The Live Music Project plays "Music for Shakespeare" at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

The Live Music Project plays "Music for Shakespeare" at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

The Live Music Project, a conductor-less ensemble in residency at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, will offer a concert of words and music written for and inspired by the works of Shakespeare on Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. The concert, which will take place in the Quick Center's Wien Experimental Theatre, is the second of four the ensemble will offer this season.

"Music for Shakespeare" will include works of Shakespeare's time, pieces written for productions of his classic plays and modern-day compositions inspired by the Bard's plays and poetry. It opens with the dramatic flourish of Jeremiah Clark's "Overture" and "Minuet" from "Titus Andronicus," the playwright's earliest and, arguably, darkest play.

Next comes a short lute piece of Shakespeare's era and Thomas Morley's "It Was a Lover and His Lass," which appears in the text of "As You Like It."

"Most people think those were Shakespeare's words, but they're really from a tune of the day," said Artistic Director Daniel Smith, who co-founded The Live Music Project with Music Director Netta Hadari.

The program also features Charles Gounod's "Je veux vivre dans ce rĂªve" from "Romeo and Juliet," Henry Purcell's "Chaconne" from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a dance from Giuseppe Verdi's "Othello" and other Baroque and Romantic pieces. Smith will contribute original instrumentals to be played behind a reading of three Shakespearean sonnets.

The sonnets are part of several spoken word interludes scattered throughout the program to introduce pieces or provide some history of the songs, composers and instruments used to create the music. They will include stirring readings from "The Merchant of Venice," "Titus Andronicus," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

In addition to the 18 musicians, the program features soloist Jurate Svedaite, a Lithuanian-born soprano who has performed with the Lithuanian State Chamber Orchestra, the European Baroque Festival Opera, and the Kaunas Chamber Orchestra, among others.

The concert's readers will include Tom Zingarelli of Bridgeport, who is executive director of the Quick Center and a member of the Norwalk-based Theatre Actors' Workshop. Actor/director Katie Sparer of Stratford has appeared in several off-Broadway and regional productions and in television's "Law and Order" and "The Sopranos." The third reader is Stratford resident Geoffrey Gilbert, who has toured with the National Shakespeare Company and performs regularly with The Actor's Ensemble in Branford.

Founded by Hadari and Smith in conjunction with the Quick Center, The Live Music Project aims to change the way audiences think about chamber music. Now in its third season, the group includes some of the region's top musicians, offering exciting concerts in a friendly environment with an emphasis on interaction with the audience. The ensemble tackles both classical and contemporary works of all kinds, sometimes featuring world premieres of compositions by Smith, who also provides music for and directs many of the Quick Center's popular live radio dramas.

Tickets to "Music for Shakespeare" are $25. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, visit the website, www.quickcenter.com.

Posted On: 10-21-2005 10:10 AM

Volume: 38 Number: 83