Alastair Willis describes himself as a "theater guy."
"I've grown up in the theater," says Willis, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for The Symphonia. "I've been in musicals, plays, dances, operas. I was on London's West End for 14 months back in the day."
And so Willis turned to the world of theater for inspiration in crafting the program for The Symphonia's next concert, titled Distant Lands.
The performance features the overture to L’ Amant Anonyme, a comic opera by 18th Century composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Bologne was the first-known classical music composer of African descent.
"He wrote some unbelievable music," says Willis. "He was not just a composer, but a violinist and a world champion fencer. And he actually knew Mozart and Haydn."
Also on the program is the Haydn Symphony No. 60 (“Il Distratto”). The piece first saw the light of day as incidental music for a comedy by a French playwright.
In addition, the Symphonia will perform Fantasia on Greensleeves from Sir John in Love by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which is based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Capping off the concert is Anna Clyne's Sound and Fury, which draws upon two works for its inspiration: both the aforementioned Haydn symphony and Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
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IF YOU GO:
The Symphonia
Concert III: "Distant Lands"
Sunday, January 21
3:00 PM
(Pre-Concert Conversation 2:00 – 2:30 p.m.)
Countess de Hoernle Theatre at
Spanish River High School
5100 Jog Road
Boca Raton, FL 33496
For ticket information, visit thesymphonia.org.
