Violinist Fain inspires Vanguard audience

By Burt Saidel

Impresaria Elana Bolling has an unerring ear and sense for great new artists.  Forty-five seasons of Vanguard Concerts have proven that she mixes established chamber musicians and introduces the next generation of musical stars.  

The results speak for themselves.  Vanguard has been a jewel in Dayton’s musical life.  A sophisticated and loyal following revels in the music and the magnificent Art Institute’s Renaissance Auditorium.  

The February concert could be one of the most memorable in this long series. Young, handsome affable and very talented Timothy Fain has been named “Up and Coming” by Symphony magazine in 2006.  The enthusiastic Vanguard audience would eagerly claim that Timothy is “already here.”

When we consider “already here” we must note that Timothy’s family has deep Dayton Roots. His uncles, Publisher Jim Fain and Judge Mike Fain, can proudly claim Dayton’s newest musical heritage.

What electrified the Vanguard audience was Fain’s rare musicality.  So many of our new generation of artists play with technical brilliance and dizzying speed.  The all-important competitions seem to foment that type of playing.  

Accompanied by another young and talented artist, pianist Cory Smythe, Fain presented a highly varied program in which each work was treated appropriately but with compelling individuality.  It seems that the violin was literally speaking; such was the clarity of sound and expression.

The concert opened with the Mendelssohn F minor sonata.  A work of the 14 year old prodigy composer, it is big and yet soft in expression.  Continuing with a Mozart Adagio and a cutting edge contemporary work by Kevin Puts, Fain showed his mastery of his instrument and his almost unique ability to deliver every note, each line with crystalline clarity.

At intermission, the crowd was clearly in a state of excitement over what they had heard. The second half of the concert underscored that feeling. More familiar pieces by Bach, Chausson and Saint-Saëns had the same compelling originality. Without bombast, Fain was able to add meaning to each passage.  

His ability to inspire calls for many returns to Dayton.  Hopefully, we will hear him with the Philharmonic as well.

Dayton Playhouse’ The Musical

Theater, particularly musical theater, is often about fun.  For generations, the great style which has become American musical theatre is about feeling good, happy endings, great songs and, I’m not ashamed to say, good fun.

Great drama, Les Miserables is a perfect example, has entered the genre with stunning results.  This does not diminish the fanciful art form.

Another diversion is the time-honored use of our favorite musicals as a fertile field for parody and satire.  How few of us have not been part of a college skit which was a take off on one of these great musicals?

When parody is elevated from the college stage to the theater stage, wondrous things can happen – and did happen in The Dayton Playhouse’s “Flip Side” production of The Musical of Musicals: The Musical.

“The Musical” is the work of the clever and rather off-the-wall talents of composer Eric Rockwell and lyricist Joanne Bogart.  They have re-synthesized the musical styles of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Kander & Ebb into five, yes count ‘em, five separate musicals.  

Each has the same plot – well almost a plot.  The four actors play hero, villain, love interest and old woman/mother superior.  The shred of a plot deals with the arch villain demanding the rent from the young beauty.  Of course, “I can’t pay the rent” is her anguished response.

The actors, accompanied by the very busy piano of Robert Mueller, sing and dance bits from every imaginable musical.  The result, corny at times but always riotous, is almost beyond description.

The hero was handsome Joshua Mollohan, the young beauty, and she is a young beauty, was Gina Beck.  The villain is who else but WSU professor of music, Charles Larkowski.  The old “broad” could be none other than Joan Harrah.

The four romped through two nights of riotous revelry.  The audience was at the edge of their seats trying to catch every clever snippet.  The singers wove themes, situations, and characters into a warp and woof of solid entertainment.

The free performances are yet another innovation of Dayton Playhouse artistic director Adam Leigh.  He has transformed a failing theater into one of the most vital additions to our already rich theater buffet.  

Plans for next season include all of the usual plus a three night, three separate play exploration of the Greek Oedipus cycle.  Now that’s innovative, daring and wonderful!

Adam Alonso photos at UD

Adam Alonzo seems to be everywhere.  A part of his quest is to always carry his camera.  He photographs places, events, people with an unerringly artistic eye.  His latest exhibition, at UD’s Roesch Library, is full of these compelling images.  

The exhibit closes March 2nd.  Don’t be discouraged if you can’t make it.  Another show will come along soon displaying the works of this energetic artist.

String quartet recital March 4

The Flux String Quartet, leading performers of avant-garde music, will perform on the Chamber Music Yellow Springs series at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4 in the First Presbyterian Church of Yellow Springs, 314 Xenia Ave.

