This spectacular evening of dance, opera, orchestra and drama with inspiring score by Carl Orff and choreography by Gregory Schramel and Marjorie Hardwick Schramel will leave you transformed and humming this haunting music for days.

The music's style is equally inclusive, ranging from simple chant to almost rock-inspired rhythmic sections. The opening and closing tracks, both titled "O Fortuna," mirror each other: They begin with all forces at full throttle, then immediately scale back in an ominous warning repetition that builds to a climactic close. Between these bookends lies music of many diverse styles, with a hypnotic repetitive element, an intense purity of the solo soprano and the children's choir, a raucous quality to the all-male sections, and a humor underlying the lewd nature of the lyrics (which sound so erudite in Latin), all combining to create an immediacy and accessibility not found in many works.

Friday, April 27, 2012 7:00 PM
Sunday, April 29, 2012 1:30 PM