The Valparaiso University Graduate School’s Arts and Entertainment Administration Program will present a free colloquium celebrating the bicentennial of Verdi and Wagner at 2 p.m. on October 6 at Valparaiso University Center for the Art’s Duesenberg Recital Hall, 1709 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN. Contact Dr. Robert Vodnoy at (219) 928-8671 or Adrien Brizzolara at (219) 728-4338 for more information.
This year marks the 200th birthday of two of the most famous and influential opera composers. In 1813, Italy’s Giuseppe Verdi and Germany’s Richard Wagner were born. Community members are invited to join students and faculty at Valparaiso University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 6th for a colloquium that will explore why the music of Verdi and Wagner is still so popular today. The colloquium, presented by the Graduate School’s Arts and Entertainment Administration program, will include presentations and discussions led by faculty members Robert Vodnoy, Ericka Grodrian, and Kari-Anne Innes, as well as a scene from Verdi’s Otello performed by faculty member Sarah Gartshore and student Jocelyn Hansen with accompaniment by faculty member Nicole Lee. The colloquium will take place in the Duesenberg Recital Hall inside of the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts, 1709 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN. Admission is free.
Although very different – Verdi explored human emotions through the expressive power of music and Wagner crafted epic musical tales of heroes and legends – the enduring works of these two composers are among the most frequently performed operas around the world to this day, according to statistics on Operabase.com. In the 2012 – 2013 season, Verdi’s La Traviata was performed more often than any other opera. This year, music fans all over the world are hosting events to celebrate the bicentennial of these two great composers. “It would be great to have members from my community join me and my fellow classmates and professors on October 6th,” graduate student Adrien Brizzolara says. The colloquium will discuss what it is about Verdi and Wagner’s music that has kept it alive and well so many years later.
The bicentennial celebration will continue on Monday, October 21st with a trip to Chicago to see the Lyric Opera’s widely acclaimed new production of Verdi’s Otello. All members of the Northwest Indiana community are invited. “The trip provides an opportunity to community members to join Valparaiso University graduate students, faculty, and other Northwest Indiana opera lovers to see this operatic masterpiece,” says Dr. Robert Vodnoy, professor at Valparaiso University and organizer of the October 6th colloquium. Tickets for the Otello start at $36 (a 20% discount) and include a pre-performance discussion about Otello at the Lyric Opera. Transportation and dinner in Chinatown are an additional $20 each. Visit http://www.valpo.edu/alumni/events/2013otello.php or call Kari-Anne Innes 219-464-6843 to purchase tickets or to get more information.