Spoleto Festival USA
Without a doubt, the 17 days of Spoleto Festival USA represent some of the most culturally diverse, illuminating, uplifting and busiest days of life in Charleston. We are the lucky host city to this American arm of the Festival dei Due Mondi, or Festival of the Two Worlds, founded by Gian-Carlo Menotti in Spoleto, Italy, 1958. Spoleto Festival USA, founded in 1977, has grown into a world-class performing arts festival that brings the best singers, dancers, actors, musicians, conductors and audiences from across the globe.
Art Mag’s picks for Spoleto 2012:
Joy Kills Sorrow
MUSIC
Joy Kills Sorrow
A group of classically trained musicians, based out of Boston…playing bluegrass? Yes, please. This string band likes to experiment with compositions and transcend the genres to find a broader audience that is embracing them wholeheartedly. The Joy Kills Sorrow performance is sponsored by Spoleto SCENE, the young professionals patron group, and came highly recommended by famed vocalist Sarah Jarosz, who wowed audiences last year with her hauntingly beautiful voice.
Jake Shimabakuro
Jake Shimbakuro
Or, A Young Man and His Ukulele. Shimbakuro is a virtuoso on the ukulele, who has performed with mega-stars Jimmy Buffet and Bette Midler and was recently included on CNN’s The Next List. He’s been called the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele, and has created a sound that defies all the limitations of the instrument.
Orchestra Uncaged
Recent compositions by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and the American premiere of three pieces by legendary composer John Cage will be performed by the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Cage, an avant-garde artist, musician and composer, has been called one of the most influential American composers of the 20th Century. Greenwood is a modern day duality: progressive rock star AND post-classical composer.
Rebirth Brass Band
This New Orleans band, founded by the Frazier brothers in 1983, will play under the oaks at the Cistern yard, a magical venue tucked into the heart of College of Charleston’s campus. The Rebirth Brass Band just won their first Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Album, a controversial category, which makes us even more intrigued.
OPERA
Kepler
Philip Glass, composer and cultural phenom, will be in Charleston for Spoleto’s opening weekend and the American premiere of Kepler, his opera about Johannes Kepler, astronomer, mathematician and key figure of 17th century scientific revolution. Brush up on your romantic languages; this performance is sung in Latin as well as English.
Feng Yi Ting
It is a storyline that transcends all ages, nations and classes. Two powerful men in love with the same beautiful woman. Two of China’s most revered opera singers will perform this (true!) story of Diao Chan, the beauty between the rivals. Costumes by Han Feng, a Chinese born fashion and costume designer living in New York, promise to be incredible. Directed by Academy Award nominated Atom Egoyan.
DANCE
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre
The celebrated Alvin Ailey dance company returns with a new artistic director and fresh choreography. The tour began just a few weeks ago, and the praise is pouring in. Their performance will mix new works with classics, so even if you’ve seen them before, you haven’t seen this Alvin Ailey.
Zoe Juniper's A Crack in Everything
A Crack in Everything by Zoe | Juniper
Zoe | Juniper is a husband and wife team. She’s a dancer and choreographer. He’s a visual video artist. A Crack in Everything will blend the two. Videos are projected on a scrim that is hung midway through the stage. Movement happens in front and behind the projections, blending and blurring reality. They often construct art installations in the towns where they perform, so keep your eyes out!
THEATRE
Hay Fever
Dublin’s Gate Theatre returns to Spoleto with Hay Fever, a comedic story of family antics and the mishaps of one weekend in the country. Head to the Dock Street Theatre on Church Street for this two-hour performance, then grab a cocktail and some dinner at one of the many nearby restaurants like Cypress, Poogan’s Porch, or Husk.
1927’s The Animals and Children Took to the Streets
Theatre company 1927 combines live music, live actors and animated performers to create the dark setting of Bayou Mansions, where the children have gone wild and menace is always around the corner. When positivity and love arrive in the mother-daughter pair of Agnes and Evie Eaves, hope comes to their world.
PHYSICAL THEATRE
Traces
Les 7 Doigts de la Main is a Quebec-based troupe that combines cabaret, circus and acrobatics in Traces. Their performance has more of a narrative quality than last year’s hit contemporary circus Circa, and incredible acrobatics.
Leo
Tobais Wegner of Circle of Eleven has created a reality-defying work in Leo, utilizing real time projections of his performance, flipped 90 degrees. You will lose track of which is the real man and which is the projection, as he bounces up the walls and takes you along his journey.
FESTIVAL FINALE
The gates of Middleton Place will open at 3:30 on the last day of the festival, June 10, and the Finale Beer Garden will have samples from local breweries plus music by local and regional bands to entertain all afternoon. Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole, an old time zydeco band, will take the stage at 8:30. Bring a picnic, a bottle of bubbles and a blanket and settle in for the grand firework display – it’s better than the Fourth of July! Promise.
to buy spoleto tix
website: spoletousa.org
by phone: 843.579.3100
in person: Spoleto Festival USA box office, Gaillard Auditorium 77 Calhoun Street
Spoleto SCENE
Charleston seems to have the most supportive patrons, and they’re starting out at a young age. SCENE is a group of 20 and 30 something’s who love Spoleto, and support the festival while having a great time. There are tons of perks to joining SCENE: opportunities to learn more about the festival and the performances, meet the artists, get discounts on tickets, mingle with other enthusiasts and have a blast. It’s about time you joined in the fun. Check it out.
www.spoletousa.org/support/spoleto-scene
words: Stacy Huggins
Comments (0)
No comments yet