Press
Release - Show Dates: October 30th
and 31st, 2007
Antonin
Dvorak (1841-1904) is one of the masters of the late Romantic
era, whose
well-loved
melodies embody the folk traditions of his Czech
homeland. Dvorak's The Spectre's Bride, debuted to great acclaim
in 1885 and for the next 20 years was one of the composer’s most
popular and frequently performed works. But by the early 20th century
it had faded The piece will be performed by a 65-piece orchestra and 80-voice choir, along with soloists Ken Lavigne, tenor, Anne Grimm, soprano, and Bruce Kelly, baritone. The performance will feature a new English libretto by Mollie Kaye.
The Victoria Philharmonic Choir (VPC) was created June 2005, as a non-profit performing arts organization dedicated to arts and cultural innovation through the performance of high quality symphonic choral music. For info and tickets, go to www.spectresbride.com. Visit Gagné’s website at www.gagneint.com. Contact Simon Capet at scapet@telus.net or Michel Gagne at gagneint@aol.com. ------------------------------------- Click
here to see more samples of artwork Michel created for
the show. |
Victoria,
BC, Canada – The
Victoria Philharmonic Choir (VPC) is pleased to announce an exciting
collaboration with artist Michel Gagné (Iron
Giant, Insanely Twisted Rabbits), and award-winning Canadian shadow
puppeteer, Tim Gosley (Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock), to present an exciting
production of Dvorak’s Spectre’s Bride on October 30th
and 31st at the University of Victoria’s Farquhar theater in
British Columbia, Canada. 
The
choral group, lead by artistic director Simon Capet, will present
Dvorak’s tale of a dead lover who returns to claim his fiancé with
a live shadow theatre dramatization. Using the artistic skills of renowned
artist Michel Gagné, and award-winning puppeteer Tim Gosley,
the drama of Dvorak’s compelling work will be cast in shadows
on the walls of the UVIC Farquhar theatre as the choir and orchestra
perform. “We are delighted to be collaborating with such talented
artists of international stature to give this work a new life that
will enchant modern audiences,” said Capet. 
from
play, largely due to an awkward English language libretto. Capet
came across the forgotten work in a London library
nearly 15 years ago. Inspired by the beautiful, lush orchestration,
he vowed to restore Dvorak’s ghost-story cantata to “audience
favorite” status once again. 
Kaye
and Capet realized the haunting tale would be perfectly suited
to a
live shadow
puppet
dramatization. They contacted Gagné,
who immediately showed great interest. “I thought the project
lent itself perfectly to my artistic sensibilities. Seeing my work
in the context of a live performance and having master puppeteer, Tim
Gosley, bring the whole thing to life is beyond exciting. This is the
type of work that makes me happy to be an artist,” said Gagné.