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From the opening, the stirring gay anthem, “I Am What I Am,” from “La Cage aux Folles” to the universally beloved “Over the Rainbow” from “Wizard of Oz,” the beautiful and multi-talented Audra McDonald held the capacity crowd at Blossom Music Festival captive with her marvelous singing and humorous narrations.
The multi-Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner has the charm and charisma to reach across the footlights and hold an audience spellbound whether singing the soaring “Summertime” from “Showboat” or plaintiff “I Could Have Danced All Night” from “My Fair Lady,” or the advice-giving “Children Will Listen” from “Into the Woods,” or the delightful “Dear Friend” from She Loves Me.”
Weaving songs from Broadway hits and flops, encased with a tribute to 911 and tales of her youngest daughter’s disdain for the singer’s musical talents, there wasn’t a moment during the show that she wasn’t emotionally present. She is the consummate entertainer in the mold of Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Bette Midler.
Known for her starring roles in “110 in the Shade,” “Carousel,” “Ragtime,” “Master Class,” “Porgy and Bess” and “Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill” she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama and has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Upcoming Blossom programs include:
*RACHMANINOFF’S RHAPSODY, Saturday, August 11, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
*YO-YO MA PLAYS BACH, Sunday, August 12, 2018, at 7:00 p.m., and
*SIBELIUS SECOND SYMPHONY, Saturday, August 18, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
*The season ends with STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE IN CONCERT, Friday, August 31, 2018, at 8:30 p.m., Saturday, September 1, 2018, at 8:30 p.m., Sunday, September 2, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.
What do the “1812 Overture,” “An American In Paris,” Pinchas Zukerman, and viewing of film Raiders Of The Lost Ark and playing it’s score all have in common? They are all part of the 2016 Blossom Music Festival.
Yes, there is something for everyone, no matter your musical tastes, in the July 4-September 4, 2016 season at the beautiful Blossom Music Center. Sit in the pavilion or lounge on the lawn, but take advantage of northern Ohio music under the stars.
In an interview with Ilya Gidalevich, the Cleveland Orchestra’s assistant artistic administrator, who was hired in January to aid Franz Welser-Möst in the conception and execution of programs at Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center, he revealed that the organization followed the “same programming philosophy of earlier seasons centering on the knowledge that audiences at Blossom were of different age groups and backgrounds than at Severance.” Therefore, “effort was made to bring in new names as well as those with whom the orchestra has a relationship that would appeal to the Blossom audience demographics.”
The selection of programs are a collaborative process where the history and reputations of the guest artists, the orchestra’s background, the conductors, various selections, and the musicians are considered. The objective is to “find what will cast the best possible light and make for success.”
Gidalevich, indicated that, “all of the artists are at the top of their field.” He added, “if you think Broadway, you think Michael Feinstein,” who had a strong performance last year at Blossom. This year, he will be appearing with the orchestra, itself. (“Michael Feinstein’s Broadway,” Sunday, July 31 @ 7 p.m.)
Celebrated and award winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma “brings together musicians from all over the world with the thread of the Silk Road.” (“Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma ,” Saturday, August 13 @ 8 p.m.)
Randy Jackson, best known as the front man for the band, Zebra, will sing selections from the Led Zeppelin repertoire accompanied by the Blossom Festival Orchestra. (“The Music of Led Zeppelin: A Rock Symphony,” Saturday,
August 20 @ 8 p.m.)
Other highlights of the 2016 Blossom Season include:
•”1812 Overture,” Saturday July 2 @ 8 p.m. and Sunday July 3, 8 p.m., with fireworks.
•”Beethoven’s Heroic Symphony,” Saturday, July 9 @ 8 p.m., conducted by Welser-Möst, with fireworks.
•”Thibaudet Plays Grieg,” Saturday, July 23, 8 p.m., Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays piano, Jahja Ling, conducts.
•”Magic of the Movies,” Sunday, July 24, 7 p.m., Blossom Festival Chorus, Capathia Jenkins, vocalist, Michael Krajewski, conductor.
•Pinchas Zukerman plays Mozart,” Saturday, July 30 @ 7 p.m.
