DRESSING ROOM Book and lyrics by Mimi Scott; music by Matthew Gandolfo; directed and choreographed by Dennis Edenfield; musical direction and accompaniment by Lloyd Arriola; sets by Christopher Casoria; costumes by Jean Claude Mastroianni; lighting by David Zeffren; production stage management by Christina Massie; general management, Dana Matthow.
The program features a rich visual accompaniment, directed by the astronomer Duncan Copp.
As a song composer, he ranged from the complex and highly organized to the extremely simple, strophic type; his melodic invention is always original and direct, while the accompaniments are deeply evocative without ever being merely picturesque.
Perahia was preceded as soloist by Joshua Bell in Saint-Saëns Op 28 Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, for which Bell directed the orchestral accompaniment while spinning the solo part's filigree webs with his customary grace and charm.
This unique tradition of singing or chanting poetry to harp accompaniment is a direct descendent of the form used by early bards to intone poetry in praise of their kings and princes.
Dreems enlisted London artist Hans Lo to direct a full length video accompaniment to the entire album, divvied up into four parts.
On occasion he directs choral concerts with orchestral accompaniment, but till that evening, he had never, ever, changed batons in midstream with a renowned musical figure whose part in the tribute was to listen courteously from offstage.
Their second act number was better, though they were accompanied I believe by a backing track instead of the orchestra, with only the cellist Luis Bravo (who created and directed Forever Tango) as live accompaniment.
As in his work, the vocal line was central (Damián Alejandro Padró and Reynaldo González Fernández were the direct, expressive singers), but the percussion accompaniment was almost as fully in the spotlight.
"The Iron Horse," a silent film directed by John Ford with live musical accompaniment by Ben Model of the Museum of Modern Art.
