The Actors’ Gang Tim Robbins, Artistic Director
Molière’s Tartuffe Tuesday, January 29, 2013; 7:30 pm TARTUFFE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Colette Brooks Chair Phil Sandhaus Vice Chair Richard Marcus Treasurer Gina Belafonte Tracey Jacobs Rene Jones Linda Lichter Claudette Lussier Bill Morgan Tim Robbins Mark Sieke STAFF Tim Robbins Artistic Director Cynthia Ettinger Associate Artistic Director Carla Jo Bailey Administration Consultant Sabra Williams Director of Outreach & The Prison Project Christiane Georgi Director of Education Simon Hanna Interim Management Team Sienna McCandless Box Office Manager Will Schuessler Production Manager Donna Jo Thorndale Interim Management Team Tour Management and Booking David Lieberman/Artists’ Representatives info@dlartists.com; www.dlartists.com The Actors’ Gang The Ivy Substation 9070 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 310-838-4264 www.theactorsgang.com
Written by Molière Adapted by David Ball Directed by Jon Kellam Scenic Design: Jon Kellam/Adam Jefferis Scenic Consultants: Richard Hoover/Sibyl Wickersheimer Costume Design: Rosalida Medina Lighting Design: R. Christopher Stokes Sound Design: Jef Bek Stage Manager: Tara Lamar* CAST (in alphabetical order) Pierre Adeli....................................................................................................................Tartuffe Hannah Chodos............................................................................................................ Mariane Adam Jefferis...................................................................................................................Damis Jeremie Loncka*..............................................................................................................Valère Will McFadden......................................................................Molière/Loyal/Laurent/Flipote Vanessa Mizzone*........................................................................................................... Elmire Mary Eileen O’Donnell*................................................................................ Madame Parnell Pedro Shanahan................................................................................Percussion/Keyboards Donna Jo Thorndale*.................................................... Madame de Maintenon/Translator Bob Turton*.................................................................................................................... Cleante P. Adam Walsh.................................................................................................................. Orgon Sabra Williams*............................................................................................................... Dorine *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Props & Puppets: Mary Eileen O’Donnell Dramaturg: Thomas Johnson Dramaturg: France Demoulin The Actors’ Gang’s production of Tartuffe was co-commissioned by The University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Notre Dame, IN Acknowledgements/Special Thanks Cynthia Ettinger Dominique Serrand Jacqueline Reid Theatre de la Jeune Lune Cultural Services of the French Consulate in Los Angeles THERE WILL BE ONE 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 49,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org www.threestages.net SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16A
The Actors’ Gang Tim Robbins, Artistic Director
Molière’s Tartuffe continued
Director’s Notes In October 2005, a number of my Actors’ Gang colleagues and I, while on tour with Tim’s accomplished play Embedded, had the pleasure of attending a performance of Molière’s The Miser (adapted by David Ball) at the Theatre de la Jeune Lune in Minneapolis. At that time I knew that I would be directing Tartuffe and I was curious to see how Jeune Lune would approach Molière. Needless to say, we were all moved and impressed. The dialogue was clipped, sharp, dark and poetic and achieved a contemporary anachronistic essence. The production and performances as a whole were dazzling, brilliantly inventive and hysterically funny. We were in awe and we were frightened. What an act to follow! After the play we had the pleasure of meeting the director, Dominique Serrand (who directed Red Noses with us in September 2011). We told him of our plan to produce Tartuffe at The Actors’ Gang in the coming January and also told him we planned to use Richard Wilbur’s formidable translation. He insisted that we throw away the idea of the Wilbur translation and produce instead the Jeune Lune version that they had produced in 2001 (also adapted and translated by David Ball). We were excited and sold on the idea. We connected with Mr. Ball, who graciously complied. We are so grateful and excited to present Mr. Ball’s version because it captures both the momentum and essence of Molière’s original and, at the same time, allows a great deal of interpretive freedom that other versions do not. In turn, this lively version also allows us a window into the inner demons that haunt Orgon’s subconscious. It is a dark, lean, sensual and most relevant adaptation and we joyfully present it here tonight.
Dramaturg’s Notes Molière (the nom de plume of Jean Baptiste Poquelin) was born in Paris in 1622. The son of an upholsterer, Molière was educated at the Collège de Clermont by the same Jesuit order that would later pressure Louis XIV to forbid the production of Tartuffe and ultimately deny Molière a holy burial upon his death in 1673. At the age of twenty-one, and against the wishes of his father, Molière set out to become an actor, and the troupe he co-founded began a thirteen-year tour of the French provinces in 1643 (the first year of Louis XIV’s 72-year reign). In the provinces, Molière was exposed to the baroque mosaic of personalities, social conditions, and religious temperaments that were being compelled into coalescence under the Bourbon monarchy’s tenuous unification of both the territory and spirit of France. Molière was, in fact, a proponent of the new classicism that sought to “unify” the French aesthetic by purging its language of ornament and controlling its structure. He often parodied the overblown affectations and “preciosity” of the salon culture of the day. But Molière was himself a bourgeois, and much like Shakespeare, he could skillfully represent the language and idiosyncrasies of the common man, the bourgeoisie, and the aristocratic Précieux. Also like Shakespeare, his verse was always written in the service of the practical demands of the stage, and he tempered his classicism by incorporating into his comedies elements of the Italian commedia dell’ arte style, a largely improvisational tradition (and the inspiration of The Actors’ Gang style).
In addition, we have added a prologue – a letter written by Molière in defense of the play – in order to give the audience an idea of some of the obstacles Molière had to transcend to facilitate producing Tartuffe. We have also added the character of Madame de Maintenon, the mistress of Louis XIV, in the stead of the King’s officer.
