101 / 124
7:30 PM TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2018
MARTIN THEATRE
THOMAS HAMPSON,
baritone
LUCA PISARONI,
bass-baritone
KEVIN MURPHY,
piano
No Tenors Allowed
MOZART
“Non più andrai” from
e Marriage of Figaro
Luca Pisaroni
MOZART
“Hai già vinta la causa” from
e Marriage of Figaro
omas Hampson
MOZART
“Madamina il catalogo è questo” from
Don Giovanni
Luca Pisaroni
MOZART
“Eh via bu one” from
Don Giovanni
omas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni
MOZART
“Deh, vieni alla nestra, o mio tesoro” from
Don Giovanni
omas Hampson
LEONCAVALLO
Intermezzo from
Pagliacci
*
Kevin Murphy
MASSENET
“Vision fugitive” from
Hérodiade
*
omas Hampson
GOUNOD
“Vous qui faites l’endormie” from
Faust
Luca Pisaroni
VERDI
“Restate!” from
Don Carlo
*
omas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni
–
–
(
program continued on next page
)
FEMI KUTI & THE POSITIVE FORCE
Femi Kuti is the heart and soul of modern
Afrobeat, expanding the music’s vocabulary
with his band,
e Positive Force, by adding
hints of punk and hip-hop while maintaining
the roots of the genre, sowed by Femi’s father,
Fela Anikulapo Kuti. In addition to mixing tra-
ditional Nigerian drum patterns and the smooth
groove of highlife with American soul, funk, and
R&B to create insistent dance beat, throughout
its history Afrobeat has bristled with political
and social messages. At home in Nigeria, Femi
and his band established e Shrine, a dancehall
and concert space memorializing his father that
provides both a gathering place for fans of any
generation and a rallying spot for activists and
dancers. Kuti has become a spokesperson for
UNICEF’s crusade for the rights of children and
an advocate for HIV/AIDS education and pre-
vention, as well as a community leader and in-
spiration for Africa’s resistance to colonial men-
tality and economic hardship. Regularly playing
at
e Shrine allows Kuti to develop his music
organically from interactions with the cultural
and political voices of his fans and amplify them
through song. On his latest record,
One People
One World
, Kuti takes a turn even closer to his
and Afrobeat’s African roots with combinations
of reggae, highlife, soul, R&B, and other African
and Caribbean avors driven by potent horn
lines.
e disc still carries the weight of poli-
tics, but, for the rst time, Kuti includes love
songs and celebrations of common humanity.
He recorded most of the album in Lagos, not
only with
e Positive Force but also with his
son, Madé, who is studying music in England
at Trinity College, where Fela also studied.
e
title track is a plea for global unity, while “Africa
Will Be Great Again” entreats the continent to
rise above corruption and “E Dey
eir Body”
combines multilayered percussion reminiscent
of New Orleans second lines with blazing horns
to call for a return to political sanity. Femi Kuti
& e Positive Force played Ravinia in
and
are making their rst return to the festival.
AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 12, 2018 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE
99