News Detail
Crane Opera Ensemble Presents 'From Berlin to Potsdam' Cabaret
03.26.12
The Crane Opera Ensemble will present “From Berlin to Potsdam: The Music of Kurt Weill,” a wide-ranging cabaret evening of song, this weekend, on Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31.
The award-winning musical ensemble from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music will offer two performances each evening, at 7 and 9 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights. “From Berlin to Potsdam” will be offered in Dexter’s Café, located in Thatcher Hall.
An amalgam of solos and ensembles from composer Kurt Weill’s many diverse works in three languages, “From Berlin to Potsdam” is a show that has been created specifically for cabaret presentation at SUNY Potsdam. This special event will feature highlights from Weill’s three main periods: pre-World War II German, French and post-war American musical theater.
Kurt Weill (1900-1950) is known for his wide range of musical styles, from early German operas to musical theater works for Broadway. Born in Germany, his early fame came from collaborations with the playwright Berthold Brecht; several roles in these works were premiered by his wife Lotte Lenya, the singer/actress who championed his works even after their divorce and his death. Forced into exile by the rise of Hitler in 1933, Weill spent a couple of unfruitful years in Paris before eventually moving to the United States. Here he found success on Broadway through collaborations with lyricists such as Ira Gershwin, Langston Hughes and Ogden Nash.
Guest stage director David Ronis from Queens College, along with musical directors Kirk Severtson and François Germain from The Crane School of Music, has created a lively and entertaining evening of music featuring Crane student performers.
Limited seating is available for this event; therefore, ticket reservations are highly recommended. Drinks and gourmet desserts are available for purchase prior to each performance.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for SUNY Potsdam students and faculty. To purchase tickets for this show contact the Community Performance Series Box Office at (315) 267-2277 or visit www.cpspotsdam.org.
About the guest stage director:
David Ronis is the director of the Queens College Opera Studio and teaches voice at Hofstra University. His directing credits include projects for the Manhattan School of Music, Citywide Youth Opera, Maryland Summer Center for the Arts, OSH Opera, the Queens Symphony and After Dinner Opera. A co-founder of the Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College and a faculty member at the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute, he has recently given masterclasses at Cincinnati College Conservatory, the Seagle Colony, the Manhattan School of Music, Opera New Jersey and Vassar College. As a performer, Ronis has sung more than 50 operatic roles with companies in Europe, Asia and the United States. He has given extensive concerts, toured nationally in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and has appeared in independent films and nationally televised commercials.
The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble is a significant source for opera and musical theater in the North Country. The ensemble provides exciting opportunities for students to experience all facets of opera performance and production through rehearsals, coaching and classes related to performance practice and production technique.
To learn more about the Crane Opera Ensemble, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/opera.
Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York’s only All-Steinway institution, and is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2011-12.