SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA C HARLE STON, SOUTH CAR OL INA SPO L E TO U SA .O R G
MAY 27—J U NE 12, 2 0 1 6
01
WELCOME Ten years ago, we at Spoleto Festival USA set ourselves the challenge of making the theaters we perform in throughout Charleston as beautiful and as polished as this city has become. First, the derelict Memminger Auditorium was transformed into a grand black-box space finished in 2008. In 2010, Dock Street Theatre—always one of Charleston’s gems—was burnished to the luster it had when it was first built. In 2011, the acoustics of the Sottile Theatre were returned to the vibrancy they had when the theater opened in 1927. And now, thanks to the Gaillard Performance Hall Foundation, we have the newly re-opened Charleston Gaillard Center. It is apt that in a season where we celebrate our 40th festival, we return to a venue that is a core part of what we do. In programming the 2016 season, we wanted to make a bold statement about our past, our present, and our future by bringing artists and productions worthy to perform in the magnificently renewed Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall. Our first performance in the hall on opening night will be the Festival’s first-ever production of Porgy and Bess. In 1970 a production staged in the then newly opened Gaillard Auditorium to celebrate Charleston’s tri-centennial was an occasion of great civic importance. For the Festival’s return to the completely renewed Gaillard, Porgy and Bess was the only choice. We continue our celebration of the Gaillard and 40 years of Spoleto with our orchestra, the Westminster Choir, artists from our Bank of America Chamber Music series, and artists from our past and present. The Gaillard has always been our chosen theater for dance companies and this year will see the Festival debut of L.A. Dance Project and the rollicking celebration of Cuba that is Havana Rakatan. Our choral and orchestral concert will bring Beethoven to the new hall, and stellar jazz artists Randy Weston and René Marie will also bring their musical magic into the new space. In the following pages you will find the wide variety of events encompassing the realms of opera, dance, theater, music, and visual arts that have made Spoleto Festival USA the diverse arts experience for which it is valued. I invite you to be part of this landmark year and to continue to seek and find the inspiration that the Festival found in Charleston all those years ago.
NIGEL REDDEN GENERAL DIRECTOR
MUSIC
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40TH-SEASON CELEBRATION CONCERT CONDUCTED BY STEVEN SLOANE
The full Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, the Westminster Choir, musicians from the Bank of America Chamber Music and Wells Fargo Jazz series, as well as other friends—more than 140 strong—celebrate 40 years of spectacular musicmaking and the wonderful acoustics of the new Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall. Opening with the overture to Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades—the inaugural opera in 1977—the program includes works by composer and Festival Founder Gian Carlo Menotti; Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante, performed by Chamber Music Director Geoff Nuttall and his extraordinary roster of musicians; selections from choral and operatic performances by the astonishing Westminster Choir; and the premiere of Blessing the Boats—a new work by Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy, as well as a few surprises. Former Festival Music Director Steven Sloane conducts this wonderful program, and Mayor Joseph P. Riley, whose enthusiasm for Spoleto Festival USA helped make it a reality in Charleston, narrates this four-decade celebration. CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Saturday
May 28
7:00pm
Tickets start at $35 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES SEE PAGE 49 FOR DETAILS OF THE POST-CONCERT 40TH-SEASON SOIRÉE.
OPERA 03
PORGY AND BESS CREATED BY GEORGE GERSHWIN, DUBOSE AND DOROTHY HEYWARD, AND IRA GERSHWIN CONDUCTED BY STEFAN ASBURY DIRECTED BY DAVID HERSKOVITS VISUAL DESIGN BY JONATHAN GREEN
Porgy and Bess in Charleston—what could be more perfect? DuBose Heyward’s inspiration for Catfish Row is brought to life on the new Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall stage, just blocks from the historical Cabbage Row. David Herskovits, whose 1998 production of Mamba’s Daughters by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward won an OBIE award and sold out at Spoleto Festival USA in 1999, returns to the Festival to direct this landmark production. Visual Designer Jonathan Green takes us on a journey from the streets of the Charleston we know to a Charleston that reveals the roots, strength, and character of the Gullah community. Noted for his “ravishing, rolling baritone with power to spare” (Opera News), Lester Lynch plays Porgy; soprano Alyson Cambridge, whose performances are “radiant, vocally assured, dramatically subtle and compelling, and artistically imaginative” (The Washington Post), makes her role debut as Bess. Hear such famed pieces as “Summertime” and “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” as conductor Stefan Asbury leads members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in this celebration of Charleston and its people. Sung in English. WITH
Johnson C. Smith University Concert Choir Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Friday
May 27
7:00pm
Monday
May 30
7:30pm
Wednesday
June 1
7:00pm
Friday
June 3
7:00pm
Wednesday
June 8
7:00pm
Sunday
June 12
2:00pm
Tickets start at $45 APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS, 15 MINUTES THE GERSHWINS®’ PORGY AND BESS® by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin.
MA D E P O SSI B L E B Y A G E N E R O U S G I F T F R O M THE R O B E R T A N D JA N I C E MC N A I R FO U N DATI O N . P R E SE N TE D TO THE C O MMU N I TY B Y WE L L S FARGO P R I VATE B A N K . A D D I TI O N A L SU P P O R T P R OV I D E D B Y THE D U B OSE AN D D O R OTHY HE Y WA R D ME MO R I A L F U N D , THE AL B E RT SOTTI L E FO U N DATI O N , THE SA MU E L F R E E MA N C HA R I TA B L E TR U ST, A N D THE B R A N D FO U N DATI ON O F N E W YO R K , I N C . G E N E R O U SLY SU P P O R TE D B Y THE A N N E A N D RON AL D A B R A MSO N FA MI LY FO U N DATI O N , MR . A N D M RS. CA R LO S E . E VA N S, A N D MR . M. E DWA R D SE L L E RS AN D D R . SU Z A N B OY D . A D D I TI O N A L SU P P O R T F R O M CA R O L I N A S HE A LTHCARE SY STE M, MR S. R O G E R P. HA N A HA N , MR . N I C HOL AS C . L . J O N E S, FO U N DATI O N FO R THE CA R O L I NAS, SU N TR U ST B A N K , A N D A N N A N D MI C HA E L TARWATE R. O P E R A P R O G R A MMI N G I S E N D OWE D B Y THE ARTHU R A N D HO L LY MAG I L L FO U N DATI O N .
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OPENING-NIGHT PARTY
Friday
May 27
Immediately following performance
$100 per person; cocktails and hors d’oeuvres included. Join the cast, musicians, and creative team of Porgy and Bess at a post-performance party celebrating the opening night. CONVERSATIONS WITH
Sunday
May 29
3:00pm
Host Martha Teichner interviews Director David Herskovits and Visual Designer Jonathan Green at Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip Street. See pages 43 and 44 for more events related to this production of Porgy and Bess.
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JASON MORAN FATS WALLER DANCE PARTY Pianist Jason Moran is perhaps jazz’s best evidence of enduring relevance and brilliant reinvention in the 21st century. Whether performing with one of his acclaimed ensembles, leading The Kennedy Center’s jazz program as artistic director, or crafting ingenious new projects—often in collaboration with visual artists—Moran has made his mark (and earned a MacArthur “genius” fellowship) by digging into storied histories and breaking new ground. For his Fats Waller Dance Party, Moran—who has lived in Harlem for 20 years—celebrates a sound forged in that neighborhood nearly a century ago. Performing in a spectacular papiermâché mask of Waller’s head and fronting a raucous band, Moran deconstructs and reimagines Waller’s swinging songbook, and he rekindles the spirit of jazz as a call that moves not just minds but also bodies. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD
Saturday
June 4
9:00pm
Tickets start at $30 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
DANCE
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AAKASH ODEDRA COMPANY RISING British dancer and choreographer Aakash Odedra has rapidly accumulated international acclaim for his stunning solo performance Rising. A testament to his reputation as a dancer-to-watch, Rising features the work of three of the world’s finest choreographers—Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan, and Russell Maliphant—who created pieces especially for him performed alongside a work of his own. Trained in the Indian dance styles of Kathak and Bharata Natyam, Odedra sets out to tell stories through movement. Each of the works in Rising generates a distinctly different energy, showcasing his remarkable capabilities, from his razor-sharp precision and enviable poise to his mesmerizing agility, and sharing his “ecstatic joy in dancing” (The New York Times). EMMETT ROBINSON THEATRE AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Wednesday
June 1
6:00pm
Thursday
June 2
6:00pm
Friday
June 3
6:00pm
Saturday
June 4
5:00pm
Sunday
June 5
5:00pm
Tickets start at $35 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS SPONSORED BY BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FOR DANCE. MASTER CLASS: CONTEMPORARY FUSION CLASS WITH AAKASH ODEDRA
Saturday
June 4
11:30am to 1:00pm
For more information and to register, visit spoletousa.org.
