2002 Featured Artists    
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Bermuda

THE AQUILA THEATRE COMPANY
16th and 17th January 2002
THE TEMPEST by William Shakespeare

Set in a beguiling metaphoric world, The Tempest examines human behaviour as it strives for Utopia. The magician Prospero skillfully manipulates three groups of lost travellers as they plot and conspire for supremacy of the island on whose enchanted shores a raging storm has thrown them. The Aquila Theatre Company re-tells the compelling story of this spellbinding play through the poignancy, verve and grace of Shakespeare’s language.

Note: It is commonly acknowledged that Shakespeare was inspired by the story of the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda ’s shores and indeed Ariel is called upon to “...fetch dew from the still-vex’d Bermoothes...” Act I Sc 2.

Pre-performance talk Bermuda National Gallery

Performance City Hall Theatre

18th January 2002

MASTERCLASS
An exciting opportunity to participate in an on-stage workshop with the actors of the Aquila Theatre Company. Participants are advised to wear loose clothing. Limited to thirty participants.

City Hall Theatre

19th January 2002
THE WRATH OF ACHILLES

Continuing in the classical vein, the Company presents The Wrath of Achilles, a play based on the later books of Homer’s epic war poem, The Iliad. Presented in modern dress, this original work hurls the audience into a world at war, where the desperate struggle for survival in mortal combat tests the mettle of the great classical heroes. It tells the story of the Greeks’ near-defeat at the hands of the advancing Trojans, Achilles’ stubborn refusal to fight in the war, the tragic death of his great friend Patroclus and the great hero’s eventual return to the battlefield to face the awesome might of the Trojan warrior, Hector. The sheer dramatic force and power of ancient Greek poetry is brought alive in this action-packed production.

Pre-performance Talk Bermuda National Gallery

Performance City Hall Theatre

 

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO
21st and 22nd January 2002

Grammy award winners and nominees for numerous other Tony, Academy and Grammy awards, Ladysmith Black Mambazo take Bermuda by storm. Founded by Joseph Shabalala and brought into the international spotlight when they collaborated on Paul Simon’s Graceland , this South African a capella ensemble has a world following. The traditional music they sing, isicathamiya, was born in the mines, where they developed their harmonies and choreographed their tunes as relaxation from the harsh conditions of their working week. Regarded as South Africa ’s cultural emissaries, they sang at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

A LUNCHTIME FLUTE AND GUITAR RECITAL
William Bennett - Flute
Simon Wynberg – Guitar
23rd January 2002

Renowned flautist William Bennett, well-loved by Bermuda audiences, returns to the Island to present a variety of concerts. He is joined for this lunchtime recital by the accomplished guitarist Simon Wynberg. The programme includes music by Molino, Schubert, Villa Lobos, Ibert, Beaser, Hoover , Debussy and Massenet.

Performance National Gallery

 

PIANO RECITAL
Clifford Benson - piano
Wednesday 23rd January 2002

Renowned for his sensitivity and outstanding musicianship, acclaimed pianist Clifford Benson gives a single solo piano recital. The programme includes

  • Mozart Adagio in B minor K540
  • Chopin Nocturne in F sharp major op 15 No. 2
  • Chopin Waltz in D flat major op70 No. 3
  • Chopin Waltz in E minor
  • Debussy Claire de Lune
  • Debussy L’Isle Joyeuse

Performance City Hall Theatre

 

A COCKTAIL HOUR FLUTE AND HARPSICHORD RECITAL
Clifford Benson - harpsichord
William Bennett – flute
Simon Wynberg - guitar
24th January 2002

Clifford Benson demonstrates his expertise on the harpsichord, in the intimate setting of the National Gallery where he shares the limelight with flautist William Bennett and guitarist Simon Wynberg. The programme includes

  • Handel B flat Sonata
  • M. Marais La Folia
  • M. Ponce Sonata for Guitar and Harpsichord
  • Debussy Syrinx for Flute solo
  • Bach Sonata No. 5 in E minor

Performance National Gallery

 

CHAMBER CONCERT
William Bennett - flute
Simon Wynberg - guitar
25th January 2002

Once described as “that prince of flautists”, William Bennett conjures up a magical concert of chamber music with guitarist Simon Wynberg. The programme includes:

  • Bartok Romanian Dances
  • Castelnuovo Tedesco Sonatine
  • Villa Lobos Two songs – Cancao do Amore
  • Modhinha
  • Dohnanyi Passacaglia
  • Piazzolla Histoire du Tango

Performance City Hall Theatre

 

CHAMBER CONCERT
William Bennett - flute
Clifford Benson - piano
26th January 2002

Bringing a close to the week of chamber concerts William Bennett and Clifford Benson explore a varied repertoire of exquisite music for these instruments featuring:

  • Mozart Sonata in B flat K16
  • Bach Aria from The St. Matthew Passion
  • Mendelssohn Sonata in F minor
  • Roussel Joyeurs de Flute
  • Gade Tango Fantasia
  • Bellini Casta Diva
  • Poulenc Sonata
  • Taffanel Mignon
  • Villa Lobos The Jet Whistle

Performance City Hall Theatre

HEY GRINGO!
Armed only with his malleable face, comic actor Peter Searles, storyteller extraordinaire, recounts his hilarious and poignant escapades during his travels in South America

In a departure from the usual Festival fodder, this amusing off-beat character tells various travellers’ tales with earthy humour and strong language. Stand-up comedy/storytelling with a twist!

28th and 30th January 2002

Hey Gringo! Through Peru

Riveting storyteller Peter Searles takes you on a roller-coaster ride down unexplored tributaries of the Amazon, across the snow-capped peaks of the Andes and into the depths of some of the most brutal prisons in the world. A catalogue of close scrapes and surprise encounters - drug smugglers, Dutch Airline hostesses, Carmelite Monks, Maoist guerillas, Mancunian ornithologists, Amazonian Indians and a French Shaman - not to mention crocodiles, jaguars and giant centipedes.....guaranteed to entertain.

