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| Premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s new opera Ainadamar Ravinia Festival will present the Chicago-area premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s acclaimed new opera Ainadamar in one performance only, Wednesday, June 14, 2006. The concert performance will feature frequent Golijov collaborators soprano Dawn Upshaw, conductor Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, who together have just completed the first recording of the one-act opera that critics describe as having "uncommon power and pathos." The concert will be presented with both English and Spanish supertitles. The Boston Globe heralded Golijov as "the star of his generation, " and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called him "perhaps the hottest classical composer on the planet, " adding, "What creates sparks in Golijov's music are the Spanish and Latin American dance rhythms, flamenco, rumba, bossa nova, tango. They flow ceaselessly, joyously, till they are no longer heard but only felt, more a pulse or an electrical current." Golijov thrilled Ravinia audiences with a 2002 residency that featured the Midwest premiere of his St. Mark Passion, also with Upshaw and Spano. It was the first in a series of annual cutting-edge productions at Ravinia that included Spano leading the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus in John Adams’s El Niño and, later, such works as the first Zulu Opera, Princess Magogo and the American premiere of Philip Glass’s Orion. Since then Golijov’s work has been represented each season at Ravinia Festival, including Upshaw singing the Chicago premiere of Songs for Soprano and String Quartet; Cuarteto Latinoamericano playing the Chicago premiere of Yiddishbuk; cellist Maya Beiser performing Mariel; Fulcrum Point New Music Project presenting Lullaby and Doina; and two different programs by the Kronos Quartet, one featuring Tenebrae and the other featuring Golijov arrangements of Burman’s Aaj Ki Raat, Troilo’s Responso and Briseño’s El Sinaloense. Since the success of Golijov’s St. Mark Passion, Ravinia has sought the opportunity to bring back the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears) was identified as the perfect vehicle to do so, and last spring Kauffman initiated the process of mounting this production. Ravinia’s commitment to Golijov continues in 2006 not only with Ainadamar, but with his new work for cello and orchestra performed by Yo-Yo Ma and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on August 6. "In putting together the 2006 season, Music Director James Conlon and I have emphasized the human voice, the universal instrument, as its been employed in wide-ranging musical uses from the spiritual power of Verdi’s Requiem to the stark drama of Shostakovich’s Babi Yar Symphony, the vivid text-painting of Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and the rich lyricism of Mahler’s Third Symphony, " said Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman. "Ainadamar is the perfect example of a new vocal masterwork, literally transcending time as it unfolds with one actress using her voice to pass on to the next generation the tale of an important artist, the martyred poet Lorca." Ainadamar, or "Fountain of Tears, " is the place where Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca was murdered in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War. His story is told in this opera by actress Margarita Xirgu (Upshaw) who looks back on 40 years of his controversial life. Golijov completed the work in 2003, with a libretto by playwright David Henry Hwang. It premiered at Tanglewood on Aug. 10, 2003, with Upshaw originating the role of Margarita and Spano conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A revised version was presented by Santa Fe Opera, and the Atlanta Symphony recently presented this concert version, which will be released on the Deutsche Grammophon label in 2006 write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |