Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/699546
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JULY 2016 41 AS the world commemorates the 400th anniversary of Shake- speare's death, the Malta Ama- teur Dramatic Club (MADC) looks back with pride and satis- faction at the many years that it has regaled audiences in Malta with the works of this greatest writer of the English language, in his native tongue. In 1938 MADC staged As You Like It in the open air at San An- ton Gardens. The delighted critic of the Malta Chronicle at the time, "Hoped it would become an annual event". This was not to be until 1951 when Head Master of the Ly- ceum, Mr T. Parker directed A Midsummer Night's Dream. And the tradition lives on again this year with MADC's sixty-fifth Shakespeare production, as Nan- ette Brimmer directs the Bard's magical comedy – A Midsummer Night's Dream. At first Brimmer thought of staging the play in the 1960s, to emphasise the timelessness of Shakespeare's writings that are still relevant today. However, on second thoughts decided to cele- brate the genius of the playwright by performing the play tradition- ally – costume and all. A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Promises to be an interesting and entertaining evening as the idyllic wooded crescent of San Anton Gardens become the en- chanted forest, mixing reality and fantasy, with tangled lovers, mis- chievous fairies and mysterious goings on. The cast includes Davide Tuc- ci, Joseph Zammit, Steffi Thake and Maria Buckle as the young Athenian lovers while Roger Ti- razona, Becky d'Ugo, James Borg, John Marinelli and Stephen Galea make up the rest of the Athenian court. Julia Calvert plays Titania, An- tony Edridge - Oberon, Christian Galea - Puck together with Fa- eries Naomi Said, Maria Cassar, Hannah Grech Pirotta, Jasmine Farrugia and Mandy Randon, Mi- chael Mangion, Joe Depasquale, Myron Ellul, Colin Willis, Alex- ander Gatesy Lewis and Leander Schembri are The Mechanicals. A Midsummer Night's Dream will be staged between July 15 to 24 at San Anton Gardens, Attard. Audience members are requested to be seated by 20:30. Bookings: www.madc.com.mt, Telephone: 7777 6232 On the occasion of the 400th Anniversary MADC is offering tickets on the opening night July 15 at€12.00, subsequent perfor- mances are at €20 This Week Shaking up a benchmark Ahead of their jazzy take on the Rite of Spring at the Malta International Arts Festival, Mike Hall of the Royal Northern College of Music Big Band (Manchester) tells TEODOR RELJIC that the enduring Stravinsky piece is 'a jazz piece waiting to happen' Why would you say Stravinsky's Rite of Spring is such an endur- ing piece? I first encountered the Rite of Spring when I was about 10 years old. My dad had it in his modest record collection (result of a sub- scription to a record club, I think). I had enjoyed Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky prior to this but there was something magic about the Stravinsky. I didn't question the dissonance; I just knew it was amazingly exciting. And, of course, as I grew older I came to learn that it was one of the most significant compositions of the 20th century. Further, I hear the Rite of Spring in so much contemporary classi- cal music. It is a reference point, a benchmark for much modern music and has been absorbed into musical thinking of many musi- cians and composers. Would you say there's a 'pagan' energy to it – given the subject matter, especially – and if so, how does your approach tap into it? Yes, there is a pagan energy but I just hear rhythmic excitement coupled with harmonic sophisti- cation and an amazing orchestra- tion. What is the process of adapting Stravinsky to a Big Band format like? Did it require a big leap of the imagination or was it a more or less natural transition? Well, following on from your last question, so much of the harmony is what I think of as jazz harmony. For example, dominant 7th chords with a raised ninth on the top. Nowadays jazz musicians still re- fer to this as the 'Jimmy Hendrix chord' but there is Stravinsky us- ing it (and more) in 1913! And some of the rhythmic feels are so much of a 'groove' (e.g., The Augurs of Spring/ Dances of the Young Girls) that I maintain that the Rite of Spring is a jazz piece waiting to happen! Stravinsky was so far ahead of his time. While classical music is occasionally credited as being affected by jazz, there is no doubt in my mind that Stravinsky, and in particular the Rite of Spring, has had a huge in- fluence on jazz! Adaptation to big band is therefore a natural pro- cess, although that is not to dis- count the excellent job done here by Darryl Brenzel. Going by your experience at the RNCM, what would you say are some of the most urgent issues and concerns that young and up- and-coming musicians face? Outside of professional orches- tras, music has never had a formal 'career path'. Employment for mu- sicians has altered radically over the last 40 years. Making a living presents different demands nowa- days. Today it is the musicians who can offer skills in additional to being great players who will do well in the business; innovation, personality, a genuine interest in education, self-management, self- promotion, adaptability, composi- tion and arranging. Are you looking forward to per- forming in Malta? Very much so. I love performing abroad, especially outdoors. I have visited Malta before and really en- joy the environment and atmos- phere. I am certain that it will be a night to remember. Re-(W)Rite of Spring! will be taking place at Fort St Elmo, Val- letta on 9 July at 21:00. The event forms part of the Malta Interna- tional Arts Festival. For ticket in- formation and a full programme of events, log on to: http://maltaarts- festival.org/ Mike Hall: "Stravinsky has had a huge influence on jazz" Idyllic garden setting for A Midsummer Night's Dream The cast of MADC's A Midsummer Night's Dream prepare to traipse around the idyllic San Anton Gardens