Spano To Lead Atlanta Symphony's Madama Butterfly 6/9, 6/12

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the Atlanta Symphony premiere, and Theater of a Concert presentation, of Puccini's Madama Butterfly June 9 and 11 at 8:00 p.m. and June 12, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. Mr. Spano and the Orchestra will also be joined by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, marking the final performance in the Chorus's 40th anniversary season.

Opening the evening is the world premiere of a new fanfare by Olli Mustonen, a longtime friend of the Orchestra. Mr. Mustonen's fanfare is the final fanfare of 10 which premiered throughout the Orchestra's 2010-11 season in celebration of the 10-year artistic partnership of Robert Spano and Donald Runnicles, and 10 years of the Atlanta School of Composers. Contributors were Atlanta School of Composers members Christopher Theofanidis, Adam Schoenberg, Michael Gandolfi, Osvaldo Golijov, and Jennifer Higdon; Mark Grey; Atlanta Symphony orchestra bassist Michael Kurth; and friends of the Orchestra Alvin Singleton and Robert Pound.

This Theater of a Concert presentation of Madama Butterfly, with stage direction and set design by  James Alexander, will enhance the concert experience by adding various visual elements to the concert hall. This is Mr. Alexander's third opera project for the Atlanta Symphony. In past seasons, Theater of a Concert presentations have included film and projected images synchronized with the music, lighting effects, art installations, and semi-staged performances of operas, creating a marriage of the auditory and the visual, and allowing concertgoers to connect with the music on multiple levels. Previous Theater of a Concert presentations have included Doctor Atomic, Ainadamar, Haydn's Creation, Bach's St. John Passion, and Puccini's La bohème, among others.

"Inherently, concerts are theatrical because they take place on a stage. Certain repertoire further invites theatrical treatment affording us an opportunity to enhance the concert experience in powerful ways," Music Director Robert Spano has said. "That's the philosophy behind the Theater of a Concert."

Numerous guest artists will make their Atlanta Symphony debuts in these performances, including sopranos Shu-Ying Li and Viveka Chandrasekaran, mezzo-soprano Mika Shigematsu, tenors Steven Cole and Russell Thomas, baritones DWayne Croft and Kelvin Chan, bass Morris Robinson, and actor Judah Kavi Giedd - only four years old.

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

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