It may seem odd, but Chautauqua audience members got a sneak peak of Charlotte Ballet’s future during “An Evening of Pas de Deux” at the Amphitheater on Wednesday night. Yes, two at a time taking to the stage, not ensemble ballets.
‘A feat of spectacle’ Review by Guest Critic: Rebecca Ritzel Oh, the early musicians. They are the nerds, outliers and…
Performers talk about director Vivienne Benesch, and then Benesch herself discusses the preparations for The Romeo & Juliet Project’s Saturday premier.
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“The Romeo & Juliet Project is a clarion call to the rest of the regional area and the United States and Canada,” Chautauqua Institution President Thomas M. Becker said. “I think it’s a way of saying, ‘Come and look deeply at a community that is capable of this extraordinarily huge and unreplicated undertaking. Look at the investment we’re making, and look at what an incredibly high level each of these areas is performing.’ ”
Just as Chautauqua has brought together different art forms this season for The Romeo & Juliet Project, one year ago, Chautauqua brought together North Carolina Dance Theatre dancers Anna Gerberich and Frederick (Pete) Leo Walker II.
It can easily be said that The Romeo & Juliet Project, to be performed at 8:15 p.m. this Saturday in the Amphitheater, is operatic in nature. Chautauqua Opera Company singers will underscore the program, serving along with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra as an aural canvas upon which the other pieces of this immense artistic puzzle might be painted.
On Saturday night, Chautauqua Institution’s arts programs will come together like never before. The Romeo & Juliet Project is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play and involves three pairs — representing dance, theater and voice — of Romeos and Juliets.
The annual Stroll Through the Arts fundraiser for art student scholarships will go off with a hitch this year — several hitches, actually. As guests arrive at Fowler-Kellogg Art Center at 5 p.m. Thursday, they will each have a name placed on their backs: one half of a famous artistic couple, like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, for example.
‘The Romeo & Juliet Project’s’ fight director Diego Vallada discusses preparing his performers for the July 27 performance of show. [CLICK “READ MORE” BELOW OR THE HEADLINE ABOVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO]
Under love’s heavy burden do I sink. —Romeo
Well, that is a bit dramatic … though that was Shakespeare’s point, wasn’t it?
The Chautauquan Daily 