- By Ithaca Community Orchestra
- Entertainment
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The performance will include Verdi’s Overture to Nabucco, Franz Schubert’s Overture to Rosamunde, the Cole Porter Salute, and selections from the musical My Fair Lady. Loralyn Light, a local soprano soloist, will lead the ICO in its of set of American all-time favorites, which features George Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away From Me and Love is Here to Stay, as well as a bossa nova infused tune All of Me and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s hit The Girl From Ipanema. And last, but certainly not least, the ICO will perform The Wizard of Oz, written by Harold Arlen and arranged by Bob Cerulli. The event will take place at the First Congregational Church in Ithaca, at 309 Highland Road in Cayuga Heights at 4pm.
From Overtures that invite an audience into the theater to the songs we hear on the silver screen, music and drama have been intertwined since their conception. Like the drama unfolding on the stage, the music that accompanies the stories is full of emotion and expression. When written well, these powerful pieces of music transcend time, retaining their popularity through many decades of different musical styles. Verdi’s Nabucco, his first successful opera, enacts the struggle between the Hebrew slaves under the oppression of the King of Babylon. This theme resonated deeply with the Italian citizens who were suffering under Austrian rule at the time of its composition in the 19th Century.
Editor Robert Kimball once described Cole Porter’s writing as an expression “of the pain and evanescence of emotional relationships. He gently mocked propriety and said that few things were simple or lasting or free from ambiguity.” Porter is best known for his dance-musicals which benefited from his saucy and explicit lyrics that were in high fashion during the 1920s and ‘30s. But, you don’t have be a fan of the music from the Roaring Twenties to recognize and enjoy his music. The ICO’s performance of a Cole Porter Salute opens with “Another Op‘nin, Another Show,” a tune from his best known musical Kiss Me Kate, which ran on Broadway for over 1,000 performances. “Anything Goes,” another selection from the Salute, was the title hit from the Broadway musical, as well as the opening tune to the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (as arranged by John Williams).
Love is Here to Stay and They Can’t Take That Away From Me by George Gershwin are also tunes that are sure to keep everyone’s heads bobbin’ and feet tappin.’ Gershwin composed songs in the 1920s and ‘30s, for both Broadway and the classical concert hall. In 1924, Gershwin came out with Rhapsody in Blue, his first major classical work and, as it turned out, his most popular. Since then, many of his compositions have been used on television and in numerous films, while others became jazz standards. Countless singers and musicians have recorded Gershwin songs, including Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Madonna, Julie Andrews, Barbara Streisand, Natalie Cole, and Sting.
Loralyn Light, the soloist for this ICO performance, is the Events Manager for the Department of Music at Cornell University where she produces over 135 concerts a year. Light is a soprano soloist, a member of Rotary International, an active community volunteer, and an avid pilot and motorcyclist. A native of Traverse City, Michigan, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University and two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan School of Music. In March of 2006, Light made her solo debut with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, singing Bach’s Cantata No. 29. In addition to numerous oratorio engagements with both the Elmira Cantata Singers and the Ithaca Community Chorus, her other solo credits include the St. John’s Bach Society (Detroit), the Traverse City Handel Festival, and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.
Each piece has a unique relationship with the drama it supports and expresses. While Verdi explores the power struggles between cultures, Gershwin and Jobim celebrate the world of romance. As always, admission to the event is free.
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