MedicCook
02-01-2007, 12:53 PM
Curtain rises on SPAC season
SARATOGA SPRINGS - With the smooth sounds of live jazz filling the Hall of Springs on a wintry afternoon, SPAC President and Executive Director Marcia White announced the venue's 2007 summer schedule Wednesday.
"More than ever before, this year's season has been developed with today's audiences in mind," White said. "It mixes tradition with imagination, classic with contemporary, while preserving the world-class programming quality that is SPAC's hallmark."
The 42nd season will include performances by the New York City Ballet - from July 3-21 - and The Philadelphia Orchestra, which will appear Aug. 1-18. Performances featuring the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival and the Lake George Opera will be held through the summer at the Spa Little Theatre with a new, "extended season" of shows kicking off the season in earnest in late May.
Changes on this year's slate include a new 8 p.m. curtain time, said SPAC board chairman William Dake. The goal in a competitive entertainment market is in going "from a venue providing performance to a venue providing an experience," Dake said. A major change this year is with architectural alterations.
"We will be kicking off the celebration in the most exciting way possible: with the unveiling of SPAC's newly renovated amphitheater," White said. "It is the most extensive renovation of SPAC's amphitheater since its opening in 1966."
Last August, State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro announced $2.1 million in funding had been committed to SPAC for the improvements. The renovation includes the removal of all 5,100 original seats and replacing them wider, more comfortable seats. Despite their larger size, capacity at the venue will increase to 5,248.
"Construction has been going well and on schedule," White said. Details for a grand public unveiling of the new renovations will be announced shortly, she added.
Representatives from a number of sponsoring agencies were in attendance at Wednesday's
event, which featured a brief performance by jazz vocalist Sachal Vasandani, who will be appearing at the two-day jazz festival in June.
Rob Daniels, managing director of the New York City Ballet, announced a a new full-length production of "Romeo and Juliet" which will have its Saratoga premiere during the ballet's opening week. Other ballet highlights include a centennial celebration of NYCB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein's birth and an Independence Day 'Stars and Stripes' celebration with a picnic on the lawn and fireworks.
Ticket prices for the season were kept at last year's level, White said.
The Philadelphia Orchestra season will include appearances by Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Andre Watts and the 30th Annual Freihofer's Jazz Festival will feature a lineup including some of the artists who performed during the inaugural festival in 1978.
A spokesperson for Live Nation - promoters of the pop concert series at SPAC - said it was too early in the year to know who will be booked at the venue this summer. Specific ticket information and prices appeared on the the venue's Web site late Wednesday afternoon. For more information, visit: www.spac.org.
Reach Thomas Dimopoulos at tdimopoulos@saratogian. com or 518-583-8729 ext 219.
http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17792254&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17708&rfi=6
SARATOGA SPRINGS - With the smooth sounds of live jazz filling the Hall of Springs on a wintry afternoon, SPAC President and Executive Director Marcia White announced the venue's 2007 summer schedule Wednesday.
"More than ever before, this year's season has been developed with today's audiences in mind," White said. "It mixes tradition with imagination, classic with contemporary, while preserving the world-class programming quality that is SPAC's hallmark."
The 42nd season will include performances by the New York City Ballet - from July 3-21 - and The Philadelphia Orchestra, which will appear Aug. 1-18. Performances featuring the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival and the Lake George Opera will be held through the summer at the Spa Little Theatre with a new, "extended season" of shows kicking off the season in earnest in late May.
Changes on this year's slate include a new 8 p.m. curtain time, said SPAC board chairman William Dake. The goal in a competitive entertainment market is in going "from a venue providing performance to a venue providing an experience," Dake said. A major change this year is with architectural alterations.
"We will be kicking off the celebration in the most exciting way possible: with the unveiling of SPAC's newly renovated amphitheater," White said. "It is the most extensive renovation of SPAC's amphitheater since its opening in 1966."
Last August, State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro announced $2.1 million in funding had been committed to SPAC for the improvements. The renovation includes the removal of all 5,100 original seats and replacing them wider, more comfortable seats. Despite their larger size, capacity at the venue will increase to 5,248.
"Construction has been going well and on schedule," White said. Details for a grand public unveiling of the new renovations will be announced shortly, she added.
Representatives from a number of sponsoring agencies were in attendance at Wednesday's
event, which featured a brief performance by jazz vocalist Sachal Vasandani, who will be appearing at the two-day jazz festival in June.
Rob Daniels, managing director of the New York City Ballet, announced a a new full-length production of "Romeo and Juliet" which will have its Saratoga premiere during the ballet's opening week. Other ballet highlights include a centennial celebration of NYCB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein's birth and an Independence Day 'Stars and Stripes' celebration with a picnic on the lawn and fireworks.
Ticket prices for the season were kept at last year's level, White said.
The Philadelphia Orchestra season will include appearances by Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Andre Watts and the 30th Annual Freihofer's Jazz Festival will feature a lineup including some of the artists who performed during the inaugural festival in 1978.
A spokesperson for Live Nation - promoters of the pop concert series at SPAC - said it was too early in the year to know who will be booked at the venue this summer. Specific ticket information and prices appeared on the the venue's Web site late Wednesday afternoon. For more information, visit: www.spac.org.
Reach Thomas Dimopoulos at tdimopoulos@saratogian. com or 518-583-8729 ext 219.
http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17792254&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17708&rfi=6