“HE COMBINES POWER AND GENTLENESS, DISCIPLINE AND FREEDOM IN AN ASTONISHING PACKAGE OF VIBRATING MERCURIAL ENERGY...” – The Straits Times
THEATER 07
GATE THEATRE
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST WRITTEN BY OSCAR WILDE DIRECTED BY PATRICK MASON
Dublin’s Gate Theatre makes its 10th appearance at Spoleto Festival USA with a sparkling new production of Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde’s joyous social satire chronicles the escapades of dashing
men-about-town—the
irrepressible
Algernon
Moncrieff and the exquisitely mannerly John Worthing— and their courtship of the ladies Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Matters are hilariously complicated by the gallants’ deceptions and the interference of Gwendolen’s formidable mother, Lady Bracknell. Boasting what the company’s Artistic Director Michael Colgan calls “a dream cast,” expect Gate Theatre to brilliantly deliver both Wilde’s rapier wit and an exuberant evening of theatrical fun and frothy sophistication in the Dock Street Theatre. DOCK STREET THEATRE
Thursday
May 26
8:00pm (preview)
Friday
May 27
8:00pm
Sunday
May 29
8:30pm
Monday
May 30
3:30pm & 8:00pm
Thursday
June 2
7:30pm
Friday
June 3
7:30pm
Saturday
June 4
3:30pm & 8:00pm
Sunday
June 5
7:30pm
Tuesday
June 7
7:30pm
Wednesday
June 8
3:30pm & 8:00pm
Thursday
June 9
7:30pm
Friday
June 10
7:30pm
Saturday
June 11
3:30pm & 8:00pm
Sunday
June 12
3:30pm
Tickets start at $40 APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS, 30 MINUTES SPONSORED BY FIRST CITIZENS BANK
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
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MUSIC 09
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA A remarkably versatile ensemble composed of the country’s
most
accomplished
young
professional
musicians, the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra performs in many capacities, including opera, symphonic, choral, chamber, and contemporary concerts. Formed anew each year through national auditions, this prestigious orchestra is led by the Festival’s Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy. This season, members of the ensemble present two orchestral concerts.
MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS Premiered 40 years ago in New York City and achieving immediate renown, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians remains a landmark work of the 20th century, helping to define the minimalist movement with its revolutionary style. This unconducted masterpiece showcases harmonically driven pulses that envelop listeners with waves of hypnotic and mesmerizing textures. MEMMINGER AUDITORIUM
Friday
June 3
8:00pm
Tickets start at $20 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CONCERT CONDUCTED BY NORMAN HUYNH
The youthful virtuosity of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra will be on display in this special chamber orchestra program, which includes Alberto Ginastera’s superbly crafted Variaciones concertantes—an expressive work with improvisatory character that features every instrument as a soloist. Performed in the beautiful sanctuary of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, this concert will cast a spotlight on the orchestra’s eclectic talents. ST. MATTHEW’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
Monday
June 6
5:00pm
Tickets start at $40 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
THEATER
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MANUAL CINEMA
ADA/AVA
DIRECTED BY DREW DIR
Described as “talent incarnate” by Time Out New York, Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema
EMMETT ROBINSON THEATRE AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
makes its Spoleto Festival USA debut with Ada/Ava. Twin
Friday
May 27
5:00pm
sisters Ada and Ava have lived their whole lives together
Saturday
May 28
1:00pm & 6:00pm
until, suddenly, Ava dies leaving Ada haunted by grief,
Sunday
May 29
1:00pm & 7:00pm
solitarily marking time in the patterns of a life built for
Monday
May 30
3:00pm & 7:00pm
two. However, when a traveling carnival comes to town, a trip to a mirror maze plunges her into a journey across the thresholds of life and death. Set within a New England gothic landscape, Ada/Ava uses a story of the fantastic and the supernatural to explore mourning and melancholy, and notions of self and other. Featuring three musicians performing an original score live and more than 300 flat paper and acetate puppets manipulated by five puppeteers, this compelling and visually stunning work is created transparently with the audience privy to the process of “. . . turning substance into shadow and shadow into substance” (The New York Times).
“...THIS CHICAGO TROUPE IS CONJURING PHANTASMS TO DIE FOR IN AN UNCLASSIFIABLE STORY OF SPECTRAL BEAUTY CALLED ADA/AVA.” – The New York Times
Tickets start at $35 For adults and children 8 and older. Special children’s ticket price available. APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR
DANCE 11
BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY PLAY AND PLAY: AN EVENING OF MOVEMENT AND MUSIC
The innovative and iconic Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company returns to Spoleto Festival USA with Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Music. Performed to live music, the program marries Jones’s inventive choreography with works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Beethoven to highlight the exhilaration of musicians and dancers working together. Jones’s joyful tour-de-force “D-Man in the Waters” is a two-time New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award-winning work considered a classic of modern dance. Set to Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, op. 20, the work celebrates life and the resiliency of the human spirit, guiding the audience through loss, hope, and triumph. “Spent Days Out Yonder” is a musical exploration set to the second movement of Mozart’s String Quartet in F Major, no. 23, with the dancers becoming “. . . the perfect embodiment of the score” (The New Yorker). “Continuous Replay” is based on a 1977 solo by Arnie Zane revised by Jones as a group work in 1991, reflecting Zane’s fascination with photography and film. Based on 45 precise gestures that start with one dancer and cunningly build into a frenetic accumulated phrase performed by the group, the work features a score by Jerome Begin for octet that combines motifs from Beethoven’s first and last string quartets with recorded sounds to create a surprising soundscape. This program contains nudity. Featuring members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE
Friday
May 27
7:30pm
Saturday
May 28
3:00pm
Sunday
May 29
3:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES SUPPORT FOR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FOR DANCE.
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“RARELY HAS ONE SEEN A DANCE COMPANY THROW ITSELF ONTO THE STAGE WITH SUCH KINETIC EXALTATION.” – The New Yorker MASTER CLASS: COMPANY CLASS WITH JANET WONG
Thursday May 26
5:30pm to 7:00pm
For more information and to register, visit spoletousa.org.
OPERA 13
THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL MUSIC AND LIBRETTO BY HELMUT LACHENMANN CONDUCTED BY JOHN KENNEDY DIRECTED BY MARK DOWN AND PHELIM MCDERMOTT US PREMIERE
Hans Christian Andersen’s sobering tale depicts a poor girl on a snowy street, lighting matches for a few seconds of fleeting warmth in her final hour. In his opera, avantgarde
composer
Helmut
Lachenmann
explores
the
girl’s last moments as she gazes into the dreams and memories conjured by the flames. Co-Directors Phelim McDermott of award-winning improvised theater makers Improbable, and Mark Down of master-puppeteers Blind Summit Theatre cast extraordinary shadows to make a show that almost isn’t there, lit by the light of a match and performed at the speed of scissors. Elevated on a platform and encircling the audience, 106 members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra perform this astonishingly evocative score, full of clicks, crackles, knocks, and hisses, under the baton of Resident Conductor and Director of Orchestral Activities John Kennedy. Lachenmann departs from traditional performance techniques in order to create a frigid atmosphere—a nearly meteorological effect—both animating the match girl’s world and contemplating the coldness of a society that would let a child freeze. In collaboration with Blind Summit Theatre and Improbable theater company. WITH
Westminster Choir Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra MEMMINGER AUDITORIUM
Sunday
May 29
7:30pm
Tuesday
May 31
7:00pm
Thursday
June 2
7:00pm
Saturday
June 4
2:00pm
Tickets start at $40 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 45 MINUTES SPONSORED BY BMW MANUFACTURING CO. OPERA PROGRAMMING IS ENDOWED BY THE ARTHUR AND HOLLY MAGILL FOUNDATION.
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
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“...LACHENMANN’S MUSIC FORCES THE LISTENER TO CONFRONT AND QUESTION THEIR INGRAINED EXPECTATIONS FROM AND RESPONSES TO MUSIC, IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXTEND AND FURTHER ILLUMINATE ONE’S POWERS OF PERCEPTION.” – Musical Times CONVERSATIONS WITH
Saturday
May 28
3:00pm
Host Martha Teichner interviews Co-Directors Mark Down and Phelim McDermott at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street.
THEATER
AMERICAN EXPRESS WOOLFE STREET SERIES
15
PAINES PLOUGH AND PENTABUS THEATRE COMPANY
EVERY BRILLIANT THING DIRECTED BY GEORGE PERRIN WRITTEN BY DUNCAN MACMILLAN WITH JONNY DONAHOE
Every Brilliant Thing is a “beautiful, heart-wrenching and
demonstrates why life is worth living—you’ll leave feeling
very funny” (Time Out London) play about finding reasons
elated” (The Scotsman).
