Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 14 West Side Story
M U S I C A L N O T E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O 32 | May 3 - June 2, 2019 Pooling imagination and virtuosity, they have written a profoundly moving show that is as ugly as the city jungles and also pathetic, tender and forgiving. [Tony and Maria’s] balcony scene on the rescape [ sic ] of a dreary tenement is tender and a ecting. From that moment on, West Side Story is an incandescent piece of work that nds o bits of beauty amid the rubbish of the streets. Everything contributes to the total impression of wildness, ecstasy and anguish. 8 West Side Story is one of the world’s most honored and most often performed shows, and exciting productions like Francesca Zambello’s – produced at Glimmerglass, Houston, now at Lyric – continue to renew its hold on audiences. Much ink has been spilled in explaining why it remains a seminal work of American musical theater. Among today’s commentators on the show, Jamie Bernstein, the composer’s daughter, has been particularly eloquent and deserves the last word: [Bernstein] was somebody who was always trying to make the world a better place. e best vehicle was through his own music. West Side Story was his most successful attempt to use his music to explore the di culties we all live within our world and to use music as almost a kind of healing process. West Side Story is about hatred, intolerance, fear of strangers arriving in your neigh- borhood – these are issues as urgent for us today as they were back then. My father’s music really gives us a language with which to explore these issues and nd ways to resolve them. 9 Roger Pines, dramaturg of Lyric Opera of Chicago, has appeared annually on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts’ “Opera Quiz” for the past 13 years. He contributes regularly to opera-related publications and recording companies internationally. He has recently presented lectures at the inaugural Teatro Nuovo bel canto opera festival (New York), the Newberry Library, and DePaul University’s Opera Department. 8 e New York Times, Sept. 27, 1957. 9 From interview with Clive Gillinson for Google Arts & Culture, Nov. 1, 2017. e electrifying Chita Rivera onstage in West Side Story as Anita, the role she created in 1957. LEO KHARIBIAN PEOPLE OF LYRIC From artists to administrators, People of Lyric takes you behind the scenes and introduces you to the casts and characters who make up the Lyric family. Now, it’s your chance to take center stage! Whether you’re a donor, subscriber, or newly minted opera fan, we want to hear from you. Submit your own video, photo, or Lyric story at lyricopera.org/PeopleOfLyric for the chance to win tickets, gift certificates, swag and more. LYRICOPERA.ORG/PEOPLEOFLYRIC
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