Apollo's Fire presents "A Harlequin Romance"
Thursday, April 7, 7:30 PM
The Bath Church (UCC)
3980 West Bath Road
Bath, OH 44333
Friday, April 8, 8:00 PM
St. Noel Church
35200 Chardon Road
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
Saturday, April 9, 8:00 PM
Maltz Performing Arts Center
University Circle
1855 Ansel Road
Cleveland, OH 44106
Sunday, April 10, 4:00 PM
Gamble Auditorium
Kulas Music Building
Baldwin Wallace University
96 Front Street
Berea, OH 44017
Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire bring to life the colorful characters of the Commedia dell ’arte (Renaissance street theatre) in the final program of the season: A Harlequin Romance. Dancers Steve Player and Julie Andrijeski transform Telemann’s musical depictions into a rambunctious, choreographed affair. From the witty antics of Harlequin and Columbine to the adventurous Don Quixote and his devoted sidekick Sancho Panza, Apollo’s Fire presents a night of musical storytelling with Telemann’s orchestral suites.
Telemann’s friend and colleague, J.S. Bach, makes a fiery appearance with the Concerto for Two Violins, featuring dueling violinists Olivier Brault and Johanna Novom.
Apollo’s Fire returns to the stunning Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle following its premier performance in February as the first public, professional concert in the venue. The April program will also be presented in Bath, Willoughby Hills, and at Baldwin Wallace University to open the annual Bach Festival.
The escapades of Harlequin and his girlfriend Columbine were the delight of the Renaissance in the popular Commedia dell’arte street theatre. Widely loved and accessible, this was the theater of the people. Traveling troupes of performers delighted audiences with their theatricality and improvisatory performances as they took on the roles of Harlequin, Columbine, and their friends Scaramouche and Mezzetino.
Jeannette Sorrell calls the program “a spring frolic.” She noted, “We fear that other musicians may end up dancing out of their seats to join Steve and Julie. Definitely Olivier Brault has threatened to dance. The question is whether there will be anyone left playing in the band, or will all of us be dancing by the end.”
Steven Player, g uitar & dancer, has for the past twenty years studied and performed dances of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He also plays the Baroque guitar and studied the lute at the Royal College of Music in London. This combination of performing as both dancer and musician has made him popular with leading early music ensembles in Europe, where he works regularly with The Harp Consort, Akademie for Alte Musik Berlin, The Balthasaar Neumann Ensemble and the trio Los Otros. He also performs in the Americas, Australia, and Japan. He has taught dance to music students throughout Europe, choreographed for TV and Opera, and acted and performed Commedia dell’Arte. Mr. Player enjoys combining the disciplines of art and historical research, while at the same time living in the 21st century.
Julie Andrijeski, violin & dancer, teaches and performs as both violinist and baroque dancer. A founding member of Apollo’s Fire, she is also artistic director of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, co-director of the 17th-century ensemble Quicksilver, and concertmaster of NYS Baroque. She teaches baroque violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music, lectures at CWRU, and also directs the Case Baroque Orchestra, Chamber Ensembles and Baroque Dance Ensemble. In addition to recording with Apollo’s Fire, she has recorded for Dorian, Acis, Centaur and Musica Omnia.