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Two geniuses, one work:
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at MIT Dec. 3-4
Graphic by scenic designer Sara Brown |
For Immediate Release: Nov. 6, 2009
Contact:
Joya Abbott-Graves
MIT Symphony Orchestra Manager
Email joya@mit.edu
(617) 452-2394 |
Cambridge, MA... In a collaboration of unprecedented size and scope, the artistic community of MIT will join forces to present a semi-staged production of Shakespeare's magical play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, accompanied by the complete orchestral music Felix Mendelssohn wrote for the play. This production will take place at MIT's Kresge Auditorium, (48 Massachusetts Ave.) on December 3 and 4, at 8 p.m. Tickets will be $5 at the door.
The MIT Symphony Orchestra (MITSO), under the direction of Adam Boyles, will be joined by a talented array of MIT student actors, visual artists, and singers. The cast will include: Theseus, Brian Keller; Hippolyta, Hui Ying Wen '08; Hermia, Grace Kane '11; Helena, Hanna Kuznetsov '09; Lysander, Yoni Gray '10; Demetrius, Zachary Tribbett '12; Quince, Max Goldman ’04; Bottom, Vladimir Sobes '11; Puck, Paul Welle '11; Oberon, Sean Faulk '11; Titania, Helen McCreery ’06. Vocal soloist will be: Lauren Shields '10, soprano; Paulina Sliwa, mezzo-soprano; Nozomi Ando, soprano; Yelena Bagdasarova '10, soprano; Adrianna Tam '11, mezzo-soprano.
Many MIT faculty will also be taking part in the event including: Adam Boyles, musical director; Michael Ouellette, director; Bill Cutter, conductor of the women's chorus; Sara Brown, scenic design; Leslie Cocuzzo Held, costume design; Diane Brainerd, costume technician; Karen Perlow, lighting design; Mike Katz, technical director.
Michael Ouellette, senior lecturer in theater at MIT, recalled
Peter Brook's Midsummer Night's Dream at the Royal Shakespeare
Company in 1970 as, "the single greatest production I've seen
in the theater." Though daunted by the memory of that performance
which he said, "transformed my sense of theater and
my sense of Shakespeare," Ouellette jumped at the opportunity
to do this project. "The great delight of this production, besides
working with Adam [Boyles], is exploring the play with the MIT
student actors," he said. "Their talent and their enthusiasm have
made rehearsals a joy."
Amanda Mok, a senior studying biological engineering who plays
violin in MITSO noted, "Collaborating with theater is an
opportunity that not many orchestras get to have." While relishing
the usual challenges of orchestral rehearsals, such as timing and
expression, she observed that adding the theatrical component "pushes
each person in the project to think in different ways that will
work for all groups involved."
Bassoonist Darcy Wanger, a graduate student in chemistry, observed that
the orchestra has responded favorably to the idea of being part
of a multi-media experience. "We definitely
play more convincingly when we have a picture of the story that
the music is telling," she said.
"This production is a great opportunity to hear music
in a way that's more visually oriented," she continued.
Mendelssohn himself was even younger than MIT's student performers when
he was first galvanized by Shakespeare's play. As a young man
of 17, he encountered Midsummer Night's Dream in a German translation,
and, seized by inspiration, wrote his famous Overture which encapsulates
the atmosphere of the magical forest where the fairies reside,
the heated passion of the four mixed-up young lovers, the mischievous
Puck, and the bumbling troupe of players. Many years later, Mendelssohn
was asked to provide set pieces and underscoring for the play,
and provided many other works that are just as confident and
inspired as the Overture. Audiences will no doubt recognize the
Wedding March --a staple of many marriage ceremonies for more
than 100 years.
This project is made possible through the generous donation of Ken ('71) and Doreen Wang.
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