Molière’s great thematic obsession was vice, and in each of his major comedies he holds a particular vice up to ridicule. In Tartuffe, the vice of choice is hypocrisy, though the Jesuits thought Molière had a more specific and radical target in mind—that of false religious piety—and had the play banned from 1664-1669. But Molière is no radical. If he is savage in his examination of vice and its effects, then he is certainly more moderate in his condemnation of those who perpetrate it. His judgments lack the ferocity of eighteenth century literary avengers like Jonathan Swift or even Voltaire, who entertained radical solutions that Molière would never have countenanced. For Molière, a wise and moderate accommodation to the imperfect realities of human nature and social order is always the preferred course. As he demonstrates in Tartuffe, Molière considered both radicalism and absolutism to be disastrous solutions to the moral, social, and political corruption that he saw coursing through seventeenth century French society. Though the period was ironically dominated by the absolutism of Molière’s great patron, Louis XIV, the moral and social tensions lurking just beyond the king’s vast influence eventually resolved themselves in the least moderate of ways: they found their full explosive expression in the French Revolution, a century after Molière collapsed on stage giving us his final, cautionary counsel.
Jon Kellam November 2012
Thomas Johnson UCLA Department of English
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The Actors’ Gang Biographies
Pierre Adeli (Tartuffe) was born in San Jose, raised in Iran and the Rockies of Colorado, and now lives in Los Angeles. He has worked with world-renowned directors including Simon Abkarian, Georges Bigot and Tim Robbins during his tenure with The Actors’ Gang, where he has been a member for 9 years. He has degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science from the University of Colorado. Jef Bek (Sound Design) is a founding member of John Cusack’s New Crime Productions in Chicago and Zoo District Theatre in Los Angeles. Jef received an Ovation Award and two Garland Awards for Nosferatu, an Ovation Award for Pathe X, a Garland Award and an LA Weekly Award for The Master and Margarita, and an LA Weekly Award for Scenes From An Execution. Jef served as a professor of Interactive Sound Design at The University of Southern California and wrote the book, music and lyrics for Evel Knievel The Rock Opera, 2008 Musical of the Year L.A. Weekly Award Nominee. Jef performed live original music for Tartuffe at The Actors’ Gang in 2011. HANNAH CHODOS (Mariane) graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Religion in 2006, and returned to her hometown of Los Angeles to be an actress. She became involved with The Actors’ Gang in 2004, while she was still a student at Dartmouth, and has been training and performing with the company ever since. The Actors’ Gang: Julia, 1984; Zita, The Untouchable Bobby Fischer; Mariane, Tartuffe; Chepi/Samuel, Break the Whip; Ensemble, I Am Not a Racist, But…; Noni, Klüb; Grand Guignolers: Little Red/Stepmother, A Grand Guignol Children’s Show; The Savannah Theater Project: Mildred, Freedom! And the Sticky End of Make-Believe; Vox Theater: She, Here We Are; Hayley/Ivy, By So Falling. ADAM JEFFERIS (Damis) is thrilled to be “on the road” with The Actors’ Gang. Over the past five years, Adam has been involved with every production at the Gang, in one way or another. Favorite past credits with The Actors’ Gang include Our Town, Break the Whip, Red Noses, and all of the Shakespeare adaptations performed as part of The Gang’s summer series in the park. Adam is also an alumni of iO West (formerly Improv Olympic) where he has performed “the Harold” with house teams Gypsy Lou and The La Fontaine Players. Commercial credits include several regional, national, and worldwide spots that can now be viewed online. He is a proud graduate of The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Adam would like to thank his family and friends for their continued love and support. A special thanks to Jon, Tim and The Gang for the invaluable training and friendships that have developed and flourished over the last couple of years. JON KELLAM (Director) is currently co-artistic director and co-founding member of Zoo District Theatre, a resident director, member of and served as Director of Education at The Actors’ Gang. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre LA, Director of the GET LIT Players also in L.A., and newly appointed Theatre CoChair at CHAMPS Charter Multi Media and Performing Arts High School. Theatre companies he has worked with nationally, either as an actor or director, include Steppenwolf, The Organic Theatre, New Crime, The National Jewish Theatre, American Blues Theatre, Absolute Theatre, Baliwick, Chicago Actors Ensemble and Strawdog in Chicago; Playwrights Horizons, PS 122, Lincoln Center, Circle in the Square and Workhouse Theatre in New York City; The Los Angeles Theatre Center, Open Fist, Sacred Fools, EST LA, The Actors’ Gang, Zoo District, Theatre Theatre and REDCAT in Los Angeles, and The Powerhouse Theatre in Brisbane, www.threestages.net SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16C
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Australia. Directing credits in Los Angeles: The Actors’ Gang: Tartuffe (2005, 2011 and National Tour 2013), Drums In The Night, The Exonerated (National Tour), The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (LA, National Tour and Brisbane, Australia). Kellam assisted Simon Abkarian on Love’s Labour’s Lost; The Edge-of-the-World Theatre Festival: The Ass by Parviz Sayyad; Zoo District: award winning production of Nosferatu…Angel Of The Final Hour (directed/co-created), Home…The Search For The Lost Tablet Of Ur (co-directed/co-created);Theatre Theater: Beggars In The House Of Plenty, directed by Larry Moss (fight director), Ruskin Group’s Cowboy Mouth in Santa Monica, and Orpheus Descending at Theatre Theater (fight coordinator and movement consultant). In New York City, Kellam directed and co-created Monsoon Child at the Harold Clurman. He co-developed and directed The Artists Dream in Krakow, Poland, written and performed by Ewa Boryczo (2010 in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco). Teaching credits include a Commedia dell’ Arte workshop at Playwrights’ Horizons (New York City, 1992-1993), theatre and Commedia dell’ Arte (The Los Angeles County High School, 2001-2009), adjunct professor-visiting artist (Cal State University Los Angeles, and directed Imaginary Invalid), and Occidental College. In June of 2011, as a visiting teaching artist, he taught a physical for the University of Texas Abroad in Florence Italy. He directed Imaginary Invalid and Loves Labours, Lost at Champs. In 2008 he received a Surdna Fellowship to study ‘clown’, based on the pedagogy of Jacque Lecoq and Yves Lebreton, with Philip Radice of Altelier Teatro Fisico and Andrea Casaca, Artistic Director of Teatrocart in Torin and Castelfiorentino Italy. Jon is currently in process, directing and consulting on a multi-media solo performance piece based on the life, writings, and films of Iranian poetess, activist, and feminist, Forough Farrokhzad, written and performed by Sussan Deyhim. TARA LAMAR (Stage Manager) graduated from the University of Southern California with a BFA in Stage Management. Tara has had the opportunity to work all over the world, with some of the best directors and actors she knows, but she calls Los Angeles home. Some of her favorite productions include Agamemnon (The Getty Villa), West Side Story, On the