3rd - 13th July - LICHFIELD PREPARES FOR ITS SUMMER EXTRAVAGANZA
| Published: 27th June 2008 21:30 |
Lichfield is gearing up for ten days of exciting music, dance, comedy, theatre and visual arts as the 2008 Lichfield Festival gets underway on Thursday (3 July).
The billboards are up, the bunting is out, and some of the world's finest artists, as well as interested art-lovers from all over the country and beyond, are heading for the Midland cathedral city.
Festival director Richard Hawley said: "There has already been a great interest in this year's programme. Performances by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, the Puppini Sisters and the Hairy Bikers are already sold out or very close to it, but there are still tickets available for many of the other superb events we have over the coming ten days."
The 2008 Lichfield Festival starts in grand style on with an opening concert by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and its star conductor Marin Alsop. This will be the American conductor's final appearance as the orchestra's principal conductor, and they will play Dvorak's New World Symphony and Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto with Russian pianist Alexei Volodin as the soloist.
The festival offers a wide range of musical performers from tenor Mark Padmore, who will sing Schubert's sublime song cycle Winterreise in Lichfield Cathedral to Mexican band Los de Abajo who will mix salsa, ska, reggae and hip hop on the Lichfield Garrick Theatre stage.
The festival has a reputation of supporting rising stars and this year they include 20-year-old German cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Birmingham-based jazz trumpeter Bryan Corbett, the Badke String Quartet, poet and recent 4Talent award winner Polarbear, and the Rosie Kay Dance Company.
Spoken word events include readings from the memoirs of Casanova by Timothy West, political analysis from foreign correspondent turned politician Martin Bell, the Independent gardening correspondent Anna Pavord, and cultural historian Sir Roy Strong offering his ideas on how our country churches can be revitalised.
2008 Lichfield Festival programme in detail:
In the Cathedral:
o Thursday 3 July: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop, with Alexei Volodin as piano soloist.
o Friday 4 July: The Russian Chamber Philharmonic St Petersburg playing music for strings by Elgar, and Gershwin.
o Saturday 5 July: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain joins the illustrious group of orchestras to have played in Lichfield Cathedral as part of the Lichfield Festival.
o Sunday 6 July: Timothy West reads from Casanova's memoirs with harpsichord accompaniment from Sophie Yates.
o Monday 7 July: Mark Padmore, tenor, and Paul Lewis, piano, perform Schubert's Winterreise.
o Tuesday 8 July: The Traveller, by Vikram Seth and Alec Roth, performed by Mark Padmore, Philippe Honore, the Britten Sinfonia and the Lichfield Festival Chorus.
o Wednesday 9 July: La Serenissima play Vivaldi and other Italian Baroque composers influenced by him.
o Thursday 10 July: Acoustic Triangle with added strings perform in the round..
o Friday 11 July: Humph Remembered - The Humphrey Lyttelton Band remembers its late, great leader with help from Wally Fawkes and Brian Perkins.
o Saturday 15 July: The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Shelley with Marie-Elisabeth Hecker as soloist, play Dvorak and Rimsky-Korsakov.
In the Lichfield Garrick Theatre:
o Thursday 3 July: Popular TV chefs The Hairy Bikers share tales of food and travel with their audience.
o Friday 4 July: The Puppini Sisters sing close harmony versions of songs from the 1940s as well as by Blondie and the Smiths.
o Saturday 5 July: The Rosie Kay Dance Company presents the The Wild Party - suitable for +14s only.
o Sunday 6 July: Bryan Corbett and his Quartet play a new Jazz Suite for Flugel Horn.
o Monday 7 July: Sir Roy Strong addresses the crisis in country churches.
o Tuesday 8 July: Rainer Hersch presents his hilarious tribute to the great comedian and musician Victor Borge.
o Wednesday 9 July: Gypsy tango and a lot more besides from ZUM.
o Thursday 10 July: Shiraz, a silent film set in India, given new life by the Sabri Ensemble providing a live soundtrack.
o Friday 11 July: Mexicans Los de Abajo, one of the most electrifying live bands in the world.
o Saturday 12 July: The Passion, three great jazz singers - Jacqui Dankworth, Liane Carroll and Sara Colman - and one grand piano.
Chamber music and solo recitals, both in the Cathedral's Lady Chapel and as part of FEAST (Festival Events Around Staffordshire) will include performances by trans-North Sea folk band Baltic Crossing, ZUM3, the Badke Quartet, Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, Birmingham city organist Thomas Trotter, and Alexei Volodin.
The Medieval Fayre & Market is on Saturday 5 July.
The majority of the concerts and other events take place in Lichfield's magnificent medieval cathedral and in the Lichfield Garrick Theatre. Other performances occur throughout Lichfield district and around Staffordshire.
The Lichfield Festival is the premiere multi-arts festival in the West Midlands. Festival Director is Richard Hawley. The Lichfield Festival was recently shortlisted for a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society award regarded as the UK's most prestigious recognition of achievement for live classical music. The 2008 Lichfield Festival is supported by principal partner BMW Plant Hams Hall and funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and by Lichfield District Council.
Information: 01543 306270
Box office: 01543 412121
www.lichfieldfestival.org
Community Comment:
Add your comment:
You will need to sign in to post a comment to this article. if you do not have an AboutMyArea account, you can join now for free.
