Dreams

A hopeful children's opera from a dark time in history and enduring music written for a Shakespeare comedy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dreams

A hopeful children's opera from a dark time in history and enduring music written for a Shakespeare comedy

 

 

This concert has already happened - but there's more great music to be heard! See our remaining concerts.

Saturday, February 29, 2020 | 7:30 PM

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza

Saturday, February 29, 2020 | 7:30 PM
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza

Sunday, March 1, 2020 | 3:00 PM

Rancho Campana PAC, Camarillo

Sunday, March 1, 2020 | 3:00 PM
Rancho Campana PAC, Camarillo

Concert Highlights

 

  • An often-overlooked child prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn was 16 years old when he wrote the overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream for piano, written to accompany a reading of the Shakespeare comedy in the Mendelssohn family home. He immediately scored it for orchestra and began a wildly successful musical career. Seventeen years later, the king of Prussia asked Felix to write music for a production of the entire play, and that music has echoed throughout history, including the ubiquitous “Wedding March.”
  • Written for a children’s opera competition in 1938, Brundibár (Czech for “bumblebee”) was performed by kids at the Jewish Orphanage in Belgicka Street in Prague before Nazis began transporting Czech Jews to Terezin in 1942. A score of the opera was smuggled into the camp in 1943, where Hans Krása orchestrated it for the musicians in the camp. Seeing the propaganda potential, the Nazi regime sponsored a documentary featuring productions of the opera as they performed for the Red Cross International inspectors in September 1944. Two weeks later artists in the production were transported to Auschwitz, but the beautiful memory of the production lives on in performances today. With characters like “fearless sparrow,” “keen cat,” and “wise dog,” it is a sweet children’s tale of overcoming adversity.

Program Notes >>

Program

 

Michael Christie, conductor

The Glywn and Ruth Chase Music Director

California Lutheran University Choir, Women’s Chorale and Areté Vocal Ensemble

Dr. Wyant Morton, choir director
Dana Rouse and Heidi Valencia Vass, choral soloists

Los Robles Children’s Choir

                 Dana Rouse and Alicia Langness, directors

Kingsmen Shakespeare Company – Brett Elliott and Jane Longenecker, actors*

 

Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Krása Brundibár

 

ENTR’ACTE

Haas Study for Strings

 

*The actors appear through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Fun and informative 30-minute pre-concert lecture one hour before each performance.

Preview the Music

Intermission: Something for Everybody

Our intermission gives everyone a chance to enjoy the evening their way. 

  1. Intermission Insights (10 minutes) – Our Music Director Michael Christie spends 10 minutes on stage with the guest artist in a fun and fascinating interview and audience Q&A.
  2. Break (10 minutes) – A great time to use the restroom, order a refreshment from the concessions in the lobby, and catch up with friends.
  3. Entr’acte (10 minutes) – The orchestra performs a short contemporary piece – incredible music you may never hear anywhere else.

Feel free to take your seat, poke your head in, or mingle in the lobby until the second half!

Plan Your Visit

There’s lots to do leading up to each concert to enhance your experience!