Lipscomb University partners with Nashville Symphony, Opera on Mozart in Music City
Janel Shoun-Smith |
More than two centuries after his death, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart remains one of the world’s most celebrated and enigmatic figures, famed for his brilliant classical compositions as well as for his turbulent and tragic life. This spring, his story and musical legacy are presented to Nashville audiences in a collaboration called “Mozart in Music City: the Man, the Music, the Magic.”
With productions from Lipscomb University’s theater-in-residence Blackbird Theater and its Department of Music, the Nashville Opera, the Nashville Symphony, and FiftyForward Music for Seniors, Middle Tennessee music and theater audiences have much to look forward to in March and April.
“Whether one’s favored haunt is the opera house, symphony hall or theater, we hope Nashville’s culture lovers will see this as a chance to explore a medium they perhaps haven’t tried in a while,” said Greg Greene, Blackbird Theater’s managing director and coordinator of the Mozart in Music City collaboration. “The legacy of Mozart presents a golden opportunity to experience his story and his music in an array of marvelous art forms, and there’s nowhere more fitting for this series than Music City.”
For full event listings and tickets, visit MozartInMusicCity.com, powered by NowPlayingNashville.com.
NowPlayingNashville.com, an initiative of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, is Middle Tennessee’s comprehensive arts and entertainment calendar, with information about music, theater, sports, dance, museums, kids and family activities, and more.
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March 8-23
Amadeus by Blackbird Theater
“Mozart in Music City” begins with a production of Peter Shaffer’s play (and source of the Academy Award-winning film) Amadeus, March 8-23, by Lipscomb’s theater-in-residence, the Blackbird Theater. Performances will take place each night at 7 p.m. and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, in Lipscomb’s Shamblin Theater. A $10 senior discount ticket is available for the March 17 performance. Regular cost for individuals, students and seniors is $15-$25.
Amadeus takes a trenchant look at the troubled life, brilliant music and tragic death of Mozart through the envious eyes of Salieri, the rival who claimed to have killed the great composer.
“Amadeus is one of the great masterworks of modern theater,” said Blackbird Artistic Director Wes Driver. “Shaffer has such a unique theatrical imagination, which I don’t think was ever more fully realized than in this funny, ferocious, tour-de-force of a show.”
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Thursday, March 14
FiftyFoward Music for Seniors FREE Daytime Concert Series at Lipscomb University
FiftyForward Music for Seniors joins host Lipscomb University to present a free music program for seniors on Thursday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Ward Hall. The event is free and open to all. RSVP to sarah [at] musicforseniors.org.
The event features performances of Mozart’s work by the Lipscomb University Department of Music and Nashville Opera’s Young Artists quartet and scenes from Blackbird’s production of Amadeus.
“FiftyForward Music for Seniors is delighted to participate in ‘Mozart in Music City,’” said program director Sarah Martin McConnell. “Our FREE Daytime Concert Series audiences love classical music, so offering this beloved composer’s work combined with the magic of theater is a wonderful gift to our area’s older adults and the whole community.”
Monday, April 1
Lipscomb University Faculty and Friends Concert
An expanded instrumental performance will be held Monday, April 1, at 8:00 p.m. as the Lipscomb University Department of Music presents “Mozart & Schumann: The Piano Quartets.” Lipscomb string faculty Carolyn Wann Bailey, violin; Clare Yang, viola; and Sari Reist, cello, join pianist Jerome Reed for piano quartets by the two composers. The event is also free and open to all, and will be held in Lipscomb’s Ward Hall.
“As an educational institution, Lipscomb is excited to be hosting three of these five events as a way to educate and inspire the Nashville community about the music of this legendary composer,” said Jerome Reed, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Piano at Lipscomb. “’The Mozart in Music City’ series is a great opportunity to introduce any listener or aspiring musician to his music or for accomplished musicians to once again enjoy his masterworks.”
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| Jerome Reed | Clare Yang | Sari Reist | Carolyn Wann Bailey |
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April 11 and 13
Nashville Opera’s The Magic Flute
The series continues with Nashville Opera’s production of one of Mozart’s most popular and enduring works: The Magic Flute. Performances are April 11 at 7 p .m. and April 13 at 8 p.m. in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Andrew Jackson Hall. Cost is $21.50-$97.50.
“The Magic Flute was Mozart’s final opera and is arguably one of the most well-known and loved operas in the history of music,” said John Hoomes, general and artistic director of Nashville Opera. “It contains a fantastical, fairy tale type of plot and within the glorious music, we hear Mozart composing at the height of his musical power. While at first glance this opera offers an immense beauty and lightness of spirit, beneath this simple surface can be found several deeper layers of meaning. No matter how much or how little you wish to search for in The Magic Flute, everyone will agree that this opera is a timeless masterpiece that could only have come from the mind of Mozart.”
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April 18-20
Nashville Symphony’s Mozart’s Piano Masterpiece
The series concludes as the Nashville Symphony presents “Mozart’s Piano Masterpiece,” April 18-20, featuring his Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, popularly known as Jeunehomme. The performance will be held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Ticket costs range from $28 to $115.
“I am thrilled that Nashville is coming together to celebrate the genius of Mozart,” said Guerrero. “The Nashville Symphony is proud to be a part of this citywide program and looks forward to closing out the series of events with our performance of Mozart’s Ninth Piano Concerto in April.”