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Press Releases
The Play of Daniel for Trinity Church's Twelfth Night Festival, January 2 & 3, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 30, 2015
“THE PLAY OF DANIEL” Directed by Drew Minter and Mary Anne Ballard Produced by Gotham Early Music Scene as part of Trinity Church’s Twelfth Night Festival
The beloved Old Testament story of the Jewish prophet Daniel, the “writing on the wall,” and the lions’ den as told in a music drama from medieval France with a cast of two dozen singers, dancers, and musicians playing historical instruments.
As part of the annual holiday-season “Twelfth Night Festival,” The Play of Daniel returns to historic Trinity Wall Street Church for two days, January 2 at 3:00 p.m. and January 3 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 - $65 and are available by telephone (212) 866 – 0468 or online at www.gemsny.org
In his review of December 29, 2014 Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote:
“The music is splendid, the story remains wonderful, and the performance by the cast, accompanied by an ensemble of recorders, lutes and other medieval instruments, was delightful… I could imagine this music drama becoming a popular holiday season offering.”
“Inexpressibly beautiful music… in drama that may well transport you to another time.” James R. Oestreich, The New York Times “Gotham Early Music Scene mounted an acclaimed production, rich in costumes and dramatic effects…” The New Yorker
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
GEMS reassembles the same creative team responsible for prior sold-out performances over five years at The Cloisters, Trinity Church, and on tour. That staging was created by internationally known counter-tenor and director Drew Minter and Mary Anne Ballard, Director of the Baltimore Consort. It commemorated the 50th anniversary of the work’s modern premiere in 1958 by Noah Greenberg and New York Pro Musica, widely regarded as a seminal event in the North American early music movement. Once again this year, audiences will journey to the late 1100’s, when The Play of Daniel came into existence, planting the seeds for the flowering of opera four centuries later.
Age-old issues of politics and power will resonate with modern audiences in an elaborate, fully-staged one-hour “proto-opera” with singers, instruments, dancers, scenery, costumes and lighting. The Play of Daniel tells two stories from the Old Testament, from Chapters 5 and 6 of the Book of Daniel: Belshazzar’s Feast, in which Daniel interprets the infamous “handwriting on the wall”; and his being sentenced to death in the Lions’ Den, from which he is rescued by an angel. A brief narration prior to the actual music drama will preview the story, making it accessible for children as well as adults.
“For modern audiences, the play offers a timeless look at the consequences of speaking truth to power,” says Gene Murrow, Executive Director of GEMS, “as well as an important moment in the history of musical story-telling that would ultimately lead to the development of opera. This extraordinary work from the Middle Ages is becoming an eagerly anticipated fixture in New York’s annual holiday musical season.”
For a library of electronic press kit assets, please visit:
http://playofdaniel-nyc.weebly.com/
For information about The Play of Daniel, and links to informative sites, please visit: http://www.gemsny.org/daniel.html
To view scenes from the production of The Play of Daniel (2008, at The Cloisters) please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBDd77rqxaM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVQBdkKUteU For further information or to set up an interview: call (212) 866 – 0468 or write gmurrow@gemsny.org
###
Media services provided by: Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc. 340 Riverside Drive # 1-A, New York, NY 10025 www.gemsny.org
“THE PLAY OF DANIEL” Directed by Drew Minter and Mary Anne Ballard Produced by Gotham Early Music Scene as part of Trinity Church’s Twelfth Night Festival
The beloved Old Testament story of the Jewish prophet Daniel, the “writing on the wall,” and the lions’ den as told in a music drama from medieval France with a cast of two dozen singers, dancers, and musicians playing historical instruments.
As part of the annual holiday-season “Twelfth Night Festival,” The Play of Daniel returns to historic Trinity Wall Street Church for two days, January 2 at 3:00 p.m. and January 3 at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 - $65 and are available by telephone (212) 866 – 0468 or online at www.gemsny.org
In his review of December 29, 2014 Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote:
“The music is splendid, the story remains wonderful, and the performance by the cast, accompanied by an ensemble of recorders, lutes and other medieval instruments, was delightful… I could imagine this music drama becoming a popular holiday season offering.”
“Inexpressibly beautiful music… in drama that may well transport you to another time.” James R. Oestreich, The New York Times “Gotham Early Music Scene mounted an acclaimed production, rich in costumes and dramatic effects…” The New Yorker
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
GEMS reassembles the same creative team responsible for prior sold-out performances over five years at The Cloisters, Trinity Church, and on tour. That staging was created by internationally known counter-tenor and director Drew Minter and Mary Anne Ballard, Director of the Baltimore Consort. It commemorated the 50th anniversary of the work’s modern premiere in 1958 by Noah Greenberg and New York Pro Musica, widely regarded as a seminal event in the North American early music movement. Once again this year, audiences will journey to the late 1100’s, when The Play of Daniel came into existence, planting the seeds for the flowering of opera four centuries later.
Age-old issues of politics and power will resonate with modern audiences in an elaborate, fully-staged one-hour “proto-opera” with singers, instruments, dancers, scenery, costumes and lighting. The Play of Daniel tells two stories from the Old Testament, from Chapters 5 and 6 of the Book of Daniel: Belshazzar’s Feast, in which Daniel interprets the infamous “handwriting on the wall”; and his being sentenced to death in the Lions’ Den, from which he is rescued by an angel. A brief narration prior to the actual music drama will preview the story, making it accessible for children as well as adults.
“For modern audiences, the play offers a timeless look at the consequences of speaking truth to power,” says Gene Murrow, Executive Director of GEMS, “as well as an important moment in the history of musical story-telling that would ultimately lead to the development of opera. This extraordinary work from the Middle Ages is becoming an eagerly anticipated fixture in New York’s annual holiday musical season.”
For a library of electronic press kit assets, please visit:
http://playofdaniel-nyc.weebly.com/
For information about The Play of Daniel, and links to informative sites, please visit: http://www.gemsny.org/daniel.html
To view scenes from the production of The Play of Daniel (2008, at The Cloisters) please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBDd77rqxaM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVQBdkKUteU For further information or to set up an interview: call (212) 866 – 0468 or write gmurrow@gemsny.org
###
Media services provided by: Gotham Early Music Scene, Inc. 340 Riverside Drive # 1-A, New York, NY 10025 www.gemsny.org
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