A new season of "New Visions"-subtitled "The Literary Muse"-begins on October 20 at the Rose Theater with the New York premiere of Don Quijote de la Mancha: Romances y Músicas, in which Cervantes' picaresque 17th-century tale of Don Quixote comes alive in a glorious evening of music and spoken word conceived by master viola da gambist and early music expert Jordi Savall.
Joined by soprano Montserrat Figueras, instrumental ensemble Hespèrion XXI, vocal group La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and actor
F. Murray Abraham (who will read passages from Don Quixote), Savall integrates villancicos (Renaissance lyrics from Iberia), romances, Sephardic ballads, popular folk tunes and dances-gallardas, seguidillas-into the beloved tale, bringing striking resonance to Cervantes' immortal words and characters. Savall will also participate in a post-concert discussion on October 20, illuminating his research and reconstruction of the musical world of Cervantes' novel. Tickets for Don Quijote de la Mancha: Romances y Músicas are priced at $30, 40, 50, and 60.
"A Little Night Music" companion evening on October 21 at 9 p.m., Consort Music in the Age of Cervantes and Beyond, brings audiences to the intimate setting of the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse for an hour-long concert of Renaissance music by such composers John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, Antonio de Cabezón, Samuel Scheidt, and others. All tickets are $40.
Tickets for both evenings are available online at LincolnCenter.org, by phone via CenterCharge, 212-721-6500 or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office (W. 65th and Broadway).
Launched by Lincoln Center in the 1998-99 season, "New Visions" presents specially-commissioned productions in innovative stage presentations and groundbreaking collaborations from the world's leading directors, choreographers, and classical performers. Great writers and great works of literature are the focus of this season's "New Visions: The Literary Muse," as four visionary contemporary artists-Jordi Savall, directors
Peter Sellars and
Katie Mitchell, and choreographer
Mark Morris-apply their singular voices to literary masterpieces by
Miguel de Cervantes,
Franz Kafka,
Virginia Woolf and
William Shakespeare, respectively. See listing information for each production at end of this release.
Don Quijote de la Mancha: Romances y Músicas is a labor of love originally undertaken for the 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote in 2005. Savall meticulously researched the text, finding every direct or indirect musical reference; he identified actual music in the story or chose appropriate period compositions. In other cases, he extrapolated from the plot to seamlessly weave together readings from the text with music that would have surrounded Cervantes and his characters during Spain's Golden Age.
An award-winning, two-disc recording was released on Savall's Alia Vox label in 2005, and Savall and his forces gave live performances of excerpts in Europe. But the first, full-evening version of Don Quijote will be seen in New York at these New Visions performances in October. Both the recording and live performances have earned the highest accolades from audiences and critics. Harper's Magazine said, "Cervantes fills his work with music...and allusions to works which his contemporaries would know, but are not filled out. But thanks to [Savall's project], all of this is lost no more." Of a London concert in fall 2007 featuring selections from the work, The Times (London) proclaimed, "Hespèrion XXI never put a finger or bow wrong. Being scholarly and earthy at the same time isn't easy; but Savall's early music all-stars made it seem so."
Born near Barcelona, Spain, Catalan viol player, conductor, composer, and teacher Jordi Savall has been a major early music figure since the 1970s. He gained renown by creating, performing, and recording the music for Alain Corneau's 1991 film Tous les matins du monde. He formed his original instrumental ensemble, Hespèrion XX, in 1974 with his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras, and along with its successor, Hespèrion XXI, has introduced many unknown works to audiences in concert halls, major international festivals, and recordings. He organized the vocal ensemble La Capella Reial de Catalunya in 1987, and two years later created Le Concert des Nations, an orchestra specializing in the Baroque repertoire. Recently, the four Savall family members, parents, daughter Arianna Savall (harp, voice) and son Ferran Savall (theorbo and voice) have performed together.
Great Performers is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA), which serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include American Songbook, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Live From Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.
Tickets: $30, 40, 50, and 60 are available online at
LincolnCenter.org, by phone via CenterCharge, 212-721-6500 or in person at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office (W. 65th and Broadway).
