NYFOS Debuts Manning the Canon: Songs of Gay Life 11/30, 12/2

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG (NYFOS) Steven Blier, Artistic Director • Michael Barrett, Associate Artistic Director presents "MANNING THE CANON: Songs of Gay Life"

Two centuries of songs by and about gay men, starring
tenor SCOTT MURPHREE • baritone JESSE BLUMBERG
baritone Matthew Worth • bass MATT BOEHLER

Steven Blier, piano

Music by Berg, Bernstein, Blitzstein, Bolcom, Britten, Coleman,
de Blasio, de Falla, Griffes, Lutvak, Porter, Poulenc,
Saint-Saëns, Szymanowski, Tchaikovsky, Wallowitch

Tuesday, November 30 at 8:00PM
Thursday, December 2 at 8:00PM
No intermission

Merkin Concert Hall (129 West 67th St.)

Tickets: $40-$55
Student tickets: $15

Steven Blier talks about Manning the Canon:
"This is a program I've been longing to do for about two decades. It explores two centuries of gay composers and gay-themed songs, and presents a wide variety of characters: experienced guys on the prowl for a good time; sensitive men grappling with their sexuality; hyper-males and drag queens; ecstatic lovers and those just awakening to their erotic nature. The composers come from seven countries and span 190 years, but they have one thing in common: they are all masters of words and music, and present a vital and engaging portrait of our gay heritage. The joys of gay brotherhood, the lacerating wit of our most brilliant writers, the subtle signals we've created to locate one another, and the crises we've faced and survived: these are the subjects of Manning the Canon."

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NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG-the group that "charms audiences with programs that combine meticulous research with an infectious strain of vocal hedonism" (The New York Times)-presents MANNING THE CANON: Songs of Gay Life on Tuesday, November 30 and Thursday, December 2 at 8:00PM at Merkin Concert Hall.

Sexual exploration and awakening, joy and pain, fear and fulfillment are some of the currents that pulse through the songs of Manning the Canon. From the German lied represented by Franz Schubert's "Der Gondelfahrer" (set to a text by his roommate and probable paramour, Johann Mayrhofer) to John Wallowitch's hilarious cabaret song "Bruce," filled with fashion tips for a befuddled drag queen, Manning the Canon is a musical portrait of life, love, lust, and loss in the world of gay men.

NYFOS is known for its daring programming, and Manning the Canon is a classic example. It offers an enormous range of repertoire in myriad styles, exhaustively researched and brilliantly programmed by Artistic Director Steven Blier, and performed by some of the best and brightest singers to be heard anywhere.

Program for MANNING THE CANON: Songs of Gay Life
{MAN TO MAN}
Marc Blitzstein: Purest Kind of a Guy
Christopher Berg: Is It Dirty?
Steven Lutvak: Exit Right

{OUR GAY HERITAGE IN ART SONG: FULFILMENT}
Franz Schubert: Der Gondelfahrer
CHARLES TOMLINSON GRIFFES: Evening Song
Francis Poulenc: Montparnasse
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI: Moje serce

{DRAG ACTS}
John Wallowitch: Bruce
William Bolcom: Boardwalk Scene

{OUR GAY HERITAGE IN ART SONG: MIXED SIGNALS}
Manuel De Falla: Polo
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY: At the Ball
CAMILLE SAINT-SA?NS: Si vous n'avez rien à me dire
Benjamin Britten: Night covers up the rigid land

{LOCKER ROOM ENCOUNTER, CRISIS, LIBERATION, CELEBRATION}
Cy Coleman: Tennis Duet
CHRIS DE BLASIO: Walt Whitman in 1989
Leonard Bernstein: To What You Said
Cole Porter: You're the Top