Razzle, Love’s Labour’s Lost (The Actors’ Gang) and Moon Over Buffalo. Tara is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. JEREMIE LONCKA (Valère) hails from the small farm town of Annawan, Illinois in America’s heartland. He has been a member of the The Actors’ Gang for the past three years and during his time in Southern California has had the opportunity to work with some of the region’s best theatres. Memorable roles include Flote in Red Noses (The Actors’ Gang) and King Richard in Richard III (Guerilla Shakespeare Co.). He is very thankful to his parents for their love and support. WILL THOMAS MCFADDEN (Molière/Loyal/Laurent/Flipote) You may be asking yourself, “Who is this Will Thomas McFadden?” That’s a great question. Well, after earning his BFA in theater from UCSB, Will moved to Los Angeles to pursue a successful acting career in television, movies (although it continues to elude him). Now you’re probably wondering, “What are some of the multi-dimensional characters Will has brought to the stage?” Glad you asked. They include: Frapper, the stuttering comedian from Red Noses, P.M. 3 in the stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, Fag from The Rivals and Yoda from The Tempest: Star Wars Edition. 16D SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE www.threestages.net
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“What about film?” you say. Well, how could you forget Will as Stevie Johnson from the 1992 straight-to-home-video comedy classic Only You? Where can you find more of this Will? Simple. Check out his YouTube channel GoPotatoTV or you can find him at The Actors’ Gang Theater in Culver City … he pretty much lives there. ROSALINDA MEDINA (Costume Design) designs for theatre, film and all other form of creative community that involve mingling passion for storytelling with human skills. Rosa began her studies and developed her love of costuming in Paris in high school theatre, in the fashion business and at the Paris Opera House. She then followed her desire to discover who she was in America, where half of her heritage is from. This became another gathering of new adventures and including costume design for theatre such as The Women, and Raisin In The Sun; assisting teaching at the University of Wilmington, NC; designing for independent films and continuing the costuming journey both in NC and LA on shows such as Big Fish, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Warner Brothers TV shows, etc. Since then, her creative designer self has been fired up on features like Bitch Slap and Fred 2; TV shows like 1000 Ways to Die, and recently, collaborating with amazing directors on productions for The Actors’ Gang, including Red Noses, Atomic Holiday Free Fall, remount of 1984, Oy, The Tempest: Star Wars Edition, and now Tartuffe! VANESSA MIZZONE (Elmire) is thrilled to be playing Elmire again in The Actors’ Gang production of Tartuffe. She has been a company member since 2004 and has played Emily in Our Town, the Queen in Gulliver’s Travels, and multiple roles in Drums In The Night, Blood! Love! Madness!, Pericles on The High Seas and in the National Tour of Embedded. She has numerous film and TV credits, but most recently played the role of Lois on FX’s American Horror Story. She has trained in comedy at the Groundlings and has her Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from UCLA. Love to Will and Frank the Tank. MARY EILEEN O’DONNELL (Madame Parnell), New Yorker, is a 9-year veteran of The Actors’ Gang. Since getting her degree in the U.S. and training in London, she has worked in New York, Los Angeles and regional theatre, as well as in movies, TV and commercials. Los Angeles: The Actors’ Gang: OY, Red Noses, Break the Whip (written and directed by Tim Robbins), Tartuffe, I Am Not a Racist, But..., Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Women of Lockerbie; Mark Taper Forum: Vigil (Olympia Dukakis’ understudy); Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Co: Twelfth Night, Richard III, Measure for Measure, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Winter’s Tale. Off Broadway: The Measures Taken (NYSF/Public Theatre), five seasons at CSC (The Classic Stage Co): Richard II, Hamlet, Wild Oats, Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Doctor Faustus, Cuchulain, Leonce and Lena. Other New York: Soho Rep: The Blitzstein Project, Mandrake, Merchant of Venice. Regional Theatre: Christmas Carol (Pennsylvania Stage Company). Film: The Problem of Evil, Mrs. Henderson’s Cat, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Silver Bells, Sweet Nothing in My Ear, Tales from the Catholic Church of Elvis, Witchwise. TV: Law and Order: Los Angeles, Big Love, The Unit. Web Series: Josie and Dale. TIM ROBBINS (Artistic Director) Born October 16, 1958 in West Covina, California, and raised in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Tim Robbins has a long list of notable credits as an actor, director, writer and producer of films and theater. Key acting roles are in such films as Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, Isabel Croixet’s The Secret Life of Words, Philip Noyce’s Catch a Fire, Robert Altman’s The Player and Short Cuts, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption, The Coen Brothers’ The Hudsucker Proxy, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Mark Pellington’s Arlington www.threestages.net SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16E
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Road, Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46, Michel Gondry’s Human Nature, Tony Bill’s Five Corners, Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder, and Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham. Robbins has won numerous awards for his acting, including an Oscar, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for Mystic River, Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe for Best Actor for The Player. He was nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Actor for Bob Roberts and by the Screen Actors Guild for Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption. As a director, Robbins distinguished himself with Cradle Will Rock, which he also wrote and produced, winning Best Film and Best Director at the Sitges Film Festival in Barcelona, and the National Board of Review Award for Special Achievement in Filmmaking in the United States. Dead Man Walking, which he also wrote and produced, won multiple awards including the Academy Award for Best Actress for Susan Sarandon, the Christopher Award, the Humanitas Award and four awards at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as four Oscar nominations including Best Director and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay. His first film, Bob Roberts, won the Bronze Award at the Tokyo International Festival and Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor at the Boston Film Festival. Robbins serves as Artistic Director for The Actors’ Gang, a theater company formed in 1982, which has over 80 productions and more than 100 awards to their credit. As a playwright he has been produced in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. One of his latest plays, Embedded, played to sold out audiences for over four months at the Public Theater in New York before playing the Riverside Studios in London and embarking on a National Tour in the U.S. Most recently he directed The Actors’ Gang in their shockingly relevant and wildly successful adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 which, for the past two years, has toured to over 40 states and four continents. From 2006 until the