HOTTEST TICKETS! Mark your calendar for September 5, 2009.

There is big excitement this fall with the Louisville Orchestra’s opening night gala, Fanfara, which will feature virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell. Although Bell has performed in Louisville before, this will be his debut with the Louisville Orchestra. Earning the equivalent of rock star fame in the classical music world is pretty rare, but Joshua Bell has accomplished just that. He has attained his phenomenal success by playing the most beautiful music in the world on one of the most beautiful instruments in the world with the most beautiful tone, intensity and passion possible. Plus, he has tons of personal charisma. It is no wonder this Grammy® Award-winning violinist has groupies - People Magazine even selected him as One of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World! 

Getting a ticket to this concert may be nearly impossible as the date nears – he is certainly one of those not-to-be-missed performers. Bell is in constant demand both nationally and internationally. While he is a frequent guest at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the place that welcomes him with the most enthusiasm is Bloomington, Indiana, his hometown and home of his alma mater, Indiana University. With Louisville being so close, we can expect many fans from southern Indiana and IU alumnae at the concert.

To learn more about Joshua Bell, check out his web site at www.joshuabell.com. There you can read his bio, see photos, check out his tour schedule and the awards he has collected, download videos and buy his music. Also while there, read the amazing history of Joshua’s beloved violin, the 1713 Gibson Stradivarius, and how he came to possess it. It’s a great story!

For more on Fanfara and to buy tickets, go to www.louisvilleorchestra.org. You’ll find conductor Jorge Mester’s program for the evening, excerpts from the music that will be played and information about the black-tie Gala dinner atop the Humana Building prior to the concert. You’ll also find a video of Joshua Bell playing Ave Maria. For a collection of great Joshua Bell videos, go to www.YouTube.com and key in Joshua Bell.

Enjoy the concert!

Joshua Bell

I spoke with Joshua Bell by telephone on Friday at his hotel in Switerland. He is absolutely unassuming and a very generous person. I'm looking forward to writing up the interview for you to read in September while he is here, but it appears there may be a change in the program. He is currently planning to play Bruch's Scottish Fantasy--but that might change so stay tuned. What will not change (I hope) is Jorge Mester's scheduling of the Ibert "Ports of Call;" this little-performed work will be worth the price of admission by itself. But combined with the voracious talent of Joshua Bell and Respighi's Pines of Rome being brought to life in front of your ears this will be a magnificient opening for Louisville's virtuoso orchestra.

Joshua Bell

I can't believe you cannot buy 2 seats together for the upcoming Joshua Bell concert with the Louisville Orchestra. This is going to be a wonderful evening so don't miss this performance.

MTL’s Singin’ in the Rain

A friend and I went to see the MTL production of Singin’ in the Rain last Friday. As a big fan of the movie (and Gene Kelly), I was interested to see how the movie translated to an onstage musical. We arrived at The Kentucky Center just in time to get an adult beverage and a hot dog before the show started. There was a large crowd in the lobby with a lot of folks enjoying the ice cream for sale; the food offering being a throwback to the foodstuffs available at Iroquois Amphitheater. An early start time of 7:30 was nice since we didn’t need to wait for the sun to go down before the show could begin.

In a nutshell, the show really surprised me; the skill of the dancing and singing was wonderful as were the costumes and the sets. There were short movie clips (since the plot of the show is about the transition of silent movies to the "talkies") that were hilarious...especially the cameos of Peter Holloway, the Artistic Director of MTL (since I've met him before and most folks wouldn't have known him in costume). All three of the leads had great voices as did the ensemble cast. I was impressed with the tap dancing and the group choreography numbers. It didn't hurt that the lead in the show is a member of the Louisville Ballet.

It was nice to see such a professional production in the intimacy of the Bomhard Theater - like watching a touring Broadway show close-up. Louisville should be pleased that MTL can draw such talented regional performers and present a top-notch musical. I would not be surprised to see some of these young folks return to the big stage someday at the KCA with a national show.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new Audience Blog and welcome to the new 2009-2010 Louisville performing arts season! This is a going to be a fun way to create a conversation about and with our performing arts community. All the groups have planned spectacular shows and star-studded performances all year long. Get on stage with us, pick up the digital microphone and tell us your thoughts about upcoming shows and what you thought about past performances. We will also let you know what we thought as well as link you to important performing arts news and articles.

And while you are at here, register to win a pair of tickets to an upcoming performance from one of the Audience groups:  PNC Broadway Across America - Louisville, Louisville Orchestra, Kentucky Center Presents, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville Ballet or Music Theatre Louisville. Audience will give away two tickets each month throughout the season, so you have twelve chances to win!

To start us off on a dialogue, I was musing about my favorite performance last year. Quickly, I realized that I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. So I tried to categorize into the best of the groups. Here’s my list:

While I loved most of Actors Theatre’s regular season, especially Glengarry Glen Ross, A Raisin in the Sun and Pride & Prejudice, my overall favorite was the Humana Festival production of Ameriville by Universes. The energy was frenetic – I have never seen actors work so hard on stage – and it was totally relevant. I would travel to see them again!

While I missed Wicked here because of the weather, I did see it in Chicago a couple of years ago, so I know it was wonderful and a real fan favorite. But choosing from the ones I did see, Spring Awakening was the best – great music, great dance and a real message. As a Cirque de Soleil lover, I have to say that Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy did not meet up to my expectations. 

In terms of dance, everyone says I missed one of the best dance experiences ever with Louisville Ballet’s Rite of Spring with Wendy Whelan. I was out of town that weekend, but those I know who attended praised the production. If you saw it, what did you think?

But I did mange to take in both nights of Kentucky Center Presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and I was totally blown away! I had seen the company perform over 25 years ago, and they are as fresh and exciting now as they were then. Those were two magical nights of dance creativity and innovation. 

Louisville Orchestra offers a wide range of musical options, and it would be near impossible to take in every performance unless you were one of the violinists, so I can’t choose favorites here. I adore Jorge Mester and love his presence on stage in the music he chose for last season, especially Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Holst’s The Planets.    

Please chime in and let me know what your favorites were and what you are looking forward to in this next season. Click on the calendar and browse through the months to see what a great year this is going to be!

Kay Tull