JENELL TAYLOR
Staff Writer
At 6:30 p.m. today in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall, the School of Art and the Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory will join forces in a new Visual Arts-Opera event.
Working in groups consisting of two to four people, 15 resident artists from the SOA have been paired with operatic performers to create visual art pieces in response to the singers’ art songs, which are vocal performances inspired by poems.
Pianists from the School of Music Piano Program will provide the singers with a backdrop for their musical poetry, featuring pieces from renowned composers such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Jean Sibelius and Richard Strauss.
As the singers perform their art songs, the accompanying visual pieces will be projected behind them, offering attendees a multi-sensory artistic experience that reflects upon the intersections of the literary, musical and visual arts.
This collaboration is the culmination of conversations between Director of Chautauqua Opera Conservatory Jonathan Beyer and Erika B. Hess, the Sydelle Sonkin and Herb Siegel artistic director of the Visual Arts. Hess and Beyers said they envisioned a joint collaboration with the schools because of their shared values: teamwork, community building and a fierce dedication to the artistic world of Chautauqua.
“Join us for an evening where song inspires art — and art inspires new ways of hearing,” Beyer said.
In a joint anticipatory statement shared by Chautauqua Visual Arts, Hess and Beyer said they are excited for Chautauquans to experience the new fusion and that the schools “hope to continue collaborating for future seasons.”