present, Le Petit Theatre de Pain’s production of Embedded has been touring France, most recently playing at the Theatre du Soleil in Paris. In the US, Embedded was revived recently in productions in Chicago and Tampa Bay. In addition, Robbins’ stage adaptation of Dead Man Walking has been performed in over 140 universities nationwide. Rights to perform the play are exclusive to educational institutions until 2014. In order to obtain the rights for the play, universities must commit two departments other than theater arts to offer courses on the death penalty. Throughout the country and the world for the past four years, symposiums, lectures and debates have been held in conjunction with the theatrical productions, leading to a substantial increase in the dialogue and education surrounding this important issue. Robbins is also very proud to sponsor educational programs with The Actors’ Gang that provide arts education to elementary, middle and high school students in the L.A. area. The Gang has also worked for the past three years providing theatrical workshops to incarcerated inmates in the California prison system. PEDRO SHANAHAN (Percussion/Keyboards) grew up performing in community and guerilla theater companies in Eugene, OR. He has worked as a writer/director/ producer for stage, screen and television, helping to create American Misfits (among other shows) for FUEL TV. Pedro has been playing in bands since the ‘80s, touring in support of several albums with The Good Madmen, Birdie Jo!, and the Rondo Brothers, as well as solo projects under the moniker, “Dirty Little Pedro.” He is a relatively new member of The Actors’ Gang, an active teacher in the Prison Project and Homeboy Industries, and after-school programs. He is grateful to be a member of this vital and talented group. 16F SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE www.threestages.net
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R. CHRISTOPHER STOKES (Lighting Design) is a Los Angeles-based lighting designer. Chris is thrilled to work with The Actors’ Gang again on the Tartuffe tour. His recent shows include Helen at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Recycling: Washi Tales at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Sonneteer at The Village in Hollywood. He earned his MFA in lighting design at the California Institute of the Arts under two-time Tony Award-winner, Donald Holder. He also holds a BA in theater from Bucknell University. As an assistant, Chris worked on Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, the revival of Promises, Promises on Broadway, the Off-Broadway musical Happiness at Lincoln Center, the Lion King National Tour, and the TV show Smash. www.StokesLD.com DONNA JO THORNDALE (Madame de Maintenon/Translator) is an actress, writer and performer from Lexington, Kentucky. She has been a member of The Actors’ Gang since 2004 and most recently was directed by Tony Award-winning director, Dominique Serrand, in Red Noses. Other shows at The Gang include Deborah Brevoort’s The Women of Lockerbie, Bury the Dead, KLUB, and Carnage: A Comedy by Tim Robbins and Adam Simon. Other Los Angeles credits include: Gail in the west coast workshop production of Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss & What I Wore, and Lady MacDuff in Fahrenheit Macbeth by The SITI Company. Donna Jo has been teaching incarcerated inmates with The Actors’ Gang’s Prison Project since 2007, using the transformative tool of theatre to directly address the recidivism rate in the California State Prison System. Professional training includes Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, and study with Director Anne Bogart, SITI Company. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Kentucky with Minors in Dance, Forestry and Political Science. BOB TURTON (Cleante) has been part of The Actors’ Gang for three years. Other Gang credits include Red Noses, The Rivals, and the recent remount of 1984 directed by Artistic Director, Tim Robbins. Regional theater credits include work with The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Steppenwolf, A Red Orchid Chicago, and The Cleveland Play House. Bob is an alumnus of Northwestern University and proud member of The Actors’ Equity Association. Infinite thanks to The Gang, Tim Robbins, Mom, Dad, and fellow Gangster, Molly O’Neill, for absurdly generous love and support. P. ADAM WALSH (Orgon) currently resides in London, England with his wife, Caliopie and daughter, Sadie. He has over 27 years of acting experience with many theatre, film and television credits to his name. As a director, he’s helmed theatre productions in London, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Hong Kong. Mr. Walsh has also taught acting workshops at NYU’s experimental theatre program, UCLA’s graduate acting program, The Colour House Theatre in London, UK, as well as several universities and private organizations across the United States. Thanks for coming. Enjoy the show. SABRA WILLIAMS (Dorine), having established a body of work as an actress and TV presenter in the UK and internationally, Sabra became an ‘alien of exceptional ability’ and arrived in LA in 2002. She is honored to have been a member of The Actors’ Gang since 2004, playing leads in many plays. Sabra also created The Actors’ Gang Prison Project and is currently Director of Outreach. She has a successful film and television career, including Mission Impossible 3, and recurring roles in ABC’s Injustice and CBS’s Three Rivers. “Working with people who understand the power of the Arts to effect social and inner transformation is crucially important to me.” www.threestages.net SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16G
An Evening with
Branford Marsalis Thursday, January 31, 2013; 7:30 pm
NEA Jazz Master, renowned Grammy Award®-winning saxophonist and Tony Award® nominee composer Branford Marsalis is one of the most revered instrumentalists of his time. The three-time Grammy Award® winner has continued to exercise and expand his skills as an instrumentalist, a composer, and the head of Marsalis Music, the label he founded in 2002 that has allowed him to produce both his own projects and those of the jazz world’s most promising new and established artists. Marsalis made his Broadway debut as the composer of original music for the Tony Award® winning Broadway revival of August Wilson’s play “Fences”. Marsalis received a Tony nomination in the category of category of “Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre” and a 2010 Drama Desk Award® for “Outstanding Music in a Play” for his participation. Following these successes, Marsalis was asked to score the 2011 Broadway premiere of “The Mountaintop” starting Samuel Jackson and Angela Bassett. Leader of one of the finest jazz Quartets today, and a frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Branford has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with such acclaimed orchestras as the Chicago, Detroit, Düsseldorf, and North Carolina Symphonies and the Boston Pops, with a growing repertoire that includes compositions by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem and Vaughn Williams. His propensity for innovative and forward-thinking compels him to seek new and challenging works by modern classical composers such as modern Scottish composer Sally Beamish who, after hearing Branford perform her composition “The Imagined Sound of Sun on Stone” at the 2006 North Sea Jazz Festival, was inspired to re-conceive a piece in progress, “Under the Wing of the Rock,” which he premiered as part of the Celtic Connections festival Beamish’s home country of Scotland in January 2009.
