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  • IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL AS THE JOFFREY BALLET PEFORMS ACT II OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "NUTCRACKER"
  • Jul. 16, 2004

  • Program Concludes With Performance of Mussorgsky's Masterpiece Pictures At An Exhibition with Fireworks

    FRIDAY, JULY 16, AT 8:30 PM; SATURDAY, JULY 17, AT 8:30 PM;

    SUNDAY, JULY 18, AT 7:30 PM

    This program is generously sponsored by the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts;

    Media support for July 16 provided by KOST, for July 17 provided by KTWV, for July 18 provided by KPCC.

    Principal Conductor John Mauceri leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a celebration of Russian Romantic masterworks featuring the Joffrey Ballet performing Act II of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker on Friday, July 16, at 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 17, at 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. This program marks the first debut of the famed Joffrey Ballet at the Hollywood Bowl.

    Under the direction of Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey Ballet brings their unique version of the classic Nutcracker to the Hollywood Bowl's new stage. The evening concludes with "Ride of the Cossacks" from Franz Waxman's Taras Bulba film score and an exciting and colorful fireworks display set to Mussorgsky's orchestral masterpiece, Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Leopold Stokowsky), continuing the concert's Russian Romantic theme.

    JOHN MAUCERI's accomplishments extend nationally and internationally, not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, before large television and radio audiences, and in recording studios and major publications. Mauceri has received substantial recognition for his work as one of the principal forces behind the movement to preserve two of America's great art forms, the American musical and music for the American cinema. He is equally at home conducting artists ranging from Plácido Domingo (during a live broadcast of the Grammy Awards) to Madonna (with whom he recorded the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita), from Garth Brooks (an inaugural inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame) to the Smashing Pumpkins (for the 1996 MTV Music Awards). Carol Burnett, Chicago, John Denver, Rodney Gilfry, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Eaglen, Jennifer Larmore, Patrick Stewart, Tito Puente, Charlotte Church, and Trisha Yearwood are among the multitude of artists who have performed with Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and during his tenure, opera and ballet returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position, Mauceri has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The only American ever to have held the post of music director of an opera house in Great Britain and Italy, he served as music director of the Scottish Opera, and recently completed a three-year tenure as music director (direttore stabile) of the Teatro Reggio in Torino.

    From the beginning, THE JOFFREY BALLET brought a new American approach to ballet, with innovations that have influenced ballet companies around the world. Renowned for a remarkable repertory of more than 225 ballets by 85 choreographers, the Joffrey has commissioned the first ballets of such notable American choreographers as Alvin Ailey, Laura Dean, Randy Duncan, Mark Morris, Peter Pucci, Margo Sappington, Anna Sokolow, Edward Stierle, Glen Tetley, and Twyla Tharp, re-introduced a complete program by Kurt Jooss, and revived ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor. In addition, the Joffrey has reconstructed "lost" ballets of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, including Parade (1917), Le Sacre Du Printemps (1913), and The Three-Cornered Hat (1919), and was the first American company to present the work of Denmark's Auguste Bournonville. With Robert Joffrey's creation of the multimedia Astarte in 1967, followed by Gerald Arpino's anti-nuclear ballet, The Clowns (1968) and the rock ballet Trinity (1970), the Joffrey was catapulted into the forefront of American culture, highlighting one of its signature elements: the incorporation of popular culture, modern technology, and contemporary ideas into its classical foundation to present ballets for our time. The Joffrey has always stuck with its roots as a touring company, performing regularly in more than 400 U.S. cities in all 50 states, and engaging audiences in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

    GERALD ARPINO established the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago in 1995 to carry on the traditions and legacy of The Joffrey Ballet, which he co-founded with Robert Joffrey in 1956 and for which he served as associate director for many years. Upon Joffrey's death in 1988, Arpino succeeded him as artistic director. A leading dancer with the company in its early years, Arpino choreographed his first works for The Joffrey, Ropes and Partita for Four, in 1961. Shortly thereafter, he became The Joffrey's resident choreographer and, to date, has created more than one-third of the company's original repertoire. Arpino's choreography can be seen in such Joffrey signature works as Sea Shadow, Incubus, Viva Vivaldi, Olympics, Nightwings, The Clowns, Trinity, Confetti, Kettentanz, Sacred Grove on Mount Tamalpais, Suite Saint-Saens, Epode, Celebration, Round of Angels, Light Rain and Italian Suite. Arpino is the first choreographer commissioned to create a ballet to honor the Office of the American Presidency: The Pantages and the Palace Present Two-A-Day.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    Friday, July 16, at 8:30 p.m.

    Saturday, July 17, at 8:30 p.m.

    Sunday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m.


    The Joffrey's Nutcracker and Fireworks

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA

    JOHN MAUCERI, conductor

    THE JOFFREY BALLET

    TCHAIKOVSKY Act II from The Nutcracker

    WAXMAN "Ride of the Cossacks" from Taras Bulba

    MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski)

    This Program is generously sponsored by The Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts
    Media support for July 16 Provided by KOST, for July 17 provided by KTWV, for July 8 provided by KPCC.

    Tickets ($3 - $106) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850-2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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  • Contact:

    Ellie Lloyd, 213.972.3448; Ryan Jimenez, 213.972.3405