2013-14 season notes coming soon! 2012-13 Season:
Sleeping Beauty Waltz At premiere of Sleeping Beauty, Tsar Alexander IIIsummoned Tchaikovsky to the imperial box. The Tsar made the simple remark, “Very nice” which seemed to have irritated Tchaikovsky, who had likely expected a more favorable response. The second and longest of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets (nearly four hours long), it was more favorably received than Swan Lake. Although Tchaikovsky didn’t live to see its success outside of Russia, Sleeping Beauty was performed 200 times in the ten years following his death. Singin’ in the Rain The song “Singing in the Rain” was originally written for the Los Angeles stage revue Hollywood Music Box Revue of 1927. It was later featured in the 1929 filmThe Hollywood Revue of 1929, where it was sung by the Brox Sisters and used as the “show–stopping” color finale of the film. The song was also used in the filmsSpeak Easily (1932),Little Nellie Kelly (1940),Hi, Beautiful (1944), A Clockwork Orange (1971), andThat’s Entertainment (1974). Nacio Herb Brown wrote the music for the song, and Arthur Freed wrote the lyrics. While filming the “Singin' in the Rain” number (which was actually shot during the daytime under a black tarpaulin), the technicians lost water pressure in the late afternoon when the residents of Culver City arrived home and turned on their sprinkler systems to water their lawns and gardens. The filming of the number took a day and half, and on the first day of filming Gene Kelly had a fairly high fever. Years later Leonard Bernstein said, after watching the number for the first time, “That’s a reaffirmation of life.” This dance piece has gone on to become the signature number of the American movie musical. My Fair Lady (medley) The musical had its pre-Broadway tryout at New Haven'sShubert Theatre. On opening night Rex Harrison, who was unaccustomed to singing in front of a live orchestra, "announced that under no circumstances would he go on that night...with those thirty-two interlopers in the pit". He locked himself in his dressing room and came out little more than an hour before curtain time. The whole company had been dismissed, but was recalled, and opening night was a success. The Barber of Seville Overture As a staple of the operatic repertoire,Barberappears as number nine on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide. The Barber of Seville was one of the earliest Italian operas to be performed in America, premiering in New Orleans on March 4, 1823 at theOrleans Theatre, and subsequently at thePark Theatrein New York City on November 29,1825. When I’m 64 – The Beatles McCartney's children recorded a special version of "When I'm Sixty-Four" atAbbey Road Studiosas a surprise present for McCartney's 64th birthday, and played it for him at his birthday party. They changed the lyrics to fit the occasion with the help ofGiles Martin. At the time, by unfortunate coincidence, McCartney was recently separated from his second wife,Heather Mills; they later divorced. , Seventy-Six Trombones This signature song from The Music Man is commonly played by marching and military bands. On the first of three "Meredith Willson Variety Show" specials for CBS (airing June 4, 1964),Sergio Franchiperformed this song backed by four military marching bands. Die Fledermaus The specifically French custom of réveillon (a New Year’s Eve dinner party) was replaced by a Viennese Ball in the Strauss operetta, however today Die Fledermaus is still a favorite for New Year’s Eve performances. It was premiered on April 5, 1874 at the Theater an der Wien, where it remains part of the standard repertoire. The first London performance in German did not take place until 1895. According to the archivist of theRoyal Opera House, Covent Garden, "Twenty years after its production as a lyric opera in Vienna,Mahlerraised the artistic status of Strauss's work by producing it at theHamburg Opera House[...] all the leading opera houses in Europe, notablyViennaandMunich, have brightened their regular repertoire by including it for occasional performance." Baby, It’s Cold Outside Loesser wrote theduetin 1944 and premiered the song with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their Navarro Hotel housewarming party, performing it toward the end of the evening, signifying to guests that it was nearly time to end the party. Lynn considered it "their song" and was furious when Loesser sold the song toMGM. Many have recorded the duet including Mae West and Rock Hudson, Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan, Bette Midler and James Caan, Ray Charles and Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton, and John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (reversing the roles!). Strike up the Band The song was originally written for the 1927 musical by the same name. The musical itself was not successful, however the instrumental version of the title song has become well known. While living in Beverly Hills in 1936, the song lyrics were revised and a new version, called “Strike up the Band for UCLA” was released as a gift by Ira and George Gershwin for the University of California, Los Angeles, who were looking for a new rally tune at the time. In the Good Old Summertime/Take Me Out to the Ball Game In the Good Old Summertime is from the 1949 musical by the same name that starred Judy Garland, and featured the film debut of three-year old Liza Minnelli in the closing shot of the film. Take Me Out to the Ballgame is a favorite among fans, sung at major and minor league games, Little League and community league baseball games every summer. In 2008, a book called Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of ‘Take me out to the Ball Game’ was written by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson, and Tim Wiles on the history of the song. The book was sold with a 16-track CD containing recordings of the song from different periods of time. Tonight’s arrangement is close, unaccompanied vocal music, described as “barbershop harmony,” a uniquely American style. My Funny Valentine In a 2006 survey, Oricon Style found that people between 10 and 49 years of age in Japanfound "My Funny Valentine" to be the fifth most popular Valentine's Daysong in Japan. A timeless American classic, “My Funny Valentine” is a favorite for the upcoming February 14th celebration, expressing unconditional love, in which “each day is Valentine’s day.” Cole Porter Salute Demonstrating musical talent from an early age, Cole Porter joined the Glee Club at Yale, and composed fight songs that are still sung there today. Although bi-sexual, Porter married. He spent most of the 1920s in Paris, where he met Irving Berlin. He usually wrote both lyrics and music for his musicals, and later in life also wrote successfully for motion pictures, while living in Hollywood. Incredibly prolific, over 800 songs are attributed to Porter. The 2004 Movie De-Lovely rekindled love for him in the U.S. Tonight’s celebration includes “Another Op’ning, Another Show”, “In the Still of the Night”, “Anything Goes”, and “Night and Day”. Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat From the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” features Nicely-Nicely Johnson as a gambling street-smart gangster, captivating the innocents at a Salvation Army mission house with his tale of repentance. His ruse is apparently successful, as the missionaries accept his contrition and vouch for the whereabouts of the gamblers when confronted by the police. The role was created and reprised by Stubby Kaye. Program notes compiled and written by Nathaniel O’Toole Key Light Enterprises, “Singin’ in the Rain,” 2004, http://www.pictureshowman.com/articles_films_singinginrain.cfm, accessed January 4. 2013. Alan Jay Lerner, The Street Where I Live (Cambridge MA: Da Capo Press, 1985), 104. Brad Schreiber, Stop the show! a history of insane incidents and absurd accidents in the theater(2006), (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press,2006) 137–138. “Opera Statistics,” www.operabase.com, May 8, 2011, accessed January 3, 2013. Henry Edward Krehbiel, A Book of Operas: Their Histories, Their Plots and Their Music (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909). Nicole Lampert, “Sir Paul’s children rework his classic to serenade him at 64,” www.dailymail.co.uk, October 9, 2011, accessed January 3, 2013. Ben Todd, “Exclusive: Abbey Birthday Macca,”www.sundaymirror.co.uk, March 9, 2007, accessed January 3, 2013. Hedda Hopper, “Looking at Hollywood,” (New Orleans: The Times-Picavune, 1964). The Observer, interview with Royal Opera House archivist Richard Northcott, in connection with revival of Die Fledermaus conducted by Bruno Walter, May 4, 1930. "???!??????????????????! [The Great Exhibition! When speaking of a "Valentine song", this is the song!]"(in Japanese).Oricon Style. February 3, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon March 17, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
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