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Making his first appearance with the New York Philharmonic in the summer of 2010, Marsalis was again invited to join them as soloist in their 2010-2011 concert series where he unequivocally demonstrated his versatility and prowess, bringing “a gracious poise and supple tone… and an insouciant swagger” (New York Times) to the repertoire. In 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts conferred the prestigious Jazz Masters Fellowship on the Marsalis Family, a celebration and acknowledgement of a family described by the New York Times as “jazz’s most storied living dynasty”, who have made an indelible mark, collectively and individually, on the history and the future of jazz, America’s art form. The Branford Marsalis Quartet explores the limits of musical adventure and band cohesiveness on Four MFs Playin’ Tunes available August 2012. This is the first recording of the tight-knit working band with an electrifying young drummer that joined the band three years ago and the results are a nimble and sparkling album, featuring ambitious original compositions by members of the band, a Thelonious Monk classic, and one standard dating to 1930. The record blends the beautiful and subtle ballad sounds of 2004 release Eternal with the ecstatic contrasts of critically-acclaimed Braggtown. In other words, this just might be the Branford Marsalis Quartet’s most sublime musical achievement yet.
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Having gained initial acclaim through his work with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his brother Wynton’s quintet in the early 1980s, Marsalis also performed and recorded with a who’s-who of jazz giants including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, and Sonny Rollins. He has also collaborated with such diverse artists as Sting, the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby. His expansive interests are further reflected in his explorations in film, radio and television, including his role as the musical director of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for two years in the early 1990s. Marsalis has also acted in such popular movies such as Throw Mama from the Train and School Daze, provided music for Mo’ Better Blues and other films and hosted National Public Radio’s syndicated program Jazz Set. Dedicated to changing the future of jazz in the classroom, Marsalis has shared his knowledge at such universities as Michigan State, San Francisco State, Stanford and North Carolina Central, with his full Quartet participating in an innovative extended residency at the NCCU campus. Beyond these efforts, he is also bringing a new approach to jazz education to student musicians and listeners in colleges and high schools through Marsalis Jams, an interactive program designed by Marsalis in which leading jazz ensembles present concert/jam sessions in mini-residencies. Marsalis Jams has visited campuses in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest, and later established an ongoing Marsalis Berklee Jams series with the Berklee College of Music. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans native joined forces with friend Harry Connick, Jr. to conceive the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village, the newly constructed community in the city’s historic Upper Ninth Ward that provides new homes for displaced residents, including displaced musicians and their families. At the heart of the Village stands the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, a magnificent facility with performance, instructional and practice spaces and a recording studio. Whether on the stage, in the recording studio, in the classroom or in the community, Branford Marsalis embodies a commitment to musical excellence and a determination to keep music at the forefront.
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Russian National Ballet Theatre The Sleeping Beauty Tuesday, February 5, 2013; 7:30 pm Wednesday, February 6, 2013; 7:30 pm Thursday, February 7, 2013; 7:30 pm THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Full-length Ballet in Three Acts Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky Choreography: Marius Petipa Libretto: Marius Petipa and Ivan Vsevolojsky After stories: Charles Perrault Sets: Lev Solodovnikov Costumes: Simon Virsaladze Premiere: January 16, 1890 Marinski Theatre, St. Petersburg PROLOGUE ACT I The Spell Intermission ACT II, Scene One The Vision ACT II, Scene Two The Awakening ACT III The Wedding Princess Aurora..........................Ekaterina Egorova, Maria Sokolnikova, Maria Klyueva Prince Desire.......................................................................Aydos Zakan, Mikhail Mikhailov Fairy of Lilac........................................ Maria Klyueva, Ekaterina Egorova, Olga Gudkova Fairy Carabosse.............................................................. Evgeny Rudakov, Alexander Daev Fairy of Tenderness........................................................................................... Olga Gudkova Fairy of Boldness..............................................................................Ekaterina Pankovskaya Fairy of Generosity .......................................................................................... Eriko Noritake Fairy of Carelessness............................................................................... Elena Khorosheva Fairy Canary...................................................................................................... Maria Klyueva Catalabutte...................................................................................................Pavel Bochkovsky Master of Ceremonies...............................................................................Pavel Bochkovsky King Florestan............................................................................................... Aziz Yessenbaev Queen ................................................................................................................. Natalia Ivanov Four Cavaliers......................................................Samat Abdrakhmanov, Alexander Daev, Nurjan Kinerbayev, Zhanat Chubanov Princess Florina...............Olga Gudkova, Maria Sokolnikova, Ekatsiarina Pankovskaya Bluebird.............................................................. Samat Abdrakhmanov, Mikhail Mikhailov Pussycat ..................................................................................................... Elena Khorosheva Tomcat ............................................................................ Jann Samigullin, Evgeny Rudakov Little Red Riding Hood.............................................................................. Anna Petushinova Wolf.......................................................................... Evgenniy Rudacov, Alexander Yacjvlev Plus the Corps de Ballet 16J SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE www.threestages.net
The Sleeping Beauty continued
Program Notes The Sleeping Beauty, a crowning jewel of Marius Petipa’s career, is often considered the finest achievement of the Classical ballet. It is a grandiose and refined blending of the traditional mime, expressive pas d’action and spectacular divertissements in a lavish theatrical setting. Tchaikovsky was delighted with the invitation to write the music for a ballet based on Charles Perrault’s well-known fairy tale. A baby princess, condemned at her christening by an evil fairy to prick her finger and die on her 16th birthday, is saved by the gift of the good Lilac Fairy, who declares the princess will only sleep until awakened by the kiss of a prince. The fairy tale, replete with a king and queen, fairies, both good and evil, a beautiful princess and dream prince, magical stage effects, and courtly splendor, lent itself perfectly to the full evening ballet that was Petipa’s pride. Although different productions have cast the kingdom of King Florestan and his Queen in varying centuries, it is really a storybook kingdom set in the realm of the imagination. In the Prologue, the hall of the palace where the christening is about to take place is resplendent with color, and imposing with its high ceilings and great stone archways. The Master of Ceremonies, pages, heralds, ladies in waiting, and finally, the King and Queen, all promenade into the royal setting, looking most distinguished in their elaborate dress. Next, the fairies of the kingdom join the scene of courtly pageantry with the Lilac Fairy, six cavaliers and