Let the bravos begin now for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s seven-concert second season at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta. Close to the Orchestra’s burgeoning North Georgia audience and an easy outing for the Symphony Hall faithful, the ASO’s new summer residence evolved into an imaginative hub of new traditions with its 2008 inaugural season. (More on that after a snapshot of the new season. )
Robert Spano, the Orchestra, and guest vocalists — notably soprano Georgia Jarman, one of the stars of the ASO’s staging of La BohËme last summer — knock it out of the park opening night with excerpts from Orff’s Carmina Burana and Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Saturday, June 20. Maestro Spano will be taking a 48-hour break from conducting “The Ring” in Seattle to be on hand for this opening night spectacular.
There are all Mozart and Beethoven evenings and a rip-roaring Fourth of July. Assistant Conductor Mei-Ann Chen explores the mystique of space travel with Holst’s Planets (more dazzling than ever with high-definition footage of the planets, courtesy of NASA), Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra (immortalized in the Stanley Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey), and John Williams’s Star Wars suite.
Turner Classic Movies and its charmingly erudite host Robert Osborne collaborate with the ASO in “Rodgers & Hammerstein At The Movies,” a toast in film and music to the partnership that forever changed the face of Broadway and Hollywood musicals.
The August 15 finale features two breakout prodigies. The 16-year-old Venezuelan conductor Ilyich Rivas, in his major American orchestra and professional debut, will conduct Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. And, 22-year-old violinist Elena Urioste, junior and senior laureate of the prestigious Sphinx Competition for African-American and Latino student-musicians, will perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.
The ASO’s blueprint for its new venue included several new traditions that heighten the concert experience.
Returning this season:
• Top of the Lawn – ASO Insider Ken Meltzer’s informal chats with ASO musicians at 7 p.m. provide background and insight on concerts.
• Backstage LIVE – Concertgoers can text message questions for the artists, who will answer them live on the big screens during intermission.
• Theme Evenings – Adding to the joie de vivre ambiance are concert-specific picnic baskets (a South Pacific basket for Rodgers and Hammerstein, a Bavarian basket for Beethoven) and in-the-moment attire — lederhosen for Mozart, anyone?
Three sellout shows in April, including two by the Dave Matthews Band, opened the rock and pop side of the ASO’s new season at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Coming up: Kenny Chesney on May 28, Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago on June 6, and Styx and REO Speedwagon on June 21, to name just a few.
For the complete Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre schedule, individual concert dates and details, and amenities, visit atlantasymphony.org or call 404.733.5000; visit vzwamp.com and deltaclassicchastain.com for further details.
Karl Schnittke is publications editor for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
