In just three years The Lake George Music Festival has grown from a small grass-roots classical musical event with a handful of volunteers to a destination event with hundreds of helping hands providing free public access to award-winning classical musicians.
Executive Director Alexander Lombard says, “We have an amazing amount of support from individuals, businesses, sponsors and volunteers. The community has embraced having a classic musical festival in Lake George.” » Continue Reading.
View will present Francesca Zambello and the Glimmerglass Festival preview of the opera An American Tragedy on Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in Gould Hall. Glimmerglass Festival Artistic & General Director Francesca Zambello and singers from the 2013 season will present a program about the opera, An American Tragedy, by composer Tobias Picker and libretto by Gene Scheer.
Based on the Theodore Dreiser novel about the murder of Grace Brown, whose body was found in Big Moose Lake in 1906, An American Tragedy had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005, directed by Zambello. It will be given an original new staging at Glimmerglass in 2014, with a score revised by the composer and librettist. Zambello will talk about the process of bringing this opera to the stage at the Met and the exciting revisions that will be premiered at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2014. Excerpts from the opera, including a new aria, will be performed. » Continue Reading.
“That’ll do, pig.” It’s a line I’ve heard more than once from my wife and business partner, Jill (we’re always razzing each other about something or other). It is, of course, the famous line near the end of Babe, a movie we both enjoyed. We’re also fans of Arnold from Green Acres, and of the pigs who played leadership roles in George Orwell’s allegorical novel, Animal Farm. You can see a theme developing here―a bunch of very smart pigs who, in fantasy worlds, did all sorts of things that a reasonable person knows a pig can’t really do.
Can’t really do? Not so fast. Yes, Orwell’s pigs were the smartest animals in the barnyard. Arnold could get the mail and understand English. Babe could herd sheep as well as any sheepdog. But in the real world, the North Country once had something to rival them all. I give you Fred Kerslake’s pigs. » Continue Reading.
Minerva, primitive and remote in the early 1800s, hardly would have seemed a likely birthplace for a man who would write a book which would attract national attention, make the author a household name, and, to some degree, help start a civil war. But indeed, it was there that Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years A Slave, was born.
Technically the town of Minerva did not exist at the time of Solomon’s birth on July 10, 1807 (though his book gives 1808 as his year of birth, more official documents have it as 1807); the town of Minerva was not formed until 1817. In 1807 the area, not yet known as Minerva, would have been part of the Town of Schroon. » Continue Reading.
View will present a multi-media experience based on an inspirational poem written by Miriam Davis Kashiwa. I Am The Adirondacks by Carl Heilman II will be performed on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
The live performance stars folk musicians, Dan Berggren, Dan Duggan, Peggy Lynn, and composer/musician Casey Fillaci. Heilman’s images combined with the live music and narrative from Kashiwa’s poem, combine to capture the spirit of the Adirondack Park. Tickets are $20/$15 or $5 for children. » Continue Reading.
For the fourth season, the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts is bringing Shakespeare to the masses in a live, outdoor theatre setting. With other performances of Shrek the Musical, Cabaret and Songs for A New World, their ADK Summer Playhouse is in full swing.
The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts Artistic Associate Danielle Melendez says, “We are doing MacBeth this year with a twist. This year we shorted the play to an hour and 15 minutes, to its purest form and only using six actors. We have the actors playing Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, but the actors portraying the three witches also play all the supporting roles. The physicality and costumes are only part of the transition.” » Continue Reading.
The 15th annual Solomon Northup Day: A Celebration of Freedom will be held on Saturday, July 20th from noon to 4 pm at Filene Hall, at Skidmore College, in Saratoga Springs.
Solomon Northup Day was founded in 1999 by Saratogian Renee Moore to honor and to bring awareness to the life of Solomon Northup, a local free-born Black man who was kidnapped into slavery in 1841.
Northup was born a free man in what is today Minerva, Essex County, in July 1808. He was a literate man who worked on the Champlain Canal. While working as a cabbie and violinist in Saratoga Springs, he was abducted, held in a slave pen in Washington, DC, and sold into slavery in Louisiana for 12 years before regaining his freedom. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Summer Playhouse puts a unique twist on the musical “Cabaret” in three performances this weekend on Gore Mountain. The production, which runs July 11-13, takes place in a modern “Spiegeltent,” an Austrian mirrored circus tent, offering classic German beer and goodies such as knödel, bratwurst, sauerkraut, sausages and pretzels.
