Apr 24, 2007
An exploration of
Peer Gynt:
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Norwalk Symphony in
Grieg meets Ibsen
The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra’s season finale on May 5 at 8 will be a Scandinavian Night at the Symphony, featuring the orchestral/musical theater mix
Peer Gynt: Grieg Meets Ibsen. The evening will combine the evocative music of Edvard Grieg with text from Henrik Ibsen’s masterpiece, the fantasy play
Peer Gynt. In this collaborative production, the talents of the orchestra will be augmented by those of soprano Marjorie McGovern, actors Ezra Barnes and Kathryn Marchand, The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut, and dancers from the New Canaan Dance Academy.
The production pays tribute to the talent of two great Norwegian artists, giving the audience a chance not only to hear Grieg’s wonderful music, but also to relish a taste of Ibsen’s rarely performed play. The multi-arts production was the brainchild of music director Diane Wittry.
“I like to have a grand ending to our season,” Maestra Wittry said, “so I was looking for something that would be more than just a symphonic concert. After the success of our Shakespeare program last year, I thought another theatrically based production was something the audience would enjoy. As for the choice of
Peer Gynt, I’ve always wanted to do it and this was the perfect opportunity. The orchestra size fits well, and I knew we’d have the perfect collaborators in the Mendelssohnn Choir and the others who’ve helped make this huge program a reality.”
One writer said of Grieg, “He painted with notes. He painted the people, the scenery, and the moods of Norway.” Much of his
Peer Gynt music, including pieces such as “Morning” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King” will be very familiar to the audience, whether or not the source would have been immediately identifiable as Grieg. The Ibsen play, which is seldom performed in the United States, will be less familiar.
To prepare the spoken portion of this production, Maestra Wittry took the five-hour play and condensed it, keeping the moments she thought were essential. “I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what scenes are most critical to move us forward between musical numbers, so the audience understands what’s going on,” she explained. “Then I worked with Ezra Barnes who added back some scenes he felt were necessary from an actor’s standpoint. It’s really been a collaborative project. Combining the two art forms has created interesting challenges, but also interesting ways of making the piece more effective and emotionally impactful.”
Mr. Barnes, founding artistic director of Shakespeare On the Sound, will bring his experience as both actor and director to bear giving voice to Ibsen’s various male roles, including Peer Gynt. His acting partner will be Kathryn Marchand, who has a long list of stage and screen credits and appeared in last summer’s Shakespeare On the Sound production of
Macbeth. She’s also active locally in the Theatre Artists Workshop.
Soprano soloist Marjorie McGovern will perform both the lines and the singing of Peer’s great love, Solveig. Ms. McGovern, who grew up in Darien, has worked at regional theaters across the country and is now Cantor at St. Mary Church in Greenwich.
The Mendelssohnn Choir of Connecticut, with Carole Ann Maxwell at the helm, has partnered with the symphony on numerous occasions and will handle Grieg’s choral compositions, while the evening’s three major dances will be performed by members of the New Canaan Dance Academy’s Performance Company.
Tickets for
Peer Gynt are available by calling the Symphony office at 203-847-8844 or online at www.NorwalkSymphony.org. Maestra Wittry’s Podium Perspectives talk for ticket holders will take place at 7, preceding the concert.
A second performance of Peer Gynt will be given Friday, May 4, at Fairfield University’s Quick Center. Information about that performance can be obtained at the University’s Web site www.quickcenter.com.
© Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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