to live when all hope seems lost. A man looks back at a list he began as a child to help his depressed mother rediscover joy—a list of “every brilliant thing” worth living for. Beginning with “1. Ice cream,” the list grows as the boy grows up, and soon takes on a life of its own. Performed by Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing comes to Spoleto
WOOLFE STREET PLAYHOUSE
Wednesday
June 8
8:00pm
Thursday
June 9
6:00pm
Friday
June 10
9:00pm
Saturday
June 11
5:00pm
Festival USA following critically acclaimed runs at the
Tickets start at $25
Edinburgh Festival, New York’s Barrow Street Theatre, and
APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
a UK tour. Exploring the lengths people go to for those they love, the play has been described as “a piece that
SPONSORED BY AMERICAN EXPRESS
WELLS FARGO JAZZ
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RANDY WESTON AFRICAN RHYTHMS SEXTET RANDY WESTON, PIANO T.K. BLUE, SAXOPHONE AND FLUTE ALEX BLAKE, BASS NEIL CLARKE, AFRICAN PERCUSSION BILLY HARPER, TENOR SAXOPHONE LEWIS NASH, DRUMS
Having lived through much of the music’s history, pianist and composer Randy Weston helped author jazz’s story. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, at a time when “shoeshine boys whistled bebop melodies,” Weston recalls. He didn’t have to travel far to hear the giants that moved him—Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and, his deepest influence, Thelonious Monk. The poet Langston Hughes, who collaborated on Weston’s landmark 1960 album, Uhuru Afrika, once wrote, “When Randy Weston plays, a combination of strength and gentleness, virility and velvet, emerges from the keys in an ebb and flow of sound seemingly as natural as the waves of the sea.” In 2001, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and is honored and credited with exemplifying a uniquely American art form. Throughout his career, in formats ranging from solo piano to jazz orchestra, Weston has delved more deeply and with more profound insight than any other musician into jazz’s African roots. CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Thursday
June 2
7:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
MUSIC 17
WESTMINSTER CHOIR CONCERTS CONDUCTED BY JOE MILLER
Always in great demand, Westminster Choir Concerts in the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul are an unforgettable experience. In this idyllic setting, the pristine voices of the Festival’s acclaimed choir-in-residence soar in purity and bliss. Conducted by Joe Miller, the Festival’s director for choral activities, this esteemed ensemble offers selections from its rich and widely varied repertoire; the 2016 program, titled Angel Band, features Poulenc’s sonic masterpiece, Messe en Sol Majeur; Debussy’s lush Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans; and Brahms’s colorful vocal quartet An Die Heimat, along with traditional favorites. CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. LUKE AND ST. PAUL
Monday
May 30
Friday
June 3
5:00pm 5:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
MUSIC
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CHORAL FANTASY BEETHOVEN / MASS IN C MAJOR MESSIAEN / COULEURS DE LA CITÉ CELESTE BEETHOVEN / CHORAL FANTASY CONDUCTED BY JOE MILLER
On an evening in late December, 1808, Beethoven performed a concert in Vienna that he hoped would raise significant funds; the financial outcome of this endeavor is unknown, though it yielded some of the legendary composer’s bestloved music. In addition to the premiere of Beethoven’s fifth and sixth symphonies, his fourth piano concerto, and the performance of several movements of his Mass in C Major, a new piece emerged that utilized the piano, chorus, and orchestra: the Choral Fantasy. In what will be another remarkable evening, Westminster Choir, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra will combine forces to present Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and Choral Fantasy, as well as Olivier Messiaen’s Couleurs de la Cité Celeste for piano, winds, and percussion. Pianist Lori Sims, whose “superb musicianship and flexible virtuosity” (Gramophone) mark her performances will be featured in the latter two works. The Beethoven works emerged from his “heroic” period, a time when he strayed from classical convention, heading instead toward the lows and highs of struggle and celebration. In the Choral Fantasy, many hear early sketches of the melody made famous in Beethoven’s ninth symphony—full of hope, fraternity, and joy. CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Tuesday
June 7
8:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 45 MINUTES SPONSORED BY SOUTH STATE BANK
MUSIC 19
GRACE NOTES REFLECTIONS FOR NOW DIRECTED BY CARRIE MAE WEEMS CURATED BY SARAH LEWIS WORLD PREMIERE
“Grace can be understood as a principle, a quality, a gesture, or a moral code. Grace implies freeing the bondage of the human spirit and suggests the breadth, scope, and depth of our humanity in the face of violence—acts that may be found in our everyday lives or reflected in public moments of collective grief. Grace, as expressed in these moments, is not transformative when it ends only in a tear, a sigh, or a moment of silence. Grace is meant to activate us, to propel us, to challenge us to see what we might prefer to remain unseen, and to act where we have been complacent and unable to move.” – Carrie Mae Weems Always focused on social justice, acclaimed visual artist Carrie Mae Weems offers up Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, a provocative performance of music, song, text, spoken word, and video projection that explores our historical moment. For this seminal performance, Weems brings together such artists and consummate intellectuals as composers and musicians James Newton, Geri Allen, and Craig Harris, along with poet Aja Monet, writer Carl Hancock Rux, and singers Alicia Hall Moran, Imani Uzuri, and Esai Davis. Originally conceived as a gift to President Obama, who sang a rendition of “Amazing Grace” during his eulogy for Emanuel AME Church victim Reverend Clementa Pinckney, this immersive experience asks: what is the role of grace in the pursuit of democracy? COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE
Saturday
June 4
7:00pm
Sunday
June 5
8:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES CONVERSATIONS WITH
Sunday
June 5
3:00pm
Host Martha Teichner interviews visual artist Carrie Mae Weems at Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street.
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
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Carrie Mae Weems, A Woman Observes, 2008 Archival pigment print, 61 x 51 inches ŠCarrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
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RENÉ MARIE WITH ETIENNE CHARLES, TRUMPET WYCLIFFE GORDON, TROMBONE JOHN CHIN, PIANO ELIAS BAILEY, DOUBLE BASS QUENTIN BAXTER, DRUMS
A Festival favorite, René Marie is known for her vocal vibrancy and self-possessed boldness, making her one of the most compelling voices performing today. A distinctly American mélange of jazz, soul, blues, folk, and gospel give way to Marie’s innate theatrical ability to interpret a song deeply, this time on the beautifully renovated stage of the Charleston Gaillard Center. Her 2016 performance will include a commissioned work—“Be the Change”—inspired by the community outpouring after the nine murders in Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church in 2015. CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Sunday
May 29
7:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
THEATER
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SHOW AND TELL
A GAMBLER’S GUIDE TO DYING WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY GARY MCNAIR DIRECTED BY GARETH NICHOLLS US PREMIERE
In this “funny, observant, poignant” (Financial Times) oneman show, Scottish writer and actor Gary McNair poses the question: what are the odds of living an extraordinary life? He recounts the story of his garrulous gambling grandfather whose winning bet on the 1966 World Cup final made him his fortune and forged a family legend. When diagnosed with cancer, his grandfather decided to punt on his prognosis by betting all of his accumulated gambling winnings on living to see the year 2000. Awarded The Scotsman’s Fringe First award for new writing at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying is an intergenerational tale of what we live for and what we leave behind. EMMETT ROBINSON THEATRE AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Tuesday
June 7
6:00pm
Wednesday
June 8
6:00pm
Thursday
June 9
8:00pm
Friday
June 10
6:00pm
Saturday
June 11
1:00pm
Tickets start at $35 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY RENAISSANCE CHARLESTON HISTORIC DISTRICT HOTEL
“...A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE, WARMLY COMIC PIECE THAT ACCUMULATES LAYERS OF MEANING THROUGH THE ACT OF STORYTELLING ITSELF.” – The Guardian
OPERA 23
LA DOUBLE COQUETTE COMPOSED BY ANTOINE DAUVERGNE WITH REVISIONS BY GÉRARD PESSON LIBRETTO BY CHARLES-SIMON FAVART WITH REVISIONS BY PIERRE ALFERI DIRECTED BY FANNY DE CHAILLÉ US PREMIERE
What happens when a good-looking, double-crossing crossdresser sets out to win back her lover from the arms of a young seductress? Find out in the very French La Double Coquette—a charming revision of Antoine Dauvergne’s 1753 opéra comique, La Coquette trompée. Contemporary French composer Gérard Pesson’s 32 additions—supplements, asides, codas, and new harmonies—seamlessly complement the original score, and costumes designed by acclaimed French visual artist Annette Messager bring the work into the 21st century. Combined with Pierre Alferi’s cheeky new libretto, La Double Coquette is delicious light comedy brought to life by the gifted period musicians of Ensemble Amarillis. Sung in French with English supertitles. WITH
Ensemble Amarillis DOCK STREET THEATRE
Saturday
May 28
8:30pm
Sunday
May 29
3:30pm
Tuesday
May 31
8:00pm
Wednesday
June 1
8:00pm
Tickets start at $45 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES The concert version of La Double Coquette was produced by the Ensemble Amarillis and Les 2 Scènes-scène nationale de Besançon on December 2, 2014 at the Théâtre de Besançon. Gerard Pesson’s music and Pierre Alferi’s libretto were commissioned by Les 2 Scènes-scène nationale de Besançon. With the support of the Orange Foundation. The staged version of La Double Coquette is produced by the Festival d’Automne in Paris; the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles; Festival Le French May / Hong Kong; Festival de Sablé; Metz en Scenes - Arsenal; Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne; KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen; Spoleto Festival USA; Peak Performances @ Montclair State University. With support from le Fonds de Creation et Lyrique and l’ADAMI.
SPONSORED BY BMW MANUFACTURING CO. OPERA PROGRAMMING IS ENDOWED BY THE ARTHUR AND HOLLY MAGILL FOUNDATION. THIS EVENT WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF FACE, THE FRENCH-AMERICAN CULTURAL EXCHANGE.
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BANK OF AMERICA CHAMBER MUSIC Now in his seventh year as director, violinist Geoff Nuttall
DOCK STREET THEATRE
leads the Bank of America Chamber Music series in what
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can only be described as a party. With his boisterous humor, exuberant performance style, and expansive historical knowledge, Nuttall and a thrilling selection of musicians perform 11 programs—each three times—presenting both familiar favorites and stimulating discoveries from the gamut of music literature. To celebrate Spoleto Festival
Friday Saturday
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Sunday Monday
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USA’s 40th season, the St. Lawrence String Quartet will
Monday Tuesday
be in residence for the duration of the Festival, also joined
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by pianists Stephen Prutsman and Inon Barnatan, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, violinist Benjamin Beilman, oboist James Austin Smith, baritone Tyler Duncan, and many others.