29th January 2002

Hey Gringo! A Chile Christmas

Sit back in the comfort of Daylesford Theatre, while Peter Searles regales you with his hair-raising exploits in Chile . From the scorching wastes of the Atacama Desert, Searles travels south accompanied by a beautiful revolutionary, over-sexed train drivers, out of work actors, Marxist priests, fascist police, Chilean Eco-warriors......in a journey that turns into a quest for truth and meaning in a land torn apart by years of military dictatorship.

Performance Daylesford Theatre

 

 

 

MONTY ALEXANDER
With Hassan Shakur on contrabass and Mark Taylor on drums
1st and 2nd February 2002

Bringing to Bermuda his own inimitable style, Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander explores the roots of reggae and jazz in two distinct programmes:

1st February

Monty Alexander Trio America , a programme of the music of Duke Ellington and other Classic Jazz Masters, with Hassan Shakur on contrabass and Mark Taylor on drums

2nd February

Monty Alexander Goin’ Yard, a programme of Jamaican flavoured compositions, with Hassan Shakur on contrabass and Mark Taylor on drums.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE Studio Company
4th and 5th February 2002

Exposing the dance stars of tomorrow, the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, under the direction of John Meehan, is a small classical company of twelve young dancers of outstanding talent. Now in its sixth season, the Company prepares its hand-picked artists to enter the world-acclaimed American Ballet Theatre and provides opportunities for the emergence of new and established choreographers and composers.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

AN EVENING OF ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

The Bermuda School of Music
6th and 7th February 2002

Outstanding young professional musicians return to Bermuda to join faculty members of The Bermuda School of Music and the Menuhin Foundation, augmented by advanced students, to present a captivating programme of orchestral music. John York Skinner and Mark Dorrell will each take the baton to conduct the orchestra and soloists in a production set to scale massive heights.

Programme:

  • Vivaldi Concerto for Two trumpets and String Orchestra
  • Rodrigo Concierto di Aranjuez (1939) Soloist – Stephen Crawford – guitar
  • Bernstein Candide Overture
  • Prokofiev Classical Symphony
  • Tatiana Dran A New Work For Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone and Chamber Ensemble

City Hall Theatre

 

THE BLACK DYKE BAND
8th and 9th February 2002

This highly popular brass band from Yorkshire makes a welcome return visit to Bermuda .

Under the baton of new Musical Director and Principal Conductor Nicholas J. Childs, this accomplished band presents two eclectic concerts of riveting and infectious music, guaranteed to lift the heart and stir the soul.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

RAGS, TANGOS AND WALTZES

Joshua Rifkin - piano
11th February 2002

Joshua Rifkin explores the expressive world of the music of American Ragtime master Scott Joplin and that of his Brazilian contemporary Ernesto Nazareth - a world delicately poised between exuberance and melancholy. Featured in the programme are The Entertainer, which revived interest in Joplin ’s music when it was used in the soundtrack for the movie The Sting, and the ever popular Maple Leaf Rag.

Performance City Hall Theatre

 

THE BACH ENSEMBLE
Director - Joshua Rifkin
Soprano - Julianne Baird
12th February 2002

Directed by the versatile Joshua Rifkin, this outstanding ensemble unites virtuoso musicianship with historical authenticity in two all Bach programmes.

12th February 2002

  • Ouverture in D major BWV 1068a
  • Wedding Cantata “Weichet nur, betrubte Schatten”, BWV 202 - soprano Julianne Baird
  • Trio Sonata in G major BWV 1039c
  • Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D major BWV 1050

13th February 2002

  • Concerto for Oboe d’Amore in A major BWV 1055r
  • Ouverture for Violin in A minor BWV 1067r
  • Cantata “Non sa che sia dolore” BWV 209
  • Triple Concerto in A minor BWV 1044

Performance City Hall Theatre

 

THE NEW SHANGHAI CIRCUS
14th -17th February 2001

A thrilling programme of contortionists, acrobatic feats, juggling and Dragon dancing is presented by these highly skilled, rigorously trained and superbly talented performers from mainland China. Guaranteed to enthrall audience members young and old alike, this is an unforgettable family event. Enhanced by fabulous lighting, choreography and music, the members of the troupe perform gravity-defying feats with extraordinary displays of power and grace.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

DONALD BYRD/THE GROUP
Thursday 21 st – 23 rd February

Donald Byrd, artistic director and choreographer of Donald Byrd/The Group, has developed a style which is distinctly American in its integration of black vernacular dancing with classical ballet and modern techniques. Much of his choreography reflects the current times - fast, charged and direct. Judge for yourself when his company presents his full-length piece In a Different Light: Duke Ellington. A rare opportunity to see one of the finest American dance companies in action.

Performance Ruth Seaton James Centre

 

ART
By Yasmina Reza trans. Christopher Hampton

By arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.

A Bermuda Festival Production in association with the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society
26th February – 2nd March 2002

Hot off London’s West End , director Marc Mollica presents the award-winning play ART featuring local actors Nigel Kermode, Gavin Wilson and Richard Fell. Centred around the purchase of a painting, the play examines the developing relationship of three long-standing friends. This dark comedy, often amusing, always entertaining and sometimes outright hilarious, received high acclaim on Broadway and in London , where it has become something of a phenomenon.

The closing night’s performance will be followed by a gala reception at which the featured painting will be sold at auction. Part of the proceeds of the sale will be donated to the Bermuda National Gallery, the Bermuda Society of Arts and Masterworks.

Performance City Hall Theatre