maids of honor entering last. All dance in honor of the King and Queen and baby Aurora, about to be christened. Each of the fairies dances her own solo, presenting a gift to the Princess. Just as the Lilac Fairy finishes her dance, a strange and frightening rumble is heard. Its meaning soon becomes clear: the Master of Ceremonies has forgotten to invite the evil Fairy Carabosse! The grotesque woman, her face a white mask, her long dress black and tattered, enters in a huge black coach drawn by four ugly rats. Stepping down, she gesticulates with her hand and threatens with her stick that they will have to pay the price for their omission. In mime, she delivers the ominous curse that the Princess will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The Master of Ceremonies is in disgrace, the King and Queen are in despair. But the Lilac Fairy has not given her the gift. She steps forward and assures the royal court that on her 16th Birthday the princess will indeed prick her finger, but then fall asleep for 100 years. Carabosse speeds off in a rage while the others surround the infant’s cradle as if to protect her from further harm. The Sleeping Beauty was the first of Petipa’s classics to be seen in Western Europe. Under the title The Sleeping Princess, it was presented by Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) in London in 1921. In 1939, it was remounted in Great Britain and has been considered the foundation of the Classical ballet repertory in that country ever since. It has now been
adopted worldwide, and performance of the leading role remains a kind of initiation rite for aspiring ballerinas. The Sleeping Beauty is a supreme demonstration of the challenge of Petipa’s style - steel point work, sharply accented spinning turns, soaring leaps, high extensions, brilliant battery (beats in the air), and daring lifts. In addition, it gives a fairy tale plot lavish stage treatment. However, its production actually checked a growing tendency toward shapeless extravaganza in 19th century ballet, adhering closely to the principle of choreographic symphonism. Like the composition of a symphony, it had a certain formal structure. The Sleeping Beauty was choreographed in strict association with Tchaikovsky’s music. There are themes developed and resumed throughout the ballet, and each act is a unity unto itself. Tchaikovsky willingly took instruction from Petipa as to the length, tempo, and character of each musical sequence (as he would also do in The Nutcracker). The themes - a young girl’s coming of age and the triumph of good over evil are developed dramatically and musically during the course of the ballet. Each of the three acts includes an Adagio for Princess Aurora: the first celebrating her girlhood, the second, her falling in love, and the third, her marriage. In these pas d’actions, Petipa makes fuller use than previous choreographers of the dramatic potential of the Classical ballet, as when Aurora’s curved (questioning) attitudes become sharp (exclamatory) arabesques and her balances grow steadily surer. PROLOGUE King Florestan XIV declares a grand christening ceremony to be held in honor of the birth of his daughter, Princess Aurora, named after the dawn. An entourage of six fairies is invited to the christening to be godmothers to the child. They are the Candide Fairy, the Coulante Fairy, the Miettes Fairy, the Canari Fairy, the Violente Fairy and—most importantly— the Lilac Fairy, who is the last to arrive. As the fairies are happily granting gifts of honesty, grace, prosperity, song and generosity, they are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the wicked Fairy Carabosse, who is furious at the King’s failure to invite her to the ceremony. The King and Queen begin to remonstrate, and the Master of Ceremonies, Catallabutte, intervenes to take responsibility, whereupon Carabosse rips off his wig, laughing. With spite and rage, Carabosse declares her curse on Princess Aurora: she will prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and die. But all is not lost: the Lilac Fairy, fortunately, has not yet granted her gift to the Princess. She acknowledges that Carabosse’s power is immense and she cannot completely reverse the curse. However, she declares, though the Princess shall indeed prick her finger, she will not die, but instead sleep for 100 years until she is awakened by the kiss of a prince. Carabosse departs, and the curtain falls as the good fairies surround the cradle. www.threestages.net SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16K
The Sleeping Beauty continued
ACT I The Spell Act I opens at Aurora’s 16th birthday party. Brightly clad peasant girls dance a divertissement with flower garlands. Holding the arched garlands overhead, they dance in multiple circles, weaving in and out to a waltz tempo. All await the arrival of the Princess Aurora. The ballerina Princess bursts onto the scene, dancing a brief and vivacious solo in the manner of a carefree young girl. She is then ceremoniously introduced to the four princes who have come to seek her hand. The Rose Adagio, the famous pas d’action expressing a young girl’s blossoming into womanhood, is about to start. Aurora begins the Adagio in with one leg raised and bent behind her, one curved arm raised overhead. Some have read in this “attitude” pose, which Aurora repeats often, a kind of gentle questioning or youthful uncertainty. One after the other, each of the suitors turns and displays her while she maintains her pose. She releases the hand of the suitor supporting her, and raising both of her arms overhead, balances momentarily, as if tentatively testing her abilities. She then takes the arm of the next prince and begins the sequence again. After a brief interlude in which the Princess dances alone, she returns to accept a rose from each of the suitors (hence the title, Rose Adagio). She pirouettes slowly and accepts each rose; one prince supports her while the next offers his flower. At the end of the Adagio, she returns to her attitude position, and supported in turn by each prince, she again releases her hand and balances for a little longer each time. Finally as she frees her hand from the clasp of the fourth prince, the curved attitude straightens into a sharp, arabesque extension. She retains her balance poised confidently on one toe, as if she has visibly come of age before the eyes of the adoring suitors. The Princess continues dancing a joyful solo until her attention is suddenly distracted by a strange woman dressed in black who offers her an unfamiliar object. Before anyone can stop her, Aurora seizes the dreaded spindle. The unwary Princess pricks her finger, grows weaker, and falls to the floor in a swoon. Just as those assembled lapse into despair, the Lilac Fairy steps forward. Waving her wand soothingly, she reminds them that the Princess will only sleep and she casts everyone into deep slumber along with her. The Lilac Fairy summons a forest of thorns, thickets, and enormous shrubbery to grow around the sleeping court. Intermission ACT II Scene One: The Vision Act II takes us to a neighboring kingdom 100 years later. Prince Charming and his lord and lady friends are out for a hunt. The cheerful retinue amuse themselves with dances 16L SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE www.threestages.net
