FARGO – William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” may be a tragedy, but the music it has inspired more than 400 years later beats with as much life as the young lovers’ affair.
The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra delivered an early Valentine to a nearly full house at North Dakota State University’s Festival Concert Hall on Saturday night with its “Romeo & Juliet”-themed concert.
The performance helped kick off ShakespeareFest, a six-week celebration of the Bard. In fact, the great writer, or rather an actor in his guise, made an appearance at the concert. But on with the show.
And what a show. Just as lyrical as Shakespeare’s words, these four pieces filled the room like a warm embrace. Befitting of such a romantic story, there were strings, flutes and even a harp, but also a sax and drums and even a police officer’s whistle.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to find out the season’s theme of “blockbuster” was built around the finale, Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story.’ ”
The piece, adapted from the staged production, is a 1950s update on Shakespeare’s story, moving Verona to New York and switching the feuding families to opposing Italians and Puerto Ricans. Bernstein rolled the different cultural sounds as well as jazz and traditional European classical music into a wild and passionate score. Under musical director Christopher Zimmerman, the FM Symphony brings “West Side” home.
The music is as cacophonous and eccentric as the streets of New York and the performances just as colorful. Opening with the Jets’ theme, the musicians gleefully snaps to the beat. That bit of showmanship is topped later when they not only yell out the title, “Mambo,” but the cellists give their instruments a spin.
It’s not all for show. A beefed up percussion section gets a full workout in the opening portion and later in “Mambo.”
The percussion section may muscle in on “Symphonic Dances” away, but the signature melody, “Somewhere,” brings the focus back on the strings with the principal players delivering it gorgeously.
The strings had the stage to themselves for the premiere of Daniel Breedon’s “Heart’s Ease.” The piece was commissioned by the violinist, who uses an old English drinking song referenced in the play as his inspiration. Breedon jumps right into the drama of the play, but the incorporated melody offers a moment of reflection. It was a good way to open the second half after pieces from two Russian ballets opened the concert.
Despite the foreboding tones of each, there were definite highlights, particularly in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s rich “Romeo & Juliet Overture - Fantasy.” When the orchestra plays the love theme, it was as if Venus herself made a grand entrance into the concert hall, riding in on the glorious sweeping strings.
Selected suites of Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet were interspersed with actors reading scenes from the play, foretelling that the FM Symphony was ready to pump some new life into the classic “Romeo & Juliet.”
If you go
What: Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Concert: “Romeo & Juliet”
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Festival Concert Hall, NDSU
Info: Tickets range from $10 to $35.
www.fmsymphony.org
(701) 478-3676
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