Are you hungry enough to feast yourself? Well, come chow down on a full fare of the Chamber Singers' annual production of "A Feast of Song." It promises a little bit of everything to the art connoisseur: a few laughs, dancing and drama, a healthy dose of history and, of course, food.
The cast members will even serve roast beef and vegetarian entrees in true Elizabethan style to put everyone in the mood for an evening of original entertainment.
An annual Dartmouth tradition, "A Feast of Song" began in 1980 as "A Feast of Carols." Always providing a breath of freshness, the original productions rotate between five nationalities: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
This year, the English program is combined with Helene Rothermund's vintage catering to provide what the Chamber Singers' conductor Music Professor Melinda O'Neal dubbed, "an evening extravaganza." As a production set around a banquet, "A Feast of Song" captures the true essence of madrigals. As O'Neal explained, the show is special because it is truly "music in context".
The Chamber Singers will be joined by director Robert Castellano and the Early Music Ensemble to belt out classics from Queen Elizabeth's favorite contemporary composers: Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd.
As thespian Matt Gordon '98 summed it up, the show ought not to be missed.
" 'A Feast of Song' is the Chamber Singers' contribution to Winter term at Dartmouth," Gordon said. It's a thing we take great pride in doing a great job on year after year, and every year, it's something we look forward to doing."
"It's also very popular among the students as well because they get to see their friends dress up in Renaissance garb and put on a dinner show for them. It's really a lot of fun overall," he added.
Soloists include: Tom Farley '98, Jennifer Kaye '99, April Kimmel '96, Natalyn Nails '96, Kelii Opulauoho '96 and Chris Pennock '97. Molly Heath '98 and Michael Roberts '96 act as the head peasants and Jo Weingarten '98 directs.
Set in 1570 at Liz's summer court, Rycote, "A Feast of Song" centers on the entertainment of Her Majesty while incorporating various abortive assassination attempts. Liz (Laura Gibson '99) is surrounded by numerous intriguing subplots.
Lord and Lady Norris (Colin Bills '98 and Rain Minns '97), ever the busybodies, ally themselves with others to steer the court in the direction of more "appropriate" entertainment.
Characterized as a "Cecil B. DeMille type," Lord Norris and the estranged wife of the Fairy King, Titania Oberon (Margaret Quinn '99), plan a pageant. At the same time, the Martha Stewart-esque Lady Norris teams up with the court composer, William Byrd (Schuyler Headstrom '99), to put on a concert of his music.
In another subplot, the head of Liz's secret service, Lord Walsingham (Matt Gordon '98) worries about his charge's safety while Lady Walsingham (Jennifer Land '96) loathes her husband's responsibility and cannot take her scheming mind off of death.
Other interesting characters include Liz's treasurer (Farley), his pet-o-philic wife (Jennifer Holland '99) and a relentlessly courting courtier of Liz (Arvid Nelson '99).
"A Feast of Song" will play for five shows beginning tonight and ending on Monday, Jan. 15. The performances will begin at 6:00 p.m.
These shows include all the culinary delights, and the choreographed and fully costumed production will be equally fit to devour. Bon Appetit!