and games, but the Prince is tired of everyday diversions and stays behind to wander about alone. Suddenly the Lilac Fairy floats in on a boat with gossamer sails. She offers to show the melancholy Prince a vision of Aurora. The Prince is utterly enchanted by the sight of the Princess dancing lyrically and romantically amidst a tableau of fairies and nymphs, bathed in a bluish light. He pursues her but can only hold the Princess in his arms for a moment before she eludes him and disappears. She is, after all, only a spectral image conjured up by the Lilac Fairy. The Fairy offers to take the Prince across the lake, through the dense and tangled forest, to the castle where the real Princess lies asleep. ACT II Scene Two: The Awakening The Prince approaches the canopied bed set on a high platform and, as the music heightens, he plants the awakening kiss. Aurora greets him. The King and Queen appear from either side of the stage and welcome the awakened Aurora and her Prince with joy. ACT III The Wedding The final act ushers us into a sumptuous hall, graced with statuesque columns and a circular gold staircase crowned by a blue sky. It is here that the Royal Wedding of Prince Charming and Princess Aurora will take place. A full series of celebratory divertissements is performed by the inhabitants of fairyland. Puss ‘n Boots, Bluebeard and his wife, Goldilocks and a Bear, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf all dance. A highlight is the pas de deux of the soaring Blue Bird and his Princess. First dancing together and then separately, they compete with each other, spinning and fluttering in sparkling flight, sometimes jumping so high they seem virtually suspended in the air. The man’s variation in particular, which features many beating jumps while he arches his body backwards and forward (brises voles), is one of the most famous and demanding in the international repertory. The Bluebird’s Dance ends with the female lifted on the male’s shoulder. The celebration then climaxes with the Grand Pas de Deux danced by the Prince and Princess. They are regal, formal and confident dancing together. Prince Charming supports his bride’s pirouettes and displays her long extensions and secure balances. The Prince jumps and spins during his solo and the Princess spins on pointe with even surer mastery than she showed in the Rose Adagio. Finally, Aurora whirls into the Prince’s arms and dives toward the floor; the Prince catches her around the waist and supports her in the famous inverted pose known as the fish dive. All join the bride and groom for a spirited mazurka and the Lilac Fairy, standing in their midst, bestows her blessing on the happy couple.
The Sleeping Beauty continued
RUSSIAN NATIONAL BALLET THEATRE Artistic Director: Elena Radchenko The Russian National Ballet Theatre was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union’s ballet institutions were exercising their newfound creative freedom. They started new, vibrant companies dedicated not only to the timeless tradition of classical Russian Ballet but also to invigorate this tradition as the Russians began to accept new developments in the dance from around the world. The company, then titled the Soviet National Ballet, was founded by and incorporated graduates from the great Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. The principal dancers of the company came from the upper ranks of the great ballet companies and academies of Russia, and the companies of Riga, Kiev and even Warsaw. Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution, with over 50 dancers of singular instruction and vast experience, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. In 1994, the legendary Bolshoi principal dancer, Elena Radchenko, was selected by Presidential decree to assume the first permanent artistic directorship of the company. Ms. Radchenko is the founder of the Russian National Ballet Theatre. She has focused the Company on upholding the grand national tradition of the major Russian ballet works and developing new talents throughout Russia. The repertory includes virtually all of the great full works of Petipa: Don Quixote, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Paquita, Coppelia and La Sylphide, as well as productions of, among others, The Nutcracker, Sylvia, and La Fille Mal Gardee.
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Too Marvelous for Words: The Songs of Johnny Mercer featuring Lee Lessack and Linda Purl Thursday, February 14, 2013; 7:30 pm Friday, February 15, 2013; 8 pm Saturday, February 16, 2013; 2 & 8 pm Sunday, February 17, 2013; 2 pm Act One My Shining Hour ....................................................................................................... Lee/Linda Too Marvelous for Words.....................................................................................................Lee Day In Day Out/Black Magic ............................................................................................ Linda Dream/Laura..........................................................................................................................Lee The Air Minded Executive ........................................................................................ Lee/Linda I Thought About You ......................................................................................................... Linda Piano Solo: I’m Old Fashioned...........................................................................................John Out of this World....................................................................................................................Lee Pardon my Southern Accent ...............................................................................................Lee Travel Medley: Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home .................................................................................. Linda Atchison, Topeka & The Santa Fe .......................................................................................Lee Jeepers Creepers.............................................................................................................. Linda Glow Worm..............................................................................................................................Lee Broadway/TV star Linda Purl (Happy Days, Matlock, The Office) and the award-winning Lee Lessack return to Three Stages in a powerhouse show dedicated to the heartwarming music of Georgia’s favorite son. Four-time Academy Award-winning songwriter Johnny Mercer comes to life as the two artists weave little known stories with his timeless tunes.
Lazy Bones ......................................................................................................................... Linda I’m an Old Cowhand .............................................................................................................Lee Come Rain or Come Shine .............................................................................................. Linda If You Were Mine.....................................................................................................................Lee Blues in the Night...................................................................................................... Lee/Linda Act Two Piano Solo: Entire Act.........................................................................................................John Too Marvelous for Words.....................................................................................................Lee One for My Baby................................................................................................................. Linda Goody Goody....................................................................................................................... Linda I Wanna Be Around................................................................................................................Lee I Remember You.....................................................................................................................Lee Skylark................................................................................................................................. Linda The Watcha-Ma-Call-It.............................................................................................. Lee/Linda When October Goes........................................................................................................... Linda Pineapple Pete.......................................................................................................................Lee Whistling Away the Dark......................................................................................................Lee Autumn Leaves.................................................................................................................. Linda Days of Wine and Roses/Charade.................................................................................. Linda Moon River..............................................................................................................................Lee Accentuate the Positive............................................................................................ Lee/Linda
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The Songs of Johnny Mercer continued
LEE LESSACK’s graceful lyric baritone vocals and sophisticated yet endearing persona have made him a shining star of the international concert scene. Billboard Magazine calls his singing, “Cabaret romanticism of a high order.” Touring extensively in the United States and Europe to sold-out performances and releasing five albums, Lessack has proven himself both as performer and recording artist.
