On Saturday evening, March 7 at Lakewood Congregational Church, soprano Hélène Brunet joined Debra Nagy (oboe), Mélisande Corriveau (viola da gamba), and Eric Milnes (harpsichord) in new pairings of French Baroque arias with 20th-century love laments. This is a radical idea that can work superbly, since the theme of unrequited love is universal and knows no temporal boundaries. But you need...
News & Reviews, The White Cat / 25.02.2020
The White Cat: What will we hear?
This April, Les Délices Artistic Debra Nagy has assembled a fabulous creative team to create a new musical entertainment based on 17th & 18th century sources. Every element - from the 17th century fairytale, to set pieces, ornament, and visual projections - takes some inspiration from the Baroque era. The newly-created score is no exception! In music, a pasticcio or...
Artists, News & Reviews, The White Cat / 25.02.2020
Creating the White Cat: Interview with Puppet Designer Ian Petroni
Well-known for his collaborative work for the Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual Parade the Circle, Cleveland-based designer-builder Ian Petroni excels at building sculptural, site-specific sets and props that solve unique problems. Ian will conceive and create the sets and puppets for Into the Labyrinth and The White Cat, for which he will use different styles of puppetry – ranging from...
News & Reviews, The White Cat / 25.02.2020
Creating the White Cat: Interview with director Jason McStoots
Tenor Jason McStoots is a beloved, long-time collaborator who will not only perform the character of The Prince in Les Délices' upcoming productions of Into the Labyrinth and The White Cat, but will also serve as Stage Director. In addition to his performing career, McStoots is an experienced stage director and dedicated educator. He has stage directed operas with the Connecticut...
Artists, News & Reviews, The White Cat / 25.02.2020
Creating the White Cat: Interview with librettist Larry Rosenwald
Les Délices' Artistic Director Debra Nagy commissioned Larry Rosenwald to write the libretto for The White Cat. Having decided early on that everyone – from age 5 to 95 – should understand everything that was going on without supertitles or translations, Nagy knew that meant commissioning poetry in English to be set to 18th century music. She couldn't think of...
News & Reviews, The White Cat / 24.02.2020
The White Cat – What’s it about?
This April, Les Délices and a team of fabulous collaborators will create The White Cat, a fairytale-based opera inspired by Baroque entertainments and based on the story by 17th-century author Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy. Who is d'Aulnoy and what is The White Cat about? Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy In the world of fairytales, d'Aulnoy is probably the most important writer you've never heard of. She literally invented the...
News & Reviews, The White Cat / 21.02.2020
First Look: The White Cat
[caption id="attachment_17779" align="alignleft" width="183"] The King puppet designed by Ian Petroni, illustrated by Nina Huryn[/caption] We're incredibly excited to be premiering The White Cat, a new pastiche entertainment based on Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy's 17th-century fairytale, April 23-26, 2020 in 6 performances in Akron, Cleveland, and Beachwood, OH. It will be a feast for the eyes, the ears, and the imagination. Enjoy this FIRST...
We talked with soprano Hélène Brunet, who joins Les Délices for performances of Torchsongs Transformed, March 6-8. Hélène has an amazing stage presence and feels comfortable crossing genres - and centuries - singing music from the 17th Century to today. Learn more about her perspective and hear her sing live in performance! Info and tickets are available here. How do you feel...
Artistic Director Debra Nagy talked with us about her inspiration and hopes for LD's new Baroque-Jazz fusion program Torchsongs Transformed, with performances in Akron, Lakewood, and Shaker Heights OH, March 6-8, 2020. Torchsongs Transformed will trace the arc of a love affair across the seasons as Les Délices artistic director and oboist Debra Nagy teams up with soprano Hélène Brunet and beloved...
News & Reviews / 02.02.2020
LD tells a rare, heartwarming tale in new, all-ages show combining Baroque music, puppetry, and storytelling
Acclaimed Cleveland-based Baroque chamber ensemble Les Délices will conclude their 2019-20 Season with an ambitious new multi-media production called Into the Labyrinth. An abbreviated matinee version of the production, called The White Cat, will also be offered and will include pre- and post-performance activities geared specifically toward families. In both versions, Les Délices masterfully combines music, puppetry, and gorgeous visuals to...