euterpe opera

January 25, 2001

 

 

01/25/01

 

CONTACT:
Margie Yu
Public Affairs Spec.
(323) 343-3047

 

Calendar
of Events

"Spanish Theater Songs and Dances"
to be Presented at Cal State L.A.

The Music Department at California State University, Los Angeles and the Euterpe Opera Theatre will present "Spanish Theater Songs and Dances" on Saturday, February 17, 2001. The performance will feature arias from zarzuelas and tonadillas from the 18th and 19th century, and court and theater dances that have formed the image of Spanish music style.

Among the performers will be René Aravena, baritone, and Twyla, fortepiano. The dances are reconstructed by Linda Tomko and accompanied by a baroque instrumental ensemble (violin, lute and viola da gamba). Dr. Aravena and Dr. Tomko will give short lectures at the beginning of the program, and will provide commentary that will place each song and dance in its historical and cultural context. This concert has been funded in part by a grant from the California Council for the Arts.

René Aravena, who received his D.M.A. from the University of Minnesota, is an associate professor of Music and director of Opera Theatre at Cal State L.A. Dr. Aravena, a native of Chile, studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica and has performed roles at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago. In Chile, he majored in English and German translation at the Catholic University in Santiago. He studied voice with Grace Bumbry at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and was a winner of the Voices of Vienna Competition. His versatility as a performer is reflected in his many oratorio, recital, and operatic stage appearances. From 1991 to 1994, he was featured in the University of Minnesota Bach Festival. He also taught voice at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Aravena has written papers on Medieval Spanish Theater and on pronunciation of Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese. He has lectured widely as an expert on pronunciation of Spanish for singers.

Dr. Linda Tomko is a dancer, historian and reconstructor of period dances. She holds a Ph.D. in History from UCLA, and she is an associate professor of dance at the UC Riverside. Dr. Tomko is president of the Society of Dance History Scholars, a national academic society devoted to dance history and related fields. She directs the Baroque dance troupe, "Les Menus Plaisirs," and co-directs with Wendy Hilton the annual Stanford University Summer Workshop in Baroque Dance and its Music.

For tickets or more information, call the Cal State L.A. Music Department at (323) 343-4060.

Event:
"Spanish Theater Songs and Dances"
When:
Saturday, February 17, 2001, 7:30 p.m.
Where:
State Playhouse, on the Cal State L.A. campus,
5151 State University Dr., Los Angeles, 90032 Admission:
General, $15; students with I.D., $5
Parking:
$5 all day or $.50/hour for non-permit holders;
permit dispensers available at Lots C and G or upper level Parking Structure II

 

# # #