They have programmed a half-century of radical string quartets: “Structures” by Morton Feldman, String Quartet No.3 by political exile Conlon Nancarrow, “Skerry” (2007) by Skip LaPlante, “9.9.99” by jazz great Roscoe Mitchell, and String Quartet No.2 by Count Giacinto Scelsi.

Tickets at the door are $18 adults, $5 students.  WSU Professor Christopher Chaffee will give a free pre-concert lecture at 6:45 in the church, a simple supper will be offered at 6 p.m. and a gourmet dinner at the post-concert reception.

To reserve tickets for the performance or places at the meals, please phone (937) 374-8800.  On the web, go to www.cmys.org.

Cirque Dreams at Victoria Theatre Feb. 20-Mar. 4

The Victoria Theatre will become the home of a colorful dream in an enchanted forest when Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy draws Dayton audiences into a trance of the imagination as part of Victoria Theatre Association’s Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series, Feb. 20 – March 4.

Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy features an international cast of graceful aerialists, spine bending contortionists, vine swinging characters, strongmen and balancers, who bring this jungle dream to life in a lush, Broadway setting filled with wildly unpredictable designs, special effects, inventive choreography, puppeteering and dazzling costumes.

The company employs more than 100 of the word’s most skilled individuals, hailing from The Mongolian School of Contortion, The Acrobatic Training Center of Beijing China, The Sports Acrobatic Association of Poland, The Moscow Circus, The Russian State College for Variety Arts and more.

Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy will be on stage at the Victoria Theatre February 20 – March 4, with shows Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices begin at just $32, with discounts available for senior citizens, students and groups. Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage and may be purchased at the Schuster Center box office in downtown Dayton or by phone, at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630.

Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday, noon - 4 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com. 

Moscow Circus to perform Mar. 7

Award-winning acrobats from the fabulous Moscow International Circus will astonish audience members with the performance of a life time. The Dayton Masonic Temple will be hosting this event on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 with show times at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

“The Moscow International Circus is thrilled to begin its debut tour,” said Tuffy Nicholas, Moscow International Circus producer. “We have scouted amazing talent from around the globe to create a spectacular production that everyone can enjoy.”

This marvelous new show features second and third generation circus performers from around the world including graduates of the Moscow Circus College and headliners from international circus festivals in both Rome and Monte Carlo.

The Moscow International Circus upholds the longstanding heritage and traditions of Russian circuses. The history of the Russian circus has a fascinating beginning in which, under Communist regime, it developed a quality and expertise on a scale unknown to the rest of the world while garnering prestige and celebrity status throughout Russia that was on par with the ballet and opera.

In order to insure that everyone is able to afford to see this wonderful form of family entertainment the producers are distributing a limited number of free children’s tickets along with special two for one tickets and discount family passes throughout various area merchants. For more information, ticket pricing and reservations please visit www.moscowinternationalcircus.com.

Opera Guild plans ‘A Celtic Fantasy’

“A Celtic Fantasy” is the theme of this year’s Opera Gala which will be held on Saturday, Mar. 17. in the Great Hall of Sinclair Community College. It will offer an imaginary trip to the Emerald Isle, with shamrocks, druids, fairies and ……leprechauns with their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Beginning at 6:30, the “black tie” evening includes gourmet dining, a silent auction in the “Grafton Street Marketplace”, Emerald-tinis and more in O’Housers Martini Bar, a Blarney Stone Pub and entertainment on the Celtic Stage featuring Irish dancing by the Celtic Academy.

A wide variety of silent-auction items will be offered. dining experiences, including dinner in your home with Judge Tony Capizzi as chef, fine wines, a voucher for tickets to Dublin’s Opera Ireland, signed copies of Andrew Greeley’s Irish
series books, jewelry, Waterford crystal, dinner with the stars of Dayton Opera’s upcoming production of Don Giovanni, a chance to be a “supernumerary” for Don Giovanni, and more.

A “Pot o’ Gold” Raffle offers a chance to win a piece of Charles Krypell jewelry, with an approximate retail value of $4,000, from James Free Jewelers; Co-chairing the evening are Betty Holton and Jane Reynolds. Honorary Chairperson this year is Opera Guild member and opera enthusiast Lovetta  Blanke.  Soprano Erie Mills, an international star who has performed for Dayton Opera, is Honored Guest.

All proceeds are used to support the Opera Guild education, vocal and children’s programs, and Dayton Opera productions.

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February 27, 2007
Volume 16, No. 9

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