The Collegiate Chorale, led by Music Director James Bagwell, presents the World Premiere Two Act Concert Version of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's musical version of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, on March 22, 2010 at 8pm at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Ted Sperling with Jane Fonda as the narrator. Tickets are $25-$160 and are available through CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, or online at www.carnegiehall.org. For more information visit www.collegiatechorale.org.
An all-star cast from Broadway and the classical world comes together to present a rare mingling of opera and theatre in The Grapes of Wrath. Originally commissioned and produced by the Minnesota Opera and called "The great American opera" by Musical America, Gordon and Korie's new work melds popular musical styles of the '20s and '30s (song-and-dance, soaring love songs, banjo ballads, jazz choruses, and a barbershop quartet) with the classic drama of grand opera, all to a heart-wrenching yet uplifting effect. The composer (Gordon) and librettist (Korie) have crafted a special concert version of their original opera with narration written especially for this presentation. The starry cast includes Jane Fonda (narrator), Victoria Clark, Christine Ebersole, Nathan Gunn, Elizabeth Futral, Anthony Dean Griffey, Peter Halverson, Steven Pasquale, Stephen Powell, Andrew Wilkowske and Matthew Worth and the role of Tom Joad's young sister, Ruthie, will be sung by Nathan Gunn's daughter Madelyn Gunn. Music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Michael Korie. Featuring the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ted Sperling. Directed by Eric Simonson with lighting design by Frances Aronson and projection design by Wendall Harrington.
"In this concert version, we convey the story of the Joad family's journey across America in approximately two hours. We have retained many of the big musical set pieces, arias and choral ensembles, and we have eliminated much of the recitative, replacing it with a narrator who reads sections from the novel, allowing segues from those powerful passages seamlessly into music that continues the drama without loss of suspense or momentum. In addition, this version will feature music never heard in the original full staging of the opera. This is not only a concert version of the full opera, but a different version," said
Michael Korie.
"We are honored to be presenting this richly textured work of soaring passion and devastating beauty. Inherent in its mission is The Chorale's commitment to premiering or showcasing exceptional American works such as
Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath. Gordon and librettist
Michael Korie have given a musical voice to this quintessentially American novel in a lyrical language which draws from opera and American musical theater idioms. The choral writing and casting of soloists reflect this cross-over nature. I think both opera and Broadway lovers alike will be moved by this remarkable work," said James Bagwell, music director of
The Collegiate Chorale.
The Collegiate Chorale, among New York's foremost vocal ensembles, has added to the richness of the city's cultural fabric for more than 65 years. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor
Robert Shaw, The Chorale achieved national and international prominence under the leadership of
Robert Bass. The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists. In the summer of 2009, The Chorale performed for the fourth season at Switzerland's Verbier Music Festival. In July 2008, The Chorale toured with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.
The mission of
The Collegiate Chorale is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a premier choral ensemble. Inherent in its mission is The Chorale's belief that choral music is a compelling collaboration that creates a powerful, shared experience unifying listeners and musicians of all backgrounds, beliefs and ages.
Music Director James Bagwell maintains an active schedule throughout the United States as a conductor of choral, operatic, and orchestral music. He has recently been named Principal Guest Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York. Since 2003, he has been Director of Choruses for the Bard Music Festival, conducting and preparing choral works during the summer festival at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. He has also prepared The Concert Chorale of New York for performances with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Mostly Mozart Festival (broadcast nationally in 2006 on Live from Lincoln Center), all in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. He was Music Director of The Dessoff Choirs for the past five season, and in 2009 he prepared the Dessoff Symphonic Choir for the
New York Philharmonic performances of both Mahler's Eighth Symphony and Britten's War Requiem for
Lorin Maazel's final concerts as Music Director.
James Bagwell has trained choruses for a number of major American and International orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony (Japan), St. Petersburg Symphony, The American Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with noted conductors such as
Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen,
Michael Tilson Thomas,
Louis Langrée,
Leon Botstein, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Raymond Leppard,
James Conlon, Jesús López-Cobos,
Erich Kunzel, Leon Fleischer, and
Robert Shaw.
For eleven seasons, he has been Music Director for the May Festival Youth Choir in Cincinnati, which was recently featured on the radio program From the Top. He has conducted some 25 productions as Music Director of Light Opera Oklahoma, including Candide, Sweeney Todd, and The Merry Widow, among others. At Bard SummerScape he has led numerous theatrical works, most notably Copland's The Tender Land, which received unanimous praise from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Opera News. He frequently appears as guest conductor for orchestras around the country and abroad, including the Jerusalem Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. For three seasons he was Artistic Director of The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. He holds degrees from Birmingham-Southern College, Florida State University, and Indiana University. He has taught since 2000 at Bard College, where he is Director of the Music Program.
For more information, visit www.collegiatechorale.org.
Photo credit: Walter McBride
