Paradise and the Peri

what is this, a free ad? yes, you smart. I'm singing this oratorio with the hudson valley singers in two weeks, and why not use my uncensored (and also unread) internet corner for a little publicity?

Only recently did I read and understand this epic oriental story. Making lists is a cliche way of summarizing experiences, let me put up with three items of threes for now:
There were three layers of stories in Thomas Moore's original Lalla Rookh: the traveling princess and the poet-storyteller, the quest by the Peri, and the three human stories intertwined with the Peri's own fate. Reminds me of the Arabian Nights. Three different artistic flavors in the original English, translated German, and the musical language, all more or less foreign to my ears. What I only heard in CD and has yet to be seen, is the magic coordination that Eugene make out of the three parts: the soloists, the orchestra, and us the chorus.

I'm proud to be part of this creation -- from a corner of the second soporanos, and I look forward to the performance:

What	Paradise and the Peri, an Oratorio by Robert Schumann
Who	Eugene Sirotkine, Conductor; Soloists - Carissa Castaldo, Natalya Kraevsky, MaryAnn McCormick, John Bernard, David Eckstrom and Robert Garner; Hudson Valley Singers, Chorus; New York Metamorphoses Orchestra
When	Saturday, April 26, 2008, 7 PM
Where	New York Society for Ethical Culture 2 West 64th Street (at Central Park West), NYC

Tickets? just email me or leave a comment here for a discount :)

Finally, I'd like to share a vivid listening experience by 张一帆 (in Chinese) three visual dipictions of the original poem, coutesy of J. Vail. Both of which I very much enjoyed.


left to right: Peri, Peri and the fallen warrior, Peri and lover's last sigh.