According to The Globe Theatre, the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around the humorous midsummer adventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors, and their interactions with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.  The play is replete with complicated, confusing romantic intrigues, mischief and trickery, but in the end, all ends well.

Mendelssohn’s incidental music for the play was written at the request of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia in 1843.  Though such collaborations were not unusual at that time, contemporary audiences seldom have the opportunity to enjoy the two works performed together, creating a must-see opportunity for Winston-Salem audiences.

The February 5 concert is part of the Symphony’s Kicked-Back Classics Series.  Orchestra level tickets for this concert are priced at $15, $25 and $35; student rush tickets are $6 at the door.  The February 6 and 8 concerts are Classics Series concerts, with ticket prices ranging from $15 - $55; student rush tickets are $6 at the door.    For advance tickets, call 336-464-0145 or visit the Symphony website:  www.wssymphony.org/midsummer. 

SCHEDULE OF SYMPHONY EVENTS FOR A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Music Lovers’ Luncheon
Friday, February 4, 2011 at 12:00 noon
The Piedmont Club
Music Director Robert Moody is joined by UNCSA Drama School Dean Gerald Freedman to discuss A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Includes audience Q&A.
$15 per person, includes lunch
Reservations required: 336.724.7077  

Kicked-Back Classics Series Concert:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Stevens Center of the UNC School of the Arts
Ticket prices are $15, $25, $35; student rush $6 at the door

Brews with Bob (or Root Beer with Robert)
Saturday, February 5, 2011, immediately following the concert
Noma Urban Bar and Grill
10% off food purchases with ticket stub!

Classics Series Concerts:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
Stevens Center of the UNC School of the Arts
Ticket prices are $15 - $55; student rush $6 at the door

Postludes: Post Concert Q&A
Q&A with Robert Moody and Gerald Freedman immediately following the Sunday and Tuesday concerts. 

Bios

Director Gerald Freedman is the Dean of the School of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), one of the leading undergraduate acting conservatories in the nation.  An Obie Award winner and the first American invited to direct at the Globe Theatre in London, he is regarded internationally for his direction of productions of classic drama, musical, operas, new plays and television.  He served as leading director of Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival from 1960 to 1971, the last four years as Artistic Director.  He was Co-Artistic Director of John Houseman’s The Acting

Company from 1974 to 1977, Artistic Director of the American Shakespeare Theatre from 1978 to 1979 and Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1985 to 1997.  Mr. Freedman has staged 29 of Shakespeare’s plays, along with dozens of other world classics.  He made theater history with his Off-Broadway premiere of the landmark rock musical Hair, which opened the Public Theater in 1967.  Broadway direction includes The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour, the revival of West Side Story co-directed with Jerome Robbins, the premiere of Arthur Miller’s The Creation of the World and Other Business and Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession.  Mr. Freedman also directed opera productions for the Opera Society of Washington (Kennedy Center), the San Francisco Opera Company and the New York City Opera.  Prior to assuming his current position at UNCSA, he taught at Yale University and The Juilliard School.  A native of Lorain, Ohio, he received both is bachelor’s and master’s degrees (summa cum laude) from Northwestern University, and trained with Alvina Krause, Emmy Joseph and at The Actors Studio.

Soprano Carla LeFevre has extensive experience in the performance of oratorio and art song, and her operatic repertoire includes numerous leading roles. She is a versatile singer with over 50 oratorio performances ranging from the Bach passions to the Verdi Requiem, and opera roles that include Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina and the Governess in Britten’s Turn of the Screw. Her strength as a musician is notably demonstrated in her performances of contemporary music.  Recently she captivated her listeners in a performance of Schönberg’s highly challenging Pierrot Lunaire.  She is also known for her ability to engage audiences by adapting her vocal style to the Broadway genre.   A graduate of the University of Iowa, Ms. LeFevre holds the doctorate in vocal performance, and is a professor of voice at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

American mezzo-soprano Janine Hawley has achieved accolades for her critically acclaimed performances of roles ranging from Carmen to Cherubino in opera houses throughout the United States.   Ms. Hawley has distinguished herself in several productions of Carmen, where Opera News noted that "she placed her stamp on Bizet's Gypsy at her first entrance, a tough provocative Carmen providing the sensual centerpiece for the evening, negotiating all the arias with lithe grace, her portrayal gaining in tragic stature as the opera reached its climax."  She has worked with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Festival of New Jersey, and Chicago Opera Theater, and the Washington, New Orleans, New York City, Florida Grand, Utah, Boston Lyric, Tulsa, Connecticut, Fort Worth, Sacramento, and Chautauqua operas.  Her other roles include Komponiste in Ariadne auf Naxos, Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Stèphano in Romèo et Juliette, Siebel in Faust, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri, Angelina in La Cenerentola, and Suzuki in Madame Butterfly.  Ms. Hawley is a graduate of Indiana and Columbia universities and is a recipient of a George London grant, Diva/Parfums Ungaro Young Artist of the Year, and Center for Contemporary Opera finalist.  Ms. Hawley is an adjunct faculty member at both the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Greensboro College

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