Wednesday Thursday
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Revered violinist Pamela Frank will make her Festival debut,
Thursday Friday
and Osvaldo Golijov returns to the series as composer in
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residence. Nuttall’s ingenious programs delight every ear and expand every mind that experiences them, and are a joyful example of the true spirit of chamber music. Tickets start at $20
Saturday Sunday
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Sunday Monday
Tuesday Wednesday
SPONSORED BY BANK OF AMERICA
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THE ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET IS THE ARTHUR AND HOLLY MAGILL QUARTET IN RESIDENCE.
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
May 29 May 30
11:00am & 1:00pm 11:00am
May 30 May 31
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
June 1 June 2
11:00am & 1:00pm 11:00am
June 2 June 3
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
June 4 June 5
11:00am & 1:00pm 11:00am
June 5 June 6
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
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APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE ROBERT AND JANICE MCNAIR FOUNDATION.
May 27 May 28
Wednesday Thursday
PROGR AM X
Friday Saturday
PROGR AM XI
Saturday Sunday
June 7 June 8
11:00am & 1:00pm 11:00am
June 8 June 9
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
June 10 June 11
11:00am & 1:00pm 11:00am
June 11 June 12
1:00pm 11:00am & 1:00pm
FULL PROGRAM DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN APRIL 2016 AT SPOLETOUSA.ORG DETAILS ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA CHAMBER MUSIC SUBSCRIPTIONS CAN BE FOUND AT SPOLETOUSA.ORG/ CHAMBER-MUSIC-SUBSCRIPTIONS
DANCE 27
L.A. DANCE PROJECT MURDER BALLADES HARBOR ME HEARTS & ARROWS
Bursting onto the dance scene in 2012, L.A. Dance Project has been turning heads with its fresh, contemporary vision of dance and stylistically diverse repertory. The collective makes its Spoleto Festival USA debut with a program of three works. New York City Ballet soloist and Resident Choreographer Justin Peck has become one of the ballet world’s most sought-after choreographers. His Murder Ballades is based on the rich and intriguing American folk tradition of songs about crime. Bright and athletic on the surface, dark undertones slowly creep through, augmented by a score by Bryce Dessner (The National) and visuals by artist Sterling Ruby. The result is a vibrant work “. . . bookended by extravagant energy—the finale is a series of frenetic solos that twist, reach and unravel—but at its center are two duets that hint at the ominous title” (The New York Times). In Harbor Me by award-winning Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, a trio of dancers explores the role of the harbor as a place of shelter, offering protection, but also as a border that can turn you away. Embodying the three elements of fire, water, and air that influence, transform, or destroy each other as they move, the piece is set to music by Korean composer Woojae Park. Hearts & Arrows by L.A. Dance Project founder, Paris Opera Ballet director of dance, and former New York City Ballet principal, Benjamin Millepied, is set to Philip Glass’s String Quartet no. 3 and sees eight dancers move through numerous patterns where “everything is unexpected, and everything feels serendipitously right” (The New York Times). CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Saturday
June 4
8:00pm
Sunday
June 5
1:00pm and 7:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS SPONSORED BY BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FOR DANCE.
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
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THEATER 29
1927
GOLEM DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY SUZANNE ANDRADE FILM, ANIMATION, AND DESIGN BY PAUL BARRITT US PREMIERE
Hailed as “a Frankenstein for the 21st century” (The Times, London) Golem is the newest creation from the astonishingly original company 1927. A dark and fantastical tale of an extraordinarily ordinary man, Golem follows the company’s hugely successful productions—and wildly popular Festival hits—The Animals and Children Took to the Streets (2012) and Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2008). Golem is loosely based on the Jewish folklore myth about a man who fashions a creature out of clay to work for him, but is an original story told via 1927’s characteristic blend of live performance and stunning sets brought to life through film, animation, and claymation. A dystopian fable for the current age, Golem cleverly and satirically explores one of the great questions of the modern world: who or what is in control of our technologies? COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SOTTILE THEATRE
Wednesday
June 8
8:00pm
Thursday
June 9
8:00pm
Friday
June 10
8:00pm
Saturday
June 11
2:00pm & 8:00pm
Sunday
June 12
2:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 30 MINUTES SPONSORED BY HYATT PLACE & HYATT HOUSE
“GROUNDBREAKING WITH STROKES OF GENIUS... A WITTY COLLISION OF ANTIQUATED AESTHETICS, WIDE RANGING CULTURAL INFLUENCES AND MODERN-DAY SENSIBILITIES.” – The Daily Telegraph
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CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT Cécile McLorin Salvant has been turning heads since she won the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition in 2010, enticing jazz aficionados with her “heightened music-theatre, enunciated with authority and polished with elaborate sonic costume changes” (The Guardian). Back in Charleston after her 2012 Festival debut, Salvant brings the fruits and success of the last several years to the Cistern Yard, marked by theatrical portrayals, fresh interpretations, and a handful of original compositions—heard on her 2015 album, For One to Love. This Grammy-nominated singer embeds her work with originality, lyrical playfulness, and a floating tone that uplifts all who hear it. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD
Friday
June 3
9:00pm
Tickets start at $30 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
“... A SAVVY POST-MODERN THINKER WHO HAS DIGESTED THE ENTIRE REPERTOIRE AND USES IT TO TELL HER OWN STORIES.” – The Times-Picayune
WELLS FARGO JAZZ
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ARTURO O’FARRILL AND THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA Winner of multiple Grammy awards, pianist and composer
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD
Arturo O’Farrill inherited a powerful legacy from his father,
Saturday
May 28
9:00pm
the legendary Cuban composer and bandleader Chico
Sunday
May 29
9:00pm
O’Farrill. Born in Mexico and raised in New York City, he was also deeply influenced by experimental jazz. O’Farrill’s
Tickets start at $30
Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra embodies the drama of big-band
APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES
jazz, the dynamism of Latin music, and the thrill of 18 world-
SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
class musicians united in a quest for aesthetic liberation. They express the promise of a lasting bond between Cuba and the United States, invigorated this year by a changed
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES: THE US, CUBA, AND JAZZ
political context—a decision affirmed in O’Farrill’s latest
Sunday
CD title, Cuba: The Conversation Continues. His orchestra mines the rhythmic and cultural traditions of many nations—from Peru and Colombia to Spain and beyond—to extend Dizzy Gillespie’s vision of jazz as a “global music.”
May 29
5:00pm
Pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill and saxophonist/ composer Yosvany Terry (p 35) discuss the historic bond between the US and Cuba in conversation with music critic Larry Blumenfeld at Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 56 St. Philip Street.
DANCE 33
SADLER’S WELLS LONDON & CONGAS PRODUCTIONS
HAVANA RAKATAN
This “stunning slice of Havana life” (The Independent) brings salsa, mambo, jazz, bolero, son, cha-cha-cha, and rumba together for a dazzling display of Cuban passion. Exuberantly exploring the country’s rich history through dance, Cuban choreographer Nilda Guerra’s whirlwind of movement is underpinned by the loose, syncopated rhythms of Cuba’s well-known eight-piece son band Turquino performing live on stage. Havana Rakatan made its hugely successful debut in London, where Time Out London proclaimed it “rip-roaring entertainment.” The show subsequently completed four successful West End runs and has toured the world as one of Sadler’s Wells’s most successful productions. CHARLESTON GAILLARD CENTER MARTHA AND JOHN M. RIVERS PERFORMANCE HALL
Thursday
June 9
8:00pm
Friday
June 10
8:30pm
Saturday
June 11
2:00pm & 7:00pm
Tickets start at $25 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS SPONSORED BY BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA. SPONSORED BY SHERMAN CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FOR DANCE.
“...HAVANA RAKATAN IS A NEAR PERFECT DANCE SHOW...” – The Stage (UK)
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BOHEMIAN TRIO YOSVANY TERRY, SAXOPHONE AND CHÉKERE ORLANDO ALONSO, PIANO YVES DHARAMRAJ, CELLO
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES: THE US, CUBA, AND JAZZ
Sunday
May 29
5:00pm
Pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill and saxophonist/ composer Yosvany Terry (p 35) discuss the historic bond between the US and Cuba in conversation with music critic Larry Blumenfeld at Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 56 St. Philip Street.
Drawn to the idea that a blend of traditions would speak to
of technical prowess and invention, creating an extension
the true voice of the Americas, Yosvany Terry (saxophone
of the familiar. Their musical narratives—deftly woven into
and chékere), Orlando Alonso (piano), and Yves Dharamraj
original and commissioned works—simultaneously evoke
(cello) pooled their cultural and musical backgrounds to
joy, nostalgia, and passion.
form the Bohemian Trio in 2013. Together, they forge a new identity—a polyphony of cultures—that transcends old-world boundaries. Bohemian Trio intertwines earthy, Afro-Cuban rhythms with sweeping classical melodies, jazz improvisation, and the celebration of Latin dance to transport its audiences to an inspired and fantastical place,
SIMONS CENTER RECITAL HALL AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Saturday
May 28
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Monday
May 30
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Tuesday
May 31
5:00pm & 7:00pm
though one longing for a bygone era at odds with the
Tickets start at $35
modern world. Grounded in both distinct formal traditions
APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR
and abstract ideas, each member exhibits his own brand
SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
WELLS FARGO JAZZ
SPOLETOUSA.ORG 36
THE FREDDY COLE QUARTET FREDDY COLE, PIANO/VOCALS RANDY NAPOLEON, GUITAR ELIAS BAILEY, BASS QUENTIN BAXTER, DRUMS/PERCUSSION
Distinguished by his warm grace and suave, smoky voice, Freddy Cole is one of the most respected lyrical storytellers in jazz today. Raised in an exceptionally musical family in Chicago, Cole grew up in a home that saw visitors like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. He and his three older brothers—Nat King Cole among them—were all musicians taught by their mother; Freddy continued his music education at The Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory of Music before developing a vast repertoire and flourishing career in Manhattan bistros. A two-time Grammy nominee, Cole now performs with a quartet including bassist Elias Bailey, percussionist Quentin Baxter, and featuring guitarist Randy Napoleon, and has moved into the front ranks of America’s homegrown art form with a style and musical sophistication all his own. SIMONS CENTER RECITAL HALL AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Wednesday
June 8
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Thursday
June 9
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Friday
June 10
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Saturday
June 11
5:00pm & 7:00pm
Tickets start at $35 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR SPONSORED BY WELLS FARGO
“FREDDY HAS AN IMPECCABLE SENSE OF SWING . . . HE IS, OVERALL, THE MOST MATURELY EXPRESSIVE MALE JAZZ SINGER OF HIS GENERATION, IF NOT THE BEST ALIVE.” – The New York Times
DANCE 37
OPPOSING FORCES CONCEPT, DIRECTION, AND CHOREOGRAPHY BY AMY O’NEAL
Breakdancing, live beats, and hip hop collide to challenge perceptions of gender roles in this exciting work created by choreographer, dancer, and educator Amy O’Neal. Five world-class B-Boys—Alfredo “Free” Vergara Jr., Brysen “Just Be” Angeles, Fever One, Michael O’Neal Jr., and Mozes Lateef Saleem—use their distinctive physical language to examine the value systems of race and gender within the environments of battling, commercial dance, contemporary performance, and rap culture. Performed to an original score of contagious beats by Waylon Dungan, also known as WD4D, the action takes place inside a futuristic geometric landscape creating a work that “... transcends disciplines and boundaries. It is a bridge between worlds, a translator for opposing points of view, a force for good” (City Arts Magazine, Seattle). MEMMINGER AUDITORIUM
Wednesday
June 8
6:00pm
Thursday
June 9
6:00pm
Friday
June 10
6:00pm
Saturday
June 11
5:00pm
Sunday
June 12
1:00pm
Tickets start at $30 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS SPONSORED BY BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA. The presentation of Opposing Forces was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE 2016 DANCE SERIES IS PROVIDED BY THE HARKNESS FOUNDATION FOR DANCE. MASTER CLASS: STREET DANCE STYLES WITH AMY O’NEAL
Saturday
June 11
12:00pm to 1:30pm
For more information and to register, visit spoletousa.org.
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“WITH OPPOSING FORCES AMY O’NEAL TAKES THE FORM ONE STEP FURTHER, TURNING HIP HOP INTO NUANCED, HAUNTING, BEAUTIFUL, CONCERT ART.” – The Seattle Times
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MUSIC IN TIME JOHN KENNEDY, DIRECTOR AND HOST
HELMUT L ACHENMANN IN CONVERSATION Helmut Lachenmann, the German composer whose opera The Little Match Girl has its US premiere at the Festival this year (p 13), is one of the most distinctive and creative composers of our time. Hear this warm, engaging, and provocative gentleman discuss his opera as well as his philosophies of musical and social engagement. Also on the program will be Lachenmann’s 2008 song cycle, Got Lost—a deconstruction of text and sound in which music reflects upon itself in, as he says, “a constantly changing field of sound, reverberation, and movement.” Got Lost will be performed by celebrated interpreters of Lachenmann’s music, soprano Yuko Kakuta and pianist Stephen Drury.
SIMONS CENTER RECITAL HALL AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Friday
May 27
5:00pm
EIN KINDERSPIEL AND SPOLETUDES This playful program abounds with new sounds, led by
HELMUT LACHENMANN
Helmut Lachenmann’s Ein Kinderspiel (Child’s Play) for solo piano, played by Renate Rohlfing. Virtuosic musical portraits for musicians who have had a long association with Spoleto Festival USA will be revealed in the premiere of John Kennedy’s Spoletudes. And with his new Verplichtet II, Gleb Kanasevich creates a bizarre tapestry of chamber orchestra dialogue, complete with abstract references to Kanye West and an amplified milkshake.
SIMONS CENTER RECITAL HALL AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Saturday
June 4
5:00pm
SERYNADE WITH AN AUTOMATED SUNRISE This celebration of Helmut Lachenmann concludes with his monumental piano solo Serynade. Played by the masterful Stephen Drury, the work’s ringing harmonics and resonances will clearly traverse the intimate acoustics of the Recital Hall. And the series closes not with a sunset, but a sunrise: Oscar Bettison’s hypnotic, kaleidoscopic, and utterly lovely 2014 work for small ensemble, An Automated Sunrise (for Joseph Cornell).
SIMONS CENTER RECITAL HALL AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Tuesday
June 7
5:00pm
Tickets start at $30 ALL CONCERTS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR
RENATE ROHLFING
AMERICAN EXPRESS WOOLFE STREET SERIES
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MUSIC IN TIME AT WOOLFE STREET PLAYHOUSE
ANCIENT VOICES OF CHILDREN
A MAZE (WITH GRACE)
George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children, a cycle of
“Amazing Grace” is unfolded note-by-note in Thomas
songs on texts by Federico García Lorca, is a contemporary
Albert’s ode to memory, A Maze (With Grace). Other new
music classic that retains its earthy timelessness and
and exciting works, including Hong-Da Chin’s …the clock
evocative drama. This special Woolfe Street performance
is ticking… and Richard Reed Parry’s Music for Heart and
features soprano Heather Buck with pianist Stephen Drury
Breath will be brought to life in performances by members
and members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra.
of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra.
Sharing the program is Pierre Boulez’s haunting Dialogue
WOOLFE STREET PL AYHOUSE
de l’ombre double (Dialogue of the Double Shadow) for clarinet and spatial electronics, performed by Gleb
Thursday
June 2
9:00pm
Kanasevich.
Tickets start at $20
WOOLFE STREET PL AYHOUSE
ALL CONCERTS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR
Wednesday
STEPHEN DRURY
June 1
9:00pm
SPONSORED BY AMERICAN EXPRESS
HEATHER BUCK
MUSIC
AMERICAN EXPRESS WOOLFE STREET SERIES
41
AFRAM OU LA BELLE SWITA COMPOSED BY EDMUND THORNTON JENKINS DIRECTED BY DAVID HERSKOVITS WORLD PREMIERE
A native of Charleston, Edmund Thornton Jenkins was the seventh son of Reverend Daniel Jenkins, who, born a slave, founded the Jenkins Orphanage on King Street; the Jenkins Orphanage Band accompanied every Broadway performance of Dorothy and DuBose Heyward’s Porgy, the play on which Porgy and Bess (see p 3) was based. Edmund was the Ross Scholar at London’s Royal Academy of Music, winning awards in performance and composition before his premature death in Paris at age 32. Jenkins’s last composition, Afram ou La Belle Swita, is an “African romance” that travels from Africa to the American South, encountering a prince and princess, a lounge lizard, banjos under the moonlight, and possum hunts; he intended this work to be performed by the likes of Florence Mills, the winsome “Queen of Happiness” from the Harlem Renaissance and a member of his coterie of friends. Reconstructed in what is believed to be its first performance, Afram is a cabaret revue with songs, fox trots, and such evocations of Charleston as “Underneath the Palmettos and Pines.” With stage direction by David Herskovits and featuring members of the Porgy and Bess cast, Afram transports you to the romance and whimsy of Jazz-age Paris, with a southern touch. WOOLFE STREET PLAYHOUSE
Saturday
June 4
9:00pm
Sunday
June 5
5:00pm
Monday
June 6
7:00pm
Tickets start at $35 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY AMERICAN EXPRESS
Florence Mills (1896 – 1927) in Dover Street to Dixie at the London Pavilion, 1923. Jenkins had hoped Mills, a successful and dynamic cabaret singer, would sing in Afram. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
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CONVERSATIONS WITH
Monday
June 6
3:00pm
Host Martha Teichner interviews Music Director Duane Davis and artist Tuffus Zimbabwe at Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street.
CHARLESTON 43
POR GY A ND B E SS I N C HAR L ESTO N WALKING TOUR Explore the world of Porgy and Bess beyond the stage with this specially curated walking tour of downtown Charleston. Featuring locations made famous by the opera and DuBose Heyward’s novel, Porgy—including Catfish Row—the tour will feature sites associated with the fictional characters as well as the real people on which they are based. Your knowledgeable guide will provide a rich historical context for the work and its creators and also visit sites that inspired the production’s visual designer, artist Jonathan Green. TOURS DAILY, MAY 27 – JUNE 12
11:00am, 12:00pm, 1:00pm, and 2:00pm $40 Adult | $20 Child (ages 6 – 12) Advance ticket purchase required. Additional details available at spoletousa.org. APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS
THE CHARLESTON MUSEUM
of a historic plaque at the site of the real Catfish
I GOT PLENTY O’ NUTTIN’: GEORGE GERSHWIN’S CHARLESTON
Row, and a public lecture and author signing for the
Reflecting the 1930s Charleston that DuBose Heyward
The talk, exhibition, and docent-led tours will be held
and George Gershwin witnessed when writing and
at the College of Charleston Marlene and Nathan
composing the opera, this exhibit will feature black
Addlestone Library.
and white images of Charleston during the 1920s and 1930s, period clothing and accessories, the very piano
MAY 2016 205 CALHOUN STREET
George Gershwin used to compose the opera, as well
FRIENDS.LIBRARY.COFC.EDU
as a goat cart of the period in ode to Sammy Smalls,
forthcoming book Porgy and Bess: A Charleston Story.
the inspiration for the character of Porgy. The Museum
ENGAGING CREATIVE MINDS
will offer exclusive curator-led tours and children’s
Spoleto Festival USA will partner with Engaging
educational programs during the exhibition.
