berkshire Music School announces Talent & Merit Scholarship auditions
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Music School (BMS) continues its enhanced scholarship program to support musicians of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience. For the 2022–23 academic year, BMS will offer increased need-based financial aid for private lessons, as well as competitive talent- and merit-based scholarships to attract the most talented and promising musicians in the region.
Students accepted into the Talent & Merit Scholarship Program will benefit from: generous financial assistance (up to 100-percent tuition); invitations to participate in masterclasses with guest artists; audition coaching and workshops; complimentary tickets to performances at BMS and other venues; and performance opportunities throughout the Berkshires, including individual and group recitals. In the 2021–22 academic year, BMS awarded more than $24,000 in need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships to 24 students, including full-tuition scholarships to nine students.
Auditions will be held by appointment, Saturday, April 9 beginning at 10 a.m. for a panel of professional musicians. Auditions are open to the entire community, and musicians do not have to be current BMS students to be considered. BMS encourages people of all ages and diverse backgrounds to audition.
For the audition, instrumentalists (other than guitar) should be prepared to perform the following: major and minor scales in two or more octaves, as requested by the panel; etude of musician’s choice; movement from a sonata or a concerto, or comparable piece. Guitarists should be prepared to perform major and minor scales in two or more octaves, as requested by the panel, as well as two songs of your choice in contrasting styles showing your ability to play chord progressions, picking techniques, and soloing/improvisation. Vocalists should be prepared to sing two songs in contrasting styles, one of which should be in a foreign language. Instrumentalists should be prepared to perform without accompaniment; vocalists may perform to pre-recorded accompaniment that they provide. BMS will not be providing an accompanist.
Each audition will last 5–7 minutes. To make an appointment, musicians should submit their audition requests to Executive Director Natalie Johnsonius Neubert at [email protected] and include their training and performance background, as well as a letter of recommendation from someone familiar with their work as a musician.
—A.K.
