Post by Gigi on Oct 28, 2007 19:13:03 GMT -5
I attended the Civic Orchestra of Chicago's production of Nathaniel Stookey/Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead. The audience was privileged to have Mr. Snicket himself narrate the piece. And I was surprised to find out that Mr. Stookey was also there to give some insight into composing the piece.
The piece was presented as the Hallowed Haunts Special Concert. Before hand, there were activities for the youngsters, who were encouraged to come to the concert in costume. I did not attend these activities, nor did I come in costume. But there were tons of other people who did, so after waiting in line, we found our seats in the concert hall.
As people were finding their seats, they could enjoy some suitably spooky organ music and look at the projected lights in the shapes of skeletons, pumpkins, etc. The concert did not begin on time, probably due to people coming late out of the pre-concert activities.
(My husband snapped my photo right before the usher scolded him that there was no photography in the concert hall.)
The concert started with Wagner's Prelude to Act 3 from Lohengrin. Nicely done, but that wasn't what I really came to hear.
Finally, it was time for The Composer is Dead. The conductor, Edwin Outwater (who also conducted the piece at its premiere in San Francisco) introduced Nathaniel Stookey. He mentioned how he was wearing the "uniform" of a good composer, a ruffly shirt and shoes with buckles. He then proceeded to walk the audience through the other pieces that he "borrowed" from for the funeral march near the end of TCID. I don't remember all the pieces, but I believe he included Beethoven, Mahler, Schubert (his Unfinished Symphony was included at Snicket's request, because he wanted to use the word "unfirnished") and Berlioz. He described each piece and then the orchestra played a portion of it. Then they played the whole section from TCID, each little bit blended perfectly, while Stookey named each composer.
After this, it was time for the whole piece. It was explained how Mr. Snicket always disappears when scheduled to appear, so Daniel Handler, his legal representative, was taking his place. He walked across the stage to a round of applause and blew a kiss to the crowd. He shook hands with Mr. Outwater, then it is customary to also greet the concertmaster, but instead he glared at her and instead gave the second violinist a kiss on the cheek.
I have to say that I feel sorry for any audience who goes to see TCID with anyone other than Lemony Snicket narrating it. It is, afterall, his piece and he brings something extra to it that no one else could. His performance was energetic, enthusiastic, and as funny as I expected it to be. I may have ruined it a bit for myself, having read the score ahead of time, but even though I knew the punchlines that were coming, they were still funny because of the delivery. His characterizations for the sneaky woodwinds, the boisterous brass, etc. were perfect.
When the piece was finished, Nathaniel Stookey joined Lemony Snicket on stage for bows and they received a standing ovation. They walked off stage and then returned to the applause for an encore. When the audience had settled, it was announced that Stookey and Snicket would be joining the orchestra in playing Edvard Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King. Stookey held up a large cow bell in front of Snicket, who held a large drumstick. The orchestra played, and the two "followed along" in their score. As the piece progressed, Snicket "got lost" and Stookey tried to keep him on task. Snicket got more and more "lost", trying to look on with the conductor, flipping through the pages, turning the score upside down, etc. By the end, he was so frazzled and the audience was roaring with laughter. He never did hit that cow bell, but it was absolutely hilarious. I'll never be able to hear that piece again without picturing that in my head. (Listen to the piece and try to picture it in your head.)
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The music was great, and the narration was hilarious. I can't wait for the book/CD to come out and I highly recommend this piece to anyone who can go see it with Snicket narrating.
The piece was presented as the Hallowed Haunts Special Concert. Before hand, there were activities for the youngsters, who were encouraged to come to the concert in costume. I did not attend these activities, nor did I come in costume. But there were tons of other people who did, so after waiting in line, we found our seats in the concert hall.
As people were finding their seats, they could enjoy some suitably spooky organ music and look at the projected lights in the shapes of skeletons, pumpkins, etc. The concert did not begin on time, probably due to people coming late out of the pre-concert activities.
(My husband snapped my photo right before the usher scolded him that there was no photography in the concert hall.)
The concert started with Wagner's Prelude to Act 3 from Lohengrin. Nicely done, but that wasn't what I really came to hear.
Finally, it was time for The Composer is Dead. The conductor, Edwin Outwater (who also conducted the piece at its premiere in San Francisco) introduced Nathaniel Stookey. He mentioned how he was wearing the "uniform" of a good composer, a ruffly shirt and shoes with buckles. He then proceeded to walk the audience through the other pieces that he "borrowed" from for the funeral march near the end of TCID. I don't remember all the pieces, but I believe he included Beethoven, Mahler, Schubert (his Unfinished Symphony was included at Snicket's request, because he wanted to use the word "unfirnished") and Berlioz. He described each piece and then the orchestra played a portion of it. Then they played the whole section from TCID, each little bit blended perfectly, while Stookey named each composer.
After this, it was time for the whole piece. It was explained how Mr. Snicket always disappears when scheduled to appear, so Daniel Handler, his legal representative, was taking his place. He walked across the stage to a round of applause and blew a kiss to the crowd. He shook hands with Mr. Outwater, then it is customary to also greet the concertmaster, but instead he glared at her and instead gave the second violinist a kiss on the cheek.
I have to say that I feel sorry for any audience who goes to see TCID with anyone other than Lemony Snicket narrating it. It is, afterall, his piece and he brings something extra to it that no one else could. His performance was energetic, enthusiastic, and as funny as I expected it to be. I may have ruined it a bit for myself, having read the score ahead of time, but even though I knew the punchlines that were coming, they were still funny because of the delivery. His characterizations for the sneaky woodwinds, the boisterous brass, etc. were perfect.
When the piece was finished, Nathaniel Stookey joined Lemony Snicket on stage for bows and they received a standing ovation. They walked off stage and then returned to the applause for an encore. When the audience had settled, it was announced that Stookey and Snicket would be joining the orchestra in playing Edvard Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King. Stookey held up a large cow bell in front of Snicket, who held a large drumstick. The orchestra played, and the two "followed along" in their score. As the piece progressed, Snicket "got lost" and Stookey tried to keep him on task. Snicket got more and more "lost", trying to look on with the conductor, flipping through the pages, turning the score upside down, etc. By the end, he was so frazzled and the audience was roaring with laughter. He never did hit that cow bell, but it was absolutely hilarious. I'll never be able to hear that piece again without picturing that in my head. (Listen to the piece and try to picture it in your head.)
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The music was great, and the narration was hilarious. I can't wait for the book/CD to come out and I highly recommend this piece to anyone who can go see it with Snicket narrating.