Posted 9:07 pm Friday, November 23, 2012
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Madrigal Feast offers a trip back to the Renaissance
Prepare for a feast! A madrigal feast, that is, as Tyler Civic Chorale will next week debut its first ever English Holiday Madrigal Feast.
For the uninