Barry Edelstein, artistic director of Old Globe, at the head of a classical music and theater wedding with L.A. Phil's "Tempest"



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Just a few months ago, the San Diego Old Globe staged an outdoor production of "The Tempest" at its annual Shakespeare Festival.

Now, the Balboa Park Theater has a role to play in a very different "Tempest", even on a larger scale, which is about to blow in the city.

Not our city, however – Los Angeles.

On Thursday, the L.A. Philharmonic will open at the Disney Concert Hall, for three days, the great fantastic work of the Bard, led by Barry Edelstein, artistic director of the Globe, Erna Finci Viterbi.

The production is directed by Susanna Mälkki, principal guest conductor of L.A. Phil.

Why does a symphony orchestra play a Shakespeare play? Among the artistic responses to "The Tempest" over the centuries, there is the fortuitous fortuitous music of Jean Sibelius, composed by the Finnish composer in 1925.

While orchestras often played a more condensed version of two sequels later, the LA Phil returns to Sibelius' original work, rarely performed – and staged a full production of "The Tempest" with it.

The occasion of this partnership with the Globe is the continuous celebration of his 100th season by the orchestra, for which he has set up numerous collaborations.

And that's what we do brilliantly. The cast includes two Tony Award nominees: Beth Malone (who plays Ariel), best known for her role in Broadway's Fun Home, and Tom McGowan (Caliban), nominated for "The Beast".

Lior Ashkenazi, Israeli actor of the stage and the cinema, badumes the main role of the banned sorcerer Prospero, role played by Kate Burton to the Globe (under the name of changed character of genre Prospera). Audrey Corsa plays Prospero's little girl, Miranda.

Other players include Grantham Coleman (Ferdinand), who played the lead role in "Hamlet" at The Globe in 2016; and versatile actor Mark Pinter (Gonzalo), based in San Diego, who has had many memorable turning points in the city.

They are joined by the actor-scriptwriter Michael Genet in the role of Alonso; screenwriter and actor Ruy Iskandar as Sebastian; mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, who shares the role of Ariel with Malone; Broadway veteran Peter MacNicol (also known for television "Ally McBeal"), who shares Stephano's role with baritone Jarett Ott; baritone Timothy Mix, who shares Caliban's role with McGowan; and film and television star Cornell Womack in the role of Antonio.

As Edelstein explained last month, while the production was in rehearsal, the partnership between Globe and LA Phil was created after the executive director of the orchestra attended a performance of the 2016 "Hamlet" in which Coleman was the star

"Then I got a call saying," Hey, this is our 100th birthday and we're all doing these crazy projects. One of the things we do is this Shakespeare series, and the next one we're going to do is "The Storm." Would you like to do it?

Edelstein then spent a year preparing to lead the work.

It is important to note that this is not a symphonic performance with a bit of Shakespeare scored.

"We are producing a full production of" The Tempest "- the whole piece," said Edelstein, a nationally renowned director and disciple of Shakespeare.

"The difference is that normally, when I make a Shakespeare production with live music, it's a composer I ordered, and maybe it's two or three musicians.

"Here is an existing score of 1925 – and 120 musicians!" He says, laughing. (To be more specific, the orchestra has 80 musicians and a choir of 40 people, as well as cast actors and opera singers.)

"The scale is a little different. Not to mention the fact that it is played in a concert hall rather than in a theater. But in a fun way in rehearsal, I feel like I'm in a (normal) rehearsal – playing a Shakespeare play, which I can do.

"The joker is the collaboration with the conductor and the orchestra. And so far, it has been an extremely wonderful educational experience for me. "

& # 39; The storm & # 39;

When: 20h Thursday Friday; 2 pm Saturday.

Or: Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

TicketsApproximately $ 25 – $ 209

Phone: (323) 850-2000

Online: laphil.com

[email protected]

Twitter: @jimhebert

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