“Cabaret” is set in Berlin in 1931, as the Nazis are rising to power. It focuses on nightlife at the seedy Kit Kat Klub and revolves around the 19-year-old English cabaret performer Sally Bowles and her relationship with the young American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Overseeing the action is the master of ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub. “Cabaret,” which made its Broadway debut in 1966, won eight Tony Awards; a Broadway revival in 1998 won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. The show was adapted into a film in 1972 starring Liza Minelli. » Continue Reading.
Summer in the Adirondacks is not only about the beautiful wild outdoors, but can be a mixture of cultural activities while enjoying nature with artists and musical entertainment. For the fourth year, Amazing Grace Winery is pairing its fine Champlain Valley wine with local musical talent for a casual evening under the stars.
Established in 2008 in Chazy, Amazing Grace produces cold hardy varietal wines and fruit wines and has a recently expanded 1,400 square foot winery/tasting room as part of its small farm vineyard. In addition to tours, tasting and musical events the vineyard hosts a bimonthly Farmers’ and Craft Market the first and third Sunday in July and August.
“We have tried to keep the summer concert series affordable,” says Amazing Grace Vineyard and Winery owner Mary Fortin. “Most of the performances are free though we do raise money for various local charities like The Food Shelf. People don’t have to donate, but we do ask. We also do charge an admission for the annual musical.” » Continue Reading.
Though there are plenty of activities and reasons to get outside this Father’s Day weekend, the Kate Mountain Music Festival and BBQ is one opportunity to put some spring in your step.
On Saturday, June 15, Vermontville is bringing a buffet of musical talent to the Fourth Annual Kate Mountain Music Festival. With vendors, children’s games, and silent auction starting at 10 am, the musical talent will kick off at noon with blues guitarist Chaz DePaolo.
Organized by the Kate Mountain Community Recreation Association (KMCRA), the Kate Mountain Music Festival’s focus is to provide a place for families to spend some quality time together. According to Founder and President of KMCRA Derrick Romeo the goal is to bring back old-fashioned family time. » Continue Reading.
In its 20-year history, Saranac’s Hill and Hollow Music has brought over 100 professional chamber music ensembles to the Adirondacks. Their community outreach has included over 1,250 presentations in schools, churches, senior residences and community centers. For founders Angela Brown and Kellum Smith the vision has grown to include a year-round Rural Retreat Program for professional musicians and the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble (NAVE).
NAVE debuted in December 2011 and currently Conductor Drew Benware continues to work with Hill and Hollow to fill a distinct niche with this a cappella choir. According to Brown, by keeping this vocal ensemble small, NAVE is able to focus on a musical repertoire that enhances the goals of Hill and Hollow. » Continue Reading.
I
t may be due to some weird alignment of the stars, or a movement to start “Cinco de Mayo” early, but Friday May 3 there are four great art events in Saranac Lake.
With good timing, it could be possible for one to make all four events, but it’s more likely choices will have to be made. » Continue Reading.
The Sembrich, located at 4800 Lakeshore Drive in Bolton Landing, has announced its 2013 summer series of chamber music concerts and more, running from June 8 through September 5. This season’s theme is “Titans of Opera.”
“Although our summer series at The Sembrich has gained a reputation over the years as a destination for intimate chamber music concerts, this season we are taking on a grander theme,” says Artistic Director Richard Wargo. “We’re honoring opera composers Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner on the bicentennials of their births, and Benjamin Britten on the centennial of his. » Continue Reading.
There are many ways to celebrate spring in the Adirondacks. After boiling the last of our backyard maple sap my family looks for ways to relax and appreciate the change of seasons. One way is to catch a local art exhibit at one of the many arts organizations around the Adirondacks. Of course, there is still snow on the trails and even Gore and Whiteface will be open for the weekend to get that spring ski rush.
Part of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts (Arts Center) in Blue Mountain Lake Living-Able Series, regional actors, Long Lake Central School students and adults with disabilities from Sunmount DDSO present a musical performance of HONK this April 13-14. » Continue Reading.
My family enjoys going to the theatre as much as we enjoy hitting the trails. Thankfully because of the many wonderful Adirondack seasonal theatre companies we never have too far to travel to get our summer theatre fix. There is no need to drive to the ends of the Park in the other months thanks to Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake. As the Adirondack’s only year-round professional theatre, Pendragon has been bringing live theatre to the Adirondacks for over 30 years. This year Pendragon Theatre has chosen the theme of “Saints and Sinners” for the upcoming 2013 season.
Pendragon’s new Executive/Artist Director Karen Lordi-Kirkham says, “This is the first season that I’ve chosen the plays. The theme began with the fact that A Street Car Named Desire was the first play Pendragon produced. I wanted this to be a tribute to Bob and Susan. Everything else came together and followed the Saints and Sinners theme.” » Continue Reading.
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