Here we are, barely a week into the month of November already, and we have lots of things going on both here in Niagara and beyond. This weekend, for example, along with the plethora of Christmas bazaars and other seasonal events already getting underway, we have three noteworthy arts events I want to touch on today.
First off, Chorus Niagara gets their new season underway with two performances at St. Thomas' Anglican Church on Ontario Street, Friday and Saturday evenings. Titled CN Cinema, this is a mixed-media presentation of The 1923 silent film classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Lon Chaney. I think most of us have seen the film at one time or another; this weekend, the film will be projected on a screen while the members of Chorus Niagara, out of sight but not out of earshot, provide a live choral "soundtrack" to the film. I talked to Artistic Director Robert Cooper about it this week and he says it is a challenge keeping everything in sync, but doesn't anticipate any problems. He adds popcorn will be available to make the evening truly an event, which is a nice touch.
The Friday performance is now done, of course, but you can try for tickets for Saturday night; call the Brock Centre for the Arts boxoffice at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257 for ticket availability. It will be a tight fit at St. Thomas' Church, but this looks like a performance not to be missed.
Meanwhile, over at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in downtown St. Catharines, the season opener for Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects continues until November 21st. Previews were Thursday and Friday; opening night is Saturday for the Canadian premiere of Steven Berkoff's one-man show Shakespeare's Villains, starring veteran actor Ric Reid. Ric is directed by his real-life wife, Lyndesfarne Artistic Director Kelly Daniels, in a tour-de-force performance examining many of the well-known villains in the Shakespeare canon. Everyone from Iago from Othello to the Macbeths to Shylock from The Merchant of Venice and even Richard III get a going-over by Reid, courtesy the insightful dialogue created by Berkoff, who has been the only actor to headline the play thus far. So Reid has big shoes to fill, but from what I saw at the media preview a week ago, he is more than up to the challenge. This is the sort of play an actor relishes: as Reid says, "It demands a great range of playing that few plays ever ask of the actor."
The play, 90 minutes long without an intermission, launches the new season for Lyndesfarne, which has given us some thought-provoking live theatre over the winter months the past several years. For tickets, call the Lydnesfarne boxoffice at 905-938-1222. Although there may still be a few seats left for Saturday's opening, you might do better to attend one of the later performances which offer a greater variety of seating choices. I look forward to attending the opening and will report on it next week.
Finally, there's a concert in Elora Sunday afternoon with a distinctly local connection: Thorold-born organist Andrew Henderson launches his new CD with a special recital at 4 pm on Sunday at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, at the corner of Henderson and Smith Streets in Elora. This is the very church the CD was recorded at this past June, on the glorious Casavant organ I love to hear whenever I visit Elora during the summer festival season. Not surprisingly, much of the music at the concert will be taken from the new CD, including Handel's Organ Concerto in F, Op. 4, No. 4; Barrie Cabena's Eine kleine Morgenmusik, and Elgar's familiar Imperial March. Also featured will be music by Bach, Bonnet and Gounod.
I have had the pleasure of hearing Andrew Henderson several times over the years, and have met him more than once. He has this disarmingly calm demeanor and a thorough knowlege of the music he plays; he may not be the flashiest organist on the circuit these days, but he is certainly one of the best of the new breed. The CD will be sold at the concert for only $ 15, which is a bargain, and afterwards at the Elora Festival Office. I will have to look into getting hold of the CD to feature on my website over the holiday season, which you can find at www.finemusic.ca.
If you're thinking of travelling up to Elora for the recital, it is a lovely drive up through Guelph, about 2 hours from Niagara. Admission is by donation, by the way, with tax receipts issued for gifts over $ 10. You can't beat that!
November 5th, 2010.
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1 comment:
I'd have loved to make the Lon Chaney tonight, but the ticket came to $46 with booking fees and tax. From the description, I'm sure the event would be worth it, but it just isn't doable for me this week, alas.
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