Linda Purl appears in the following recurring television series: True Blood as Barbara Pelt, The Office as Helene Beasley and the Golden Globe Award-winning series, Homeland, as Elizabeth Gaines. She has starred in over 40 made-for-TV movies, and is especially known for her series roles as Charlene Matlock on Matlock and Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s fiancée, on Happy Days.
Lee’s newest concert is titled Chanteur and is an homage to the Great French Songbook, celebrating music by Michel Legrand, Jacques Brel, Gilbert Bécaud and Charles Aznavour, to name just a few. Chanteur also marks Lessack’s seventh recording and fourth solo album. In addition to his solo concert appearances, Lessack also tours with critically acclaimed vocal trio, 3 Men and a Baby...Grand!, and appears in concert with television favorite, Linda Purl “The Office,” “Matlock,” “Happy Days”.
She appeared on Broadway in Tony-nominated The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Getting and Spending, and Off-Broadway in The Baby Dance and Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Regional theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet, Juliet; The Little Foxes, Regina; The Merchant of Venice, Portia; A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche; Hippolytus, Phaedra; The Glass Menagerie, Amanda; Nora, Nora, with Michael York; original production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Dinner with Friends; Beyond Therapy, Prudence; The Road to Mecca with Miss Julie Harris; A Doll’s House, Nora. She has appeared at such theaters as Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Santa Fe Opera, Cleveland Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Rubicon Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep, six seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; the Princess Grace Theatre in Monaco, Imperial Theatre, Tokyo Japan. She is Founding Director of the California International Theatre Festival. As a film actress, she has appeared in Disney’s Mighty Joe Young, The Walking Major, and Leo and Loree, among others.
His fifth and most ambitious recording to date, In Good Company, was released to great acclaim. Intimate and impeccably produced, the album beams with outstanding performances. Featuring duets with music notables like Michael Feinstein, Maureen McGovern, Amanda McBroom, Ann Hampton Callaway and Stephen Schwartz, it has earned a MAC and Bistro Award for Best Recording of the Year. Mr. Lessack, who attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, has also released four other critically acclaimed albums, including a live recording of a 2001 concert tour Too Marvelous For Words: The Songs of Johnny Mercer. Too Marvelous, recorded at the famed Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, was chosen for the preliminary ballot for 2002 Grammy® Awards. Other recordings include Mr. Lessack’s self-titled debut solo album, his GLAMA® Award-winning, I Know You By Heart, the cast recording of An Enchanted Evening: The Music of Broadway, and a LIVE recording of his critically acclaimed vocal trio, 3 Men and a Baby…Grand Salute The Rat Pack. A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Lessack makes his home in Los Angeles, where in 1996 he founded LML Music (www. LMLmusic.com), whose catalog of CDs includes over 100 of the country’s top live recording artists and performers.
Purl currently tours with her solo concert Midnight Caravan – Celebrating the Great Ladies of the Glamorous Nightclub Era. She also tours with Lee Lessack in tributes to both Berlin and Mercer as well as with Gregory Harrison in A Night to Remember. Her recordings include the solo albums Alone Together and Out of this World—Live, with special guest Desi Arnaz, Jr. Her new CD, Midnight Caravan, was released under LML Music. Born in Connecticut, Purl grew up in Japan, becoming the only foreigner to have trained at the Toho Geino Academy. Her studies continued at LAMDA, Neighborhood Playhouse and Lee Strasberg Institute. www.lindapurl.com
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Paco Peña - Flamenco Vivo! Monday, February 25, 2013; 7 pm
Paco Peña embodies both authenticity and innovation in flamenco. As guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor he has transformed perceptions of this archetypal Spanish art form. Born in the Andalucian city of Córdoba, Paco Peña began learning guitar from his brother at the age of six and made his first professional appearance at the age of 12. In the late 1960s he left Spain for London, where his recitals of flamenco music captured the public imagination. Venues for his solo performances have included the intimate Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and the monumental Royal Albert Hall in London , New York ’s Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has shared the stage with fellow-guitarists, singers and instrumental groups, bridging diverse musical genres, including classical, jazz, blues, country and Latin American. In 1995 The New York Times declared that: “Mr Peña is a virtuoso, capable of dazzling an audience beyond the frets of mortal man. He combines rapid-fire flourishes with a colourist’s sense of shading; this listener cannot recall hearing any guitarist with a more assured mastery of his instrument.“ It should come as no surprise that readers of America’s Guitar magazine judged Paco Peña Best Flamenco Guitarist of the Year for five consecutive years. In 1981 he founded the Centro Flamenco Paco Peña in Cordoba, later becoming Artistic Director of the Córdoba International Guitar Festival. Plans are underway for a new educational initiative in Peña’s hometown, complementing his work as the world’s first Professor of Flamenco Guitar, a role established in 1985 at Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. Since 1970 Paco Peña has performed regularly with his own hand-picked company of dancers, guitarists and singers in a succession of groundbreaking shows. The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company has taken flamenco into the realm of musictheatre with regular seasons in London (Royal Festival Hall, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Barbican) and festival appearances in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Amsterdam, Athens, Israel , Istanbul , Singapore and Hong Kong. 1999 brought the most ambitious production yet: Musa Gitana. Peña based the piece on the life and work of another artist from Córdoba, the painter Julio Romero de Torres. Its seven-week season at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End stands as the longest-ever run of a flamenco show and a further London season followed in Spring 2001. Another landmark was Misa Flamenca, a 1991 setting of the Mass that juxtaposed Peña’s company with a classical choir. Its premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall, given with the Choir of the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, was followed by a staging at the 1992 EXPO in Seville. Misa Flamenca has also been seen in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA.
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