Ravinia 2021 - Issue 2

BONNIE PERKINSON (CONLON); TYLER RYE (HAGEN) BONNIE PERKINSON (CONLON); TYLER RYE (HAGEN) JAMES CONLON, conductor Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 1974, James Conlon has conducted virtually every major North American and Europe- an orchestra. A highly versatile conductor, Conlon has been engaged as music director of Los Angeles Opera since 2006 and be- gins his first season as artistic advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra this fall. In 2017 he became principal conductor of Italy’s RAI National Symphony Orchestra, the first American to hold the position. For 11 years (2005–15) Conlon was Ravinia’s music direc- tor, a milestone of his now 33-season, 175-con- cert relationship with the festival that began in 1977. During his tenure, he led complete cycles of Mahler’s symphonies and Mozart’s piano concertos, several concert and semi- staged operas, and gala performances fea- turing Van Cliburn, Plácido Domingo, Patti LuPone, and Jessye Norman, among many others. Conlon is Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival—in recognition of his 37 years (1979–2016) as its leader, one of the longest tenures at any American clas- sical music institution—and he has also been principal conductor of the Paris Opera (1995– 2004); general music director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2002), leading both the Gürzenich Orchestra and Cologne Opera; and music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983–91). His extensive opera credits include over 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera since his 1976 debut, as well as conducting at Teatro alla Scala, Vien- na State Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Covent Garden, the Mariinsky Theater, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Conlon has received the Roger E. Joseph Prize from the Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion (2013), the Anti-Defamation League’s Crystal Globe Award (2007), and the Zeminsky Prize (1999) for his worldwide efforts to program and highlight composers who were silenced by the Nazi regime. His honors also include four Grammy Awards, the Medal of the American Liszt Society, the Sachs Fund Prize for his cultural contributions to Cincinnati, and the inaugural Opera News Award, as well as being named to Italy’s Order of Merit and France’s Order of Arts and Letters and Legion of Honor. WILLIAM HAGEN, violin Having taken up the violin at age 4, William Hagen made his professional debut as a so- loist at age 9 with the Utah Symphony and conductor Keith Lockhart. The following year, he began formal studies with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School in Los Ange- les. After working with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School for two years, Hagen reunit- ed with Lipsett at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, and he subsequently trained with Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. He has also studied at the Verbier Academy, the Perlman Music Program, and the Aspen Music Festival. The third-prize winner of the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition—then the highest ranking American in the competi- tion in 30 years—Hagen has given numerous performances in Belgium, including with the Brussels Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, and Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as several recitals at the Center for Fine Arts in Brussels. In recent seasons, Hagen made debuts with the Ore- gon Symphony (Carlos Kalmar conducting), Frankfurt Radio Symphony (Christoph Es- chenbach), and Seattle Symphony (Pablo Rus Broseta), and returned to the Utah Sympho- ny (Matthias Pintscher) and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Andrew Gourlay). He has also performed with the San Francisco, Detroit, North Carolina, and Omaha Sym- phonies, Sacramento and Savannah Phil- harmonics, and Symphoria, and this season he debuts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Rheingau Music Festival. At Aspen, Hagen collaborated with conductors Nicolas McGegan and Ludovic Morlot, who he reunited with alongside the Pasadena Symphony and Brussels Chamber Orchestra respectively, and he has also worked with such leaders as Marin Alsop, Christian Arm- ing, Plácido Domingo, Miguel Harth-Be- doya, Michel Tabachnik, and Hugh Wolff. As a chamber musician, Hagen has performed at Wigmore Hall and the Louvre, among many other venues, with such artists as violinist Gidon Kremer, violist Tabea Zimmermann, cellist Steven Isserlis, and the Jupiter Cham- ber Players. William Hagen made his Ravinia debut in 2o17 and tonight returns to make his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut. 8:00 PM SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 2021 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TEDDY ABRAMS, conductor † MORGAN JAMES, vocalist SHELÉA, vocalist BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL, vocalist TONY YAZBECK, vocalist and dancer † VOCALITY JOSEPHINE LEE, artistic director Unboxing Bernstein: A Live Revue BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from ‘On the Town’ The Great Lover Displays Himself Lonely Town: Pas de deux Times Square: 1944 BERNSTEIN “Lonely Town” from On the Town Tony Yazbeck BERNSTEIN “Some Other Time” from On the Town (arr. Mitchell) Brian Stokes Mitchell; Teddy Abrams, piano BERNSTEIN “100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man” from Wonderful Town Sheléa BERNSTEIN “What a Waste” from Wonderful Town * Brian Stokes Mitchell BERNSTEIN “Swing” from Wonderful Town * Morgan James; Tony Yazbeck (choreography by Tony Yazbeck) DAVID PACK/ “Thank You for the Big Heart” JAMIE BERNSTEIN Morgan James; Teddy Abrams, piano BERNSTEIN “My New Friends” from The Madwoman of Central Park West * Sheléa; Teddy Abrams, piano BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide BERNSTEIN “Glitter and Be Gay” from Candide Morgan James BERNSTEIN Erixymachus from Serenade (after Plato’s ‘Symposium’) BERNSTEIN “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story (arr. Mitchell) Brian Stokes Mitchell BERNSTEIN “Tonight” from West Side Story Morgan James; Tony Yazbeck BERNSTEIN “Somewhere” from West Side Story Sheléa BERNSTEIN “Mambo” from West Side Story BERNSTEIN “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide Tony Yazbeck (Candide); Morgan James (Cunegonde); Brian Stokes Mitchell (Pangloss); Sheléa (Paquette); Vocality There will be no intermission in this program. † Ravinia debut * First performance at Ravinia PAVILION RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 53