INAUGURAL SEASON • 2011-2012
WRCJ 90.9 FM
presents the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
INVITATION
TO THE DANCE
revolutionary work
Thu., Jan. 26 at 7:3o p.m. — Southfield
Einstein on the Beach
At Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
27375 Bell Rd.
will be staged at the
Power Center.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Hans Graf, conductor
Karl Pituch, horn
Weber Invitation to the Dance
Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4
Weber Overture to Oberon
Schumann Symphony No. 2
Einstein on the Beach includes a featured violinist dressed as the iconic scientist.
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
Ann Arbor
E
instein on the Beach: An
Opera in Four Acts lasts near-
ly five hours without inter-
mission. Members of the audience can
wander in and out as they please.
There is no storyline in the col-
laboration of composer Philip Glass
(born to Jewish parents in Baltimore
in 1937) and theatrical experimenter
Robert Wilson. There are singular
episodes, particularly in the dance
sequences choreographed by Lucinda
Childs.
The first North American presenta-
tion ever held outside New York City,
this production, beginning a tour Jan.
20-22 at Ann Arbor's Power Center for
the Performing Arts, portrays Einstein
in reference without biographical
sequence or acknowledgement of his
Jewish heritage. A featured violinist
is dressed as the iconic scientist, who
played violin.
"Einstein on the Beach broke all
the rules in terms of what could be
done when creating opera;' says Linda
Brumbach, executive producer, who
knows of only rare instances of view-
ers wandering away. "It is like a mov-
ing visual poem, and audiences don't
want to miss anything."
The diverse content of the produc-
tion reaches from a segment showing
a giant beam of light moving in uni-
son with Glass-composed music to a
dance-infused trial scene referencing
kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst.
Brumbach, who is based in New
York and has brought many produc-
tions to Ann Arbor, will explain her
role 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, in Wyly
Hall (Room W2740), 724 E. University.
"The first time I saw the produc-
tion was in 1992, which was the last
time it was done Brumbach says.
"I was overwhelmed with the idea
of experiencing an opera this way,
completely unlike anything I had ever
experienced. Watching the piece was
transformative."
Einstein on the Beach was first
produced in France during the
1970s and had subsequent perfor-
mances in Europe and at New York's
Metropolitan Opera. Instead of a tra-
ditional orchestral arrangement, Glass
chose to compose for synthesizers,
woodwinds and voices of the Philip
Glass Ensemble.
Since the form is non-narrative, the
opera relies on a series of recurrent
images shown along with abstract
dance sequences. The four acts are
connected by a series of short scenes,
known as "knee plays."
As a co-commissioner of the revival,
the University Musical Society is
hosting the company for an inten-
sive three-week technical rehearsal
residency leading up to the preview
performances.
"Nobody has tried to break down
the text of Einstein on the Beach, but
some University of Michigan graduate
students are interested in exploring
the meaning:' Brumbach explains.
"We have 65 people traveling with
the show. We've been in New York
preparing in different studios, but
we're going to become a company in
Michigan."
Related free events include a pre-
sentation by Glass and Wilson (4
p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, at the Michigan
Theater, 603 E. Liberty) and a discus-
sion of Einstein as a cultural figure
with Glass and scientists (10:30
a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, in Rackham
Auditorium, 915 E. Washington).
"Einstein on the Beach opened the
doors for much of what has happened
in opera and musical theater today':
Brumbach says:Artists now can feel
[inspired to] do their work in different
ways." O
Tickets just $25!
($io for children under i8 and students).
LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director
A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA
shoploca I
eatioca I
listen loca I
Buy tickets today at
www.dso.org/neighborhood
or call 313.576.5111
Love, Loss,
Daryl Roth
presents
15
and
What
IWore
Nora Ephron Delia Ephron
-
and
an intimate collection of stories by
Daisy
Emily
Dorsch
Eagan
(The Secret Garden)
(In the Next Room)
Sonia
Manzano
Loretta
Swit
(-Sesame Street")
rteieS•11")
starring
Myra
Lucretia
Taylor (Nine)
Gem Theatre • Feb. 8—March 4 •
Gem Theatre & Fisher Theatre box offices,
ticketmaster.com . 313-963-9800 or 800-982-2787 • Info: broadwayindetroit.com • gemtheatre.com
Group sales (10+) call 313-4634216 • Broadway In Detroit 50th Anniversary Season sponsored by -
-
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Einstein on the Beach will be performed 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday,
Jan. 20-21, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Power Center for the
Performing Arts, 121 Fletcher, Ann Arbor. $18-$60. (734) 764-2538;
www.ums.org .
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
DETROIT
(248) 538-8954
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In
33210 W.14 Mile Rd
Simsbury Plaza, just east of Farmington Rd.
West Bloomfield
January 12 • 2012
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