Creative Minds and the Ravinia Festival’s “One Score,
MAY 15 – JUNE 15, 2016 360 MEETING STREET CHARLESTONMUSEUM.ORG
One Chicago” music-education program, along with local artists to implement a learning program based on Porgy and Bess for eighth graders in the Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester school districts. This
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON LIBRARIES “PORGY AND BESS: A CHARLESTON STORY” EVENT SERIES
The College of Charleston Friends of the Library and Special Collections will host a series of events celebrating Porgy and Bess and exploring the origins, legacies, and controversies of the story in its many forms. The free events will include a Porgy and Bess exhibition of art and rare manuscripts, the dedication
project will culminate in the students attending a dress rehearsal of the new Spoleto Festival USA production. The project helps to fulfill Engaging Creative Minds’s goal to provide students with equal access to highly impactful learning opportunities. ENGAGINGCREATIVEMINDS.ORG
In addition to the events listed above, new events and more detailed information will be updated online at spoletousa.org.
VISUAL ARTS
SPOLETOUSA.ORG 44
GIBB ES MUS EUM OF A R T BEYOND CATFISH ROW: THE ART OF PORGY AND BESS Beyond Catfish Row: The Art of Porgy and Bess celebrates George Gershwin’s famed opera, as interpreted by visual artists since its creation. The exhibition includes a number of paintings from the 1930s era, including works by American realist George Biddle, who illustrated the original Porgy and Bess libretto in 1935. Beyond Catfish Row also includes paintings by Gershwin himself and works by American modernist Henry Botkin, who accompanied the composer to Charleston while he wrote the opera. The 1930s works are paired with more recent interpretations by contemporary artists Kara Walker and Jonathan Green. One of the foremost artists addressing issues of race, class, and gender in America, Walker created a suite of 20 lithographs as illustrations for the Porgy and Bess libretto, published
Porgy and Bess, Embracing, 2013, by Kara Walker (American, b 1969), lithograph, image courtesy of the Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association.
by Arion Press in 2013. Green is the visual designer for Spoleto Festival USA’s 2016 production of Porgy and Bess.
THE THINGS WE CARRY: CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE SOUTH The Things We Carry: Contemporary Art in the South features paintings, sculpture, photography, and mixedmedia works by a diverse group of nationally known contemporary artists. Together, these artists address the difficult history of the South and the many ways it manifests today, including responses to the tragic 2015 shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. This exhibition provides a place where the Charleston community and visitors alike can come together to discuss the city’s past and the impact of the tragic Emanuel shooting, as well as celebrate the spirit of Charleston and the community’s response to social challenges. Participating artists include Bo Bartlett, William Christenberry, Sonya Clark, Andrea Keys Connell, Deborah Luster, Sally Mann, Stephen Marc, Mike Smith, Damian Stamer, and Stacy Lynn Waddell. GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART
135 Meeting Street May 28 – October 9, 2016 MUSEUM HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 10:00am to 5:00pm, Wednesday: 10:00am to 8:00pm, Sunday: 1:00pm to 5:00pm, Monday: Closed gibbesmuseum.org
Cornrow Chair, 2011, by Sonya Clark (American, b. 1967), upholstered found chair, stitched with silk thread, image courtesy of the artist.
MUSIC 45
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW KEVIN HAYES, GUITJO AND VOCALS CORY YOUNTS, MANDOLIN, KEYBOARDS, DRUMS, AND VOCALS CRITTER FUQUA, SLIDE GUITAR, BANJO, GUITAR, AND VOCALS CHANCE MCCOY, GUITAR, FIDDLE, BANJO, VOCALS KETCH SECOR, FIDDLE, HARMONICA, BANJO, AND VOCALS MORGAN JAHNIG, UPRIGHT BASS
Since its discovery by folk icon Doc Watson 15 years ago, Old Crow Medicine Show has won the enthusiastic support of every kind of bluegrass lover. The six-piece band has a double helping of energy and a boundless spirit—that of the traditional art form, and that of their youth. Inducted as members of the Grand Ole Opry in 2013 and two-time Grammy-Award winners, Old Crow Medicine Show is a phenomenally entertaining ensemble, perfectly suited for Charleston’s beautiful Cistern Yard stage, with its drooping Spanish moss and stately columns. Hear an exhilarating performance that is at once steeped in Southern tradition and wide-eyed vitality—a combination sure to create an unforgettable live-music experience. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON CISTERN YARD
Thursday
May 26
9:00pm (Festival Eve)
Friday
May 27
9:00pm
Tickets start at $30 APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES SPONSORED BY SPOLETO SCENE
“OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR A FEW PROMISING SHOOTS OF LIFE SPRINGING FROM THE CREATIVELY BARREN LANDSCAPE, WHILE STILL MAINTAINING THEIR UNDERDOG CHARM AND INDEPENDENT SPIRIT.” – SavingCountryMusic.com
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
843.579.3100 46
CHARLESTON 47
BEHIND THE GARDEN GATE PRESENTED BY THE CHARLESTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA AS PART OF THE GARDEN CONSERVATORY’S NATIONAL OPEN DAYS PROGRAM
Hidden behind ivy-covered walls and artful wrought-iron gates, some of Charleston’s most charming gardens await you. Building on the event’s sold-out popularity of the past three years, Spoleto Festival USA will again collaborate with the Charleston Horticultural Society and The Garden Conservancy to open the gates to 16 of the gorgeous gardens that grace the Holy City. Each of the two weekend tours feature eight gardens on the Peninsula. The tours are self-guided and will be offered rain or shine. Saturday
May 28
between 10:00am and 4:00pm
Saturday
June 4
between 10:00am and 4:00pm
Tickets start at $75 More information about the gardens can be found at opendaysprogram.org beginning March 1, 2016.
FINALE
SPOLETOUSA.ORG 48
WELLS FARGO FESTIVAL FINALE NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS FEATURING
Among those leading a revival of classic soul, Denver-based
music prior to Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats will be
group Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats emphatically
posted at spoletousa.org. The evening will conclude with a
exude a deep, primal, and stirring soulfulness reminiscent
spectacular display of post-concert fireworks bringing the
of singers like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Nathaniel
40th Festival to a celebratory close.
Rateliff, originally a solo singer-songwriter, formed the eight-piece soul band in 2013, and as a unit, they have broken into audacious new territory—effortlessly blending
MIDDLETON PL ACE Sunday
June 12
soul with rock and roll and earning such accolades as “one
Gates and Beer Garden open at 3:30pm
of rock’s best new live acts” (Rolling Stone). Their featured
Live music starts at 4:00pm
performance at the Festival Finale is sure to yield an
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats perform at 8:30pm
enthusiastic response and send the audience home with a feeling of unbridled joy.
Tickets start at $35 for adults; $15 for children (ages 6 – 12) Children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
Arrive early to explore Middleton Place’s stunning landscaped gardens and enjoy refreshments from the Beer Garden while local and regional bands play the main stage throughout the afternoon. A performance schedule for live
Middleton Place is located 14 miles from downtown Charleston. Seating is on the lawn and unreserved. The ticket price includes admittance to Middleton Place. Patrons are welcome to bring their own chairs, blankets, and picnics; food and beverage will also be available for purchase. This event is rain or shine.
SOIRÉE 49
40TH-SEASON SOIRÉE AT THE DEWBERRY
Following the 40th-Season Celebration Concert, we invite you to experience The Dewberry in a special evening commemorating four decades of innovation, artistry, and beauty at Spoleto Festival USA. Toast our landmark Festival season at this elegant, newly opened hotel with a sumptuous supper, sultry jazz, and hand-crafted cocktails, all in the company of Festival artists and patrons at Charleston’s premier event destination. COCKTAIL ATTIRE. THE DEWBERRY, 344 MEETING STREET
Saturday
May 28
8:30pm
$385 per person ($200 tax deductible), Soirée ticket only. Tickets are limited. Purchase a ticket to the pre-Soirée performance of the 40th-Season Celebration Concert (p 2). THE DEWBERRY IS THE OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER OF THE WELLS FARGO JAZZ SERIES.
BECOME A DONOR SPOLETO SOCIETY Members of Spoleto Society ($1,250+) enjoy unparalleled opportunities to experience the best of what the Festival has to offer—benefits range from personal ticketing assistance through our patron services manager to the opportunity to meet artists at exclusive evening parties throughout the Festival.
FESTIVAL CIRCLE Members of Festival Circle ($100+) receive an array of benefits, including advance access to tickets during our donor pre-sale and an invitation to the final dress rehearsal of a featured production.
SPOLETO SCENE Members of Spoleto SCENE ($125 individual membership), the Festival’s young patrons group (age 21 – 39), enjoy specially
priced
SCENE
Selection
ticket
packages,
invitations to SCENE-only parties, happy hours, and behind-the-scenes opportunities during the Festival. SPOLETOUSA.ORG/SUPPORT 843.720.1176
50
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS
French-American Cultural Exchange
The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Sherman Capital Markets, LLC
South State Bank
Hyatt Place & Hyatt House
City of Charleston
The Dewberry
Foundation for the Carolinas
The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund
The Brand Foundation of New York, Inc.