•Zukerman, violin, and The Cleveland Orchestra, with the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra performing a side-by-side performance of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”), Hans Graf, conductor.
•Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Plays Bach (Brandenburg Concertos #3, 5, 6 & 2), Saturday, August 27, 8 p.m., (Blossom Music Festival debut).
For a complete schedule, times and dates, go to clevelandorchestra.com.
Tickets: Individual pavilion and lawn tickets, starting at $24, are now on sale by telephone (216-231-1111), in person at the Severance Hall ticket office or online at clevelandorchestra.com.
“Under 18’s Free” offers free tickets to those 17 and under. Over 90,000 youth have attended Blossom concerts under the support of the Maltz family Foundation.
See you under the stars at Blossom! Come early, bring a picnic, enjoy the beauty of the grounds.
The evening was warm, the crickets in full voice, the pavilion almost filled, the lawn covered with bodies, blankets, bottles and baskets, sounds wafting from the big band musicians, melodic words, and a spoken and sung pleasant voice entertaining and educating. It was the program, “Michael Feinstein A Big Band Tribute to Frank Sinatra” at the beautiful Blossom Center.
Diminutive Michael Feinstein’s musical career started at age 5 in Columbus, Ohio. The young Michael started to play piano by ear, developed into a piano bar celeb, came to New York, was introduced to Ira Gershwin, composer of “I Got Rhythm,” “Love is Here to Stay,” and “’Swonderful,” became his assistant for six years, met the elite of the music business, and transformed himself into “The Ambassador of the Great American Songbook.”
Feinstein has transcribed, arranged, catalogued and performed a vast collection of American musical standards. His personal connection with such musical greats as Rosemary Clooney, Sammy Davis Jr., Cole Porter and Liza Minnelli opened the door to a knowledge of music that turned him into an anthropologist and archivist. In 2007 he founded the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative, dedicated to celebrating the art musical form and preserving it through educational programs, competitions, and making the songs available to the public.
Feinstein, who has won two Emmy Awards, is also a song stylist who presents over 200 shows each year.
You don’t go to a Feinstein concert to hear imitations of the singers whose songs he presents, but to hear the compositions presented in the style of those artists. You don’t go expecting a performer who captivates the audience like Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler or Edina Menzel. You go to hear a pleasant evening of personal tales, revealing information, and classic songs.
His July 18, 2015 Blossom concert was a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Feinstein revealed how he met and became friends with “old blue eyes.” How Sinatra was instrumental in expanding the young man’s musical contacts, and personal stories about the man who is considered to be one of the greatest interpreters of American songs.
Starting with “Luck be a Lady” from the musical, “Guys and Dolls,” to probably Sinatra’s mantra, “New York, New York,” the evening flowed easily from song to song, from tale to tale. There was humor, pathos, name dropping and a little gossip.
Songs included “Time After Time,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” which was written as a waltz, but was reinterpreted by Sinatra, and “It’s Alright With Me.” Other songs were “Just One of Those Things,” which Feinstein indicated Sinatra viewed as the saddest lyrics ever written, and “Night and Day, “one of the great man’s favorites. Others presented were “Someday,” “My Kind of Town,” written specifically for Sinatra by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn for inclusion in “Robin and the Seven Hoods,” and “Fools Rush In,” the kind of song which was sung with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of Scotch in the other. “All the Way” was followed by a medley of songs from the Sinatra songbook including “Come Fly With Me,” “It’s Witchcraft,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”
The appreciative crowd gave Feinstein a much deserved standing ovation and left humming their favorite song from the encyclopedia of music they had just heard.
Future pop Blossom presentations include:
“Broadway Divas,” a program including songs from “Wicked,” “Les Miz,” “Cabaret,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Chicago.” (August 2)
“The British Invasion: The Music of the Beatles, The Stones, The Who,” and more. (August 16)
“Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis” (August 29)
For tickets to these and other Blossom concerts call 216-231-1111 or 800-686-1141, go the Severance Hall Ticket Office, or Blossom Box Office, or go online to http://www.clevelandorchestra.com
