AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER

Getting Artsy in New York’s Hudson Valley

BARD SUMMERSCAPE 2022

It is no coincidence that Bard SummerScape offers “one of the best lineups of the summer for fans of any arts discipline” (New York Sun). The festival and its beautiful Fisher Center home at Bard College demonstrate their commitment to maintaining great relationships with creators and performers through their residency programs. The commissioning of new projects and the planning of the Bard Music Festival keeps SummerScape bringing some of “today’s most compelling creative artists into the same room with great classics of the past.” This post will center on all the fabulous events of this yearly festival.

WHAT IT IS

It is eight weeks of live music, opera, dance and theater in the Hudson Valley in New York beginning June 23rd and runs through August 14th, 2022. The Frank Gehry designed Fisher Center will once again host a spectacular line up of talent in all the areas of the performing arts. This is the 19th year for the event that works in conjunction with the thematic Bard Music Festival which is in its 32nd year and will be centered around the music of Russian composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff.

WHY HUDSON VALLEY?

Located just 45 minutes outside New York City, the Hudson Valley is a designated World Heritage area steeped in natural beauty, culture, heritage and history. It is also becoming a city for foodies with its burgeoning restaurant scene and farmers markets. Many New Yorkers escape the city to come to a second home in the valley on the weekends.

It’s one of the oldest wine-producing areas and the beauty inspired artists who would come to be known as the Hudson River School of Painters. National Geographic Traveler named the valley one of its top 20 choices for a visit that includes 10 different counties in the New York region as part of the valley.

It is the location of Bard College in Annandale, a private facility focusing on traditional liberal arts with a strong emphasis on the fine and performing arts. Smaller classes and working with “top professionals in their respective fields creates an atmosphere that offers collateral benefits.” This also set the stage for the creation of the Music Festival and SummerScape at the fabulous Fisher Center.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS & SUPPORTERS

In 2022, through twelve themed concerts and panel discussions, “Rachmaninoff and His World,” offers a reexamination of the life and times of the Russian composer. This is complemented by The Silent Woman, the only comic opera by the composer’s close contemporary Richard Strauss, in a new production from director, Christian Räth.

SummerScape also presents the world premieres of new commissions in both dance and theater. Fisher Center Choreographer-in-Residence, Pam Tanowitz, premieres a major dance setting of the biblical Song of Songs with new music from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang. Director Ashley Tata puts a feminist spin on the French playwright’s tragic comedy Dom Juan in a new translation by Sylvaine Guyot and Gideon Lester.

Bard’s beloved Spiegeltent returns for live music, dancing and more, featuring the return of Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro’s “Black Roots Summer”. We’ll also get a sneak peek at a new musical from Suzan-Lori Parks, Lileana Blain-Cruz and Courtney Bryan; held in the stunning Fisher Center and other venues on the idyllic Bard College campus.

FEATURES FOR 2022

Dom Juan is a comic study of lust and power. The libertine main character and sidekick are recast as women creating a taut psychological drama. Director Ashley Tata sets it in a fantasy world where 17th century France collides with 1970’s America raising questions about class, faith and gender.

The biblical Song of Songs (also known as The Song of Solomon) is perhaps the greatest of all love poems. A hymn of yearning; it is erotic, spiritual, playful and mysterious. David Lang and Pam Tanowitz work beautifully together to create a new dance interpretation of this radiantly beautiful text and music.

Considered Strauss’s only comic opera, The Silent Woman is a boisterous piece that represents an evolution in the composer’s work. With a witty libretto by Stefan Zweig featuring a crazy cast of characters including the retired admiral Sir Morosus alongside a scheming barber and a wide-eyed ingenue, this imaginative production by Christian Räth promises to be great summertime fun for all.

GALA EVENT AND SPIEGELTENT

Summer Enchanted Evening will be the gala event this year’s festival on July 16th; a celebration that benefits The Fisher Center and the yearly Music Festival. It will feature cocktails, performances and a seated dinner honoring a former President, Ted Chapin and the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. If you would like to join the Host Committee and be included on the invitation, just go to the website and donate by May 4th.

Returning after two empty covid years is the glorious Spiegeltent party with the magnificent tent of mirrors, music, dancing and more. This years musical line up will include Ms. Lisa Fischer with the Badass & Beautiful Band and the return of Black Roots Summer, a celebration of Black roots music.

CONCLUSION-UNIQUE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE

I believe this is one of the most unique artistic experiences you could have all at once. There are so many choices between music, opera, dance and theater that you won’t have time to do everything. The Fisher Center is the perfect spot for this type of event. The breath-taking design of the architecture is art in itself. Get your plans in place and buy your tickets early especially if you want to attend the swanky gala event or the Spiegeltent party.

Tickets for mainstage events went on sale March 9th, starting at $25. Spiegeltent tickets went on sale in April. For complete information regarding tickets, series discounts and more, visit fishercenter.bard.edu or call Bard’s box office at (845) 758-7900.

If you enjoyed what you read, you might also like other posts under Artful Ideal where I tell you about fun things you might want to experience in your artsy journeys around the world. Be on the look out for my next post on my latest foodie adventure. Until next time…

Cheers!

ArtsyChowRoamer

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