Carolinas HealthCare System
The Albert Sottile Foundation
SunTrust Bank
County of Charleston
The Charles E. and Andrea L. Volpe Charitable Trust
The Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust
South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts
Arthur and Holly Magill Foundation
The Harkness Foundation for Dance
Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Christel DeHaan Family Foundation
Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel
THIS SEASON OF SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART THROUGH FUNDS FROM THE SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ENDOWMENT, GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WELLS FARGO, BANK OF AMERICA, AND BY THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FUNDERS LISTED ABOVE.
PICCOLO SPOLETO Piccolo Spoleto, the official outreach companion to Spoleto Festival USA, partners with the Festival each Spring to host an exuberant 17day celebration of the arts and community. Every year, Piccolo Spoleto features hundreds of free and modestly priced events with a focus on accessibility and participation in the arts. Detailed program information and advance ticketing will be available in the spring at www.piccolospoleto.com or by phoning the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs at 843.724.7305.
INDEX OPERA
Porgy and Bess 3 La Double Coquette 23 The Little Match Girl 13
THEATER
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying Ada/Ava Every Brilliant Thing Golem The Importance of Being Earnest
DANCE
22 10 15 29 7
Aakash Odedra Company 6 Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company 11 Havana Rakatan 33 L.A. Dance Project 27 Opposing Forces 37
MUSIC
Afram ou La Belle Swita 41 Bank of America Chamber Music 25 Choral Fantasy 18 Grace Notes 19 Music In Time 39 Old Crow Medicine Show 45 Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra 9 Westminster Choir Concerts 17 40th-Season Celebration Concert 2
WELLS FARGO JAZZ
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra 32 Bohemian Trio 35 Cécile McLorin Salvant 31
The Freddy Cole Quartet 36 Jason Moran/Fats Waller Dance Party 5 Randy Weston African Rhythms Sextet 16 René Marie 21
AND MORE...
Accommodations 51 Behind the Garden Gate 47 Conversations With 3, 13, 19, 41 Event Calendar 53 40th-Season Soirée 49 Master Classes 6, 11, 37 Porgy and Bess Walking Tour 43 Sponsors 50 Venue Guide 52 Visual Arts 44 Wells Fargo Festival Finale 48
IMAGERY CREDITS: Jonathan Green, covers and pp 3 & 4; Julia Lynn Photography, pp 1 & 2, 9, 17, 53; Clay Patrick McBride, p 5; Chris Nash, p 6; Pat Redmond, pp 7 & 8; Katherine Greenleaf, p 10; Paul B.
Goode, pp 11 & 12; istockphoto.com, pp 13 & 14; Phoebe Cheong, p 15; George Braunschweig, pp 16, 53; shutterstock.com, p 18; courtesy of Carrie Mae Weems and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, pp 19 & 20; Janice Yim, p 21; Mihaela Bodlovic, p 22; Marc Domage, pp 23 & 24, 53; William Struhs, pp 25 & 26, 51; Rose Eichenbaum, pp 27 & 28; Bernhard Mueller, pp 29 & 30, 53; David Garten, p 31; John Abbott, p 32; Alastair Muir, pp 33 & 34, 53; Laura Razzano, p 35; courtesy of Freddy Cole, p 36; Bruce Clayton Tom, pp 37 & 38; Astrid Karger, p 39; courtesy of Renate Rohlfing, p 39; courtesy of Stephen Drury, p 40; Lisa-Marie Mazzucco, p 40; © National Portrait Gallery, London, pp 41 & 42; Doug Hickok p 43, 47; courtesy of the Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association, pp 44; Crackerfarm, pp 45 & 46; Malia James, p 48; courtesy of The Dewberry, p 49.
COVERS: Detail of Jonathan Green’s Three Sisters, 1985.
51
CHARLESTON ACCOMMODATIONS GUIDE ANSONBOROUGH INN (Circa 1900) This 4-Diamond AAA-Rated boutique inn offers complimentary breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese reception. We are walking distance to most Spoleto Festival USA events. 21 Hasell St. / ansonboroughinn.com / 800.723.1655
FRANCIS MARION HOTEL GO! Historic hotel in the grand tradition. In the historic district and walking distance to many Festival venues, restaurants and shops. Rooms and spacious penthouse suites with unsurpassed views of Charleston. Parking, valet. 387 King Street / francismarioncharleston.com / 877.756.2121
CHARLESTON HARBOR RESORT GO! AND MARINA A full-service waterfront resort located on the Charleston Harbor at Patriots Point. The resort offers 125 guestrooms, free parking, three on-site restaurants, complimentary hotel trolley, fitness center, pool, private beachfront, a full service marina, and bike rentals. 20 Patriots Point Road / charlestonharborresort.com / 888.856.0028
HYATT HOUSE CHARLESTON – HISTORIC DISTRICT Our brand new hotel is located in Charleston’s trendy Upper King Historic District with shopping, attractions, and over 25 restaurants within 0.3 miles. Perfect for Spoleto Festival travelers, this hotel offers residential-style accommodations with fullkitchens and upscale amenities including an indoor heated pool, complimentary breakfast buffet featuring a made-to-order omelet station, and free WiFi. 560 King St. / hyatthousecharlestonhistoricdistrict.com / 843.207.2299
CHARLESTON MARRIOTT The Charleston Marriott is conveniently located downtown, one mile from historic district with complimentary parking, recently renovated guestrooms and meeting space, fitness center and pool, and shuttle service to downtown. 170 Lockwood Boulevard / marriottcharleston.com / 843.723.3000 THE COTTAGES ON CHARLESTON HARBOR One of Southern Living’s “Best Places to Stay in Charleston,” The Cottages on Charleston Harbor offer ten twobedroom cottages with spacious living areas, full kitchens, and private waterfront porches. 16 Patriots Point Road / thecottagesoncharlestonharbor.com / 843.849.2300
GO!
SPOLETO!
Learn more about Go Spoleto! hotel and ticket packages at spoletousa.org/gospoleto or when making your hotel reservation with a Go Spoleto! hotel partner.
HYATT PLACE CHARLESTON – HISTORIC DISTRICT Opened Fall 2015, this new hotel is located in Charleston’s Upper King Historic District near shopping, dining, and many Spoleto Festival events. Guests will enjoy spacious rooms, indoor heated pool, complimentary breakfast buffet, and free WiFi. 560 King St. / hyattplacecharlestonhistoricdistrict.com / 843.414.4900 RENAISSANCE CHARLESTON GO! HISTORIC DISTRICT HOTEL An upscale location within steps of the festivities, each turn will surprise and delight. Featuring luxurious full-service accommodations, unique designs that meld historic charm with modern sophistication, plus palate-pleasing culinary delights. 68 Wentworth St. / renaissancecharlestonhotel. com / 843.534.0300
THE DEWBERRY The Dewberry brings a world-class hotel experience to downtown Charleston. Overlooking Marion Square, guests will enjoy thoughtfully curated interiors and unprecedented service in addition to Henrietta’s restaurant, Citrus Club rooftop lounge, and signature day spa. 334 Meeting St. / thedewberrycharleston.com
PARKING GUIDE
GO!
SEE MAP ON PAGE 52
P1 VRTC Garage 63 Mary Street
P6 Marion Square Garage 399 King Street
P11 Wentworth Garage 81 Wentworth Street
P15 M arket/Horlbeck Lot 131 Market Street
P2 Visitor Center Lot 375 Meeting Street
P7 College of Charleston Garage 91 St. Philip Street
P12 M ajestic Square Garage 153 Market Street
P16 Queen Street Garage 93 Queen Street
P3 Aquarium Garage 24 Calhoun Street
P8 George Society Lot 31 George Street
P4 Camden Garage 47 John Street
P9 St. Philip Street Garage 34 St. Philip Street
P13 Cumberland Street Garage 160 Meeting Street
P17 Garage at King and Queen Streets 114-128 King Street
P5 Gaillard Garage 32 Alexander Street
P10 Charleston Place Garage 85 Hasell Street
P14 C oncord Garage 1 Cumberland Street
P18 East Bay Garage 25 Prioleau Street
PARKING GARAGES: There are many parking garages located throughout downtown Charleston. Garages typically charge by the hour. SURFACE PARKING LOTS: Surface lots either charge by the hour or a flat daily rate. METERED PARKING: Most meters are checked 9:00am until 6:00pm Monday through Saturday. Parking at meters is free on Sunday and city holidays. RESIDENTIAL AREAS: Visitors can park for free for one to two hours on residential streets. Time limitations are posted in these areas.
52
MIDDLETON PLACE
1
WOO
LFE S
TREE
T
P1 P2
ER ST.
2
ALEXAND
3 P4
P7
P6
5 7
6
P9
P11
10
4
P3
9 P5
8
P8
P10
P12
QU
EEN
ST.
11 P16
P13
P15
12 P17 P14
14
13 P18
VENUE GUIDE 9
CGC Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St.
13
DST Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St.
6
CIS
12
GIB
11
CLS Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
3
CTL Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, 126 Coming St.
2
College of Charleston Cistern Yard, 66 George St.
CVC Charleston Visitor Center/Spoleto Festival USA Box Office, 375 Meeting St.
5
ROB Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
7
SOT College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.
