Wanda and I just came home from an unusual and very rewarding event -- a performance of Lullys opera Armide by a cast of young singers from several US states and countries who had been attending a two-week workshop organized by U of I colleagues Barrington Coleman and Cynthia Haymon. Congratulations to them, and to the cast of Armide and the orchestra (of period instruments), but especially to conductor Christopher Holman, and to my family members director Steve Fiol, and choreographer Becky Nettl-Fiol. A really fine performance! And a very interesting work, some beautiful music, a rather weird plot including some fun lines (e.g. in certain situations, its wisest not to be too wise). Lully wasnt known to be a nice guy, and died a year after Armide was produced (1686) from a wound resulting from his hitting his foot with his conducting baton. But still -- Louis XIV, the sponsor of record, never showed up at any of the performances. Shame on him.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:07:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015