Gibbes Museum of Art, 135 Meeting St.
MID Middleton Place, 4300 Ashley River Rd. (not on map) 10
MEM Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St
4
STM St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 405 King St.
14
OPN Opening Ceremonies, City Hall, 80 Broad St.
8
5
REC Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
TDA TD Arena at College of Charleston, 301 Meeting St.
1
WSP Woolfe Street Playhouse, 34 Woolfe St.
53
2016 EVENT CALENDAR
LA DOUBLE COQUETTE Page 23
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA ORCHESTRA Page 9, 18
26 MAY: THURSDAY 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest (preview) DST (p 7) 9:00pm Old Crow Medicine Show CIS (p 45)
27 MAY: FRIDAY 12:00pm Opening Ceremonies OPN 1:00pm Chamber I DST (p 25) 5:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 5:00pm Helmut Lachenmann in Conversation REC (p 39) 7:00pm Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) 7:30pm Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company SOT (p 11) 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 9:00pm Old Crow Medicine Show CIS (p 45)
28 MAY: SATURDAY 10:00am Behind the Garden Gate (p 47) (self-guided tours until 4:00pm) 11:00am Chamber I DST (p 25) 1:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 1:00pm Chamber I DST (p 25) 3:00pm Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company SOT (p 11) 3:00pm Conv | Mark Down and Phelim McDermott CLS (p 13) 5:00pm Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) 6:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 7:00pm 40th-Season Celebration Concert CGC (p 2) 7:00pm Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) 8:30pm 40th-Season Soirée (p 49) 8:30pm La Double Coquette DST (p 23) 9:00pm Arturo O’Farrill CIS (p 32)
29 MAY: SUNDAY 11:00am Chamber II DST (p 25) 1:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 1:00pm Chamber II DST (p 25) 3:00pm Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company SOT (p 11) 3:00pm Conv | Jonathan Green and David Herskovits ROB (p 4) Bold = opening performance
GOLEM Page 29
HAVANA RAKATAN Page 33
3:30pm La Double Coquette DST (p 23) 5:00pm The Conversation Continued REC (p 31, 35) 7:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 7:00pm René Marie CGC (p 21) 7:30pm The Little Match Girl MEM (p 13) 8:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 9:00pm Arturo O’Farrill CIS (p 32)
30 MAY: MONDAY 11:00am Chamber II DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber III DST (p 25) 3:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 3:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 5:00pm Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) 5:00pm Westminster Choir Concert CTL (p 17) 7:00pm Ada/Ava ROB (p 10) 7:00pm Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) 7:30pm Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7)
31 MAY: TUESDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 5:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm
Chamber III DST (p 25) Chamber III DST (p 25) Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) Bohemian Trio REC (p 35) The Little Match Girl MEM (p 13) La Double Coquette DST (p 23)
1 JUNE: WEDNESDAY 11:00am 1:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm
Chamber IV DST (p 25) Chamber IV DST (p 25) Aakash Odedra Company ROB (p 6) Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) La Double Coquette DST (p 23) Ancient Voices of Children WSP (p 40)
RANDY WESTON Page 16
HOW TO BUY TICKETS Tickets available online and over the phone beginning January 14. Visit spoletousa.org for information about pre-sale access for donors. ONLINE:
SPOLETOUSA.ORG BY PHONE:
843.579.3100 IN PERSON:
Spoleto Festival USA Box Office Charleston Visitor Center 375 Meeting Street Charleston, SC 29403
MARCH 14 – APRIL 30 Monday – Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm
MAY 1 – JUNE 11 Monday – Sunday 9:00am – 5:00pm
SUNDAY, JUNE 12 9:00am – 2:00pm IN ADDITION,
BEGINNING MAY 2: Spoleto Festival USA Box Office Charleston Gaillard Center 95 Calhoun Street Charleston, SC 29401
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA
843.579.3100 54
2 JUNE: THURSDAY
7 JUNE: TUESDAY
11 JUNE: SATURDAY
11:00am Chamber IV DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber V DST (p 25) 6:00pm Aakash Odedra Company ROB (p 6) 7:00pm The Little Match Girl MEM (p 13) 7:00pm Randy Weston CGC (p 16) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 9:00pm A Maze (With Grace) WSP (p 40)
11:00am Chamber VIII DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber VIII DST (p 25) 5:00pm Serynade with an Automated Sunrise REC (p 39) 6:00pm A Gambler’s Guide to Dying ROB (p 22) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm Choral Fantasy CGC (p 18)
11:00am Chamber X DST (p 25) 1:00pm A Gambler’s Guide to Dying ROB (p 22) 1:00pm Chamber XI DST (p 25) 2:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 2:00pm Havana Rakatan CGC (p 33) 3:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 5:00pm Every Brilliant Thing WSP (p 15) 5:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 5:00pm Opposing Forces MEM (p 37) 7:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 7:00pm Havana Rakatan CGC (p 33) 8:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7)
3 JUNE: FRIDAY 11:00am Chamber V DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber V DST (p 25) 5:00pm Westminster Choir Concert CTL (p 17) 6:00pm Aakash Odedra Company ROB (p 6) 7:00pm Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm Music for 18 Musicians MEM (p 9) 9:00pm Cécile McLorin Salvant CIS (p 31)
4 JUNE: SATURDAY 10:00am Behind the Garden Gate (p 47) (self-guided tours until 4:00pm) 11:00am Chamber VI DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber VI DST (p 25) 2:00pm The Little Match Girl MEM (p 13) 3:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 5:00pm Aakash Odedra Company ROB (p 6) 5:00pm Ein Kinderspiel and Spoletudes REC (p 39) 7:00pm Grace Notes SOT (p 19) 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm L.A. Dance Project CGC (p 27) 9:00pm Afram ou La Belle Swita WSP (p 41) 9:00pm Jason Moran CIS (p 5)
5 JUNE: SUNDAY 11:00am Chamber VI DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber VII DST (p 25) 1:00pm L.A. Dance Project CGC (p 27) 3:00pm Conv | Carrie Mae Weems CLS (p 19) 5:00pm Aakash Odedra Company ROB (p 6) 5:00pm Afram ou La Belle Swita WSP (p 41) 7:00pm L.A. Dance Project CGC (p 27) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm Grace Notes SOT (p 19)
6 JUNE: MONDAY 11:00am Chamber VII DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber VII DST (p 25) 3:00pm Conv | Duane Davis CLS (p 41) 5:00pm Chamber Orchestra Concert STM (p 9) 7:00pm Afram ou La Belle Swita WSP (p 41)
8 JUNE: WEDNESDAY 11:00am Chamber VIII DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber IX DST (p 25) 3:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 5:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 6:00pm A Gambler’s Guide to Dying ROB (p 22) 6:00pm Opposing Forces MEM (p 37) 7:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 7:00pm Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) 8:00pm Every Brilliant Thing WSP (p 15) 8:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 8:00pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7)
9 JUNE: THURSDAY 11:00am Chamber IX DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber IX DST (p 25) 5:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 6:00pm Every Brilliant Thing WSP (p 15) 6:00pm Opposing Forces MEM (p 37) 7:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm A Gambler’s Guide to Dying ROB (p 22) 8:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 8:00pm Havana Rakatan CGC (p 33)
10 JUNE: FRIDAY 11:00am Chamber X DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber X DST (p 25) 5:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 6:00pm A Gambler’s Guide to Dying ROB (p 22) 6:00pm Opposing Forces MEM (p 37) 7:00pm The Freddy Cole Quartet REC (p 36) 7:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 8:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 8:30pm Havana Rakatan CGC (p 33) 9:00pm Every Brilliant Thing WSP (p 15)
FOLLOW THE FESTIVAL
12 JUNE: SUNDAY 11:00am Chamber XI DST (p 25) 1:00pm Chamber XI DST (p 25) 1:00pm Opposing Forces MEM (p 37) 2:00pm Golem SOT (p 29) 2:00pm Porgy and Bess CGC (p 3) 3:30pm The Importance of Being Earnest DST (p 7) 3:30pm Festival Finale MID (p 48)
SAVE THE DATES Spoleto Festival USA 2017: May 26 – June 11
SENIOR AND MILITARY DISCOUNTS Senior citizens and military personnel may receive discounts on select performances with valid identification. Discounts may apply only to certain seating sections.
STUDENT DISCOUNTS For information about our Spoleto Student Ticket program, please visit spoletousa.org.
GROUP SALES Discounted rates are available for groups of 12 or more on selected performances. For more information, call 843.720.1116. Please call the box office at 843.579.3100 to request accessible seating. Program, artists, venues, and pricing are subject to change without notice. All running times are approximate.
LATE SEATING: Patrons arriving late to a performance will be seated solely at the house manager’s discretion. All audience members, regardless of age, must have a ticket. Lawn chairs are prohibited at all College of Charleston Cistern Yard events.
SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA 14 GEORGE STREET CHARLESTON, SC 29401-1524
Design: Stitch Design Co., Charleston, SC
SPOLETOUSA.ORG
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID ATLANTA, GA PERMIT No. 5982
CELEBRATING ITS 40TH SEASON IN 2016, FOR 17 DAYS AND NIGHTS, SPOLETO FESTIVAL USA FILLS CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA’S HISTORIC THEATERS, CHURCHES, AND OUTDOOR SPACES WITH PERFORMANCES BY RENOWNED ARTISTS AS WELL AS EMERGING PERFORMERS IN DANCE, MUSIC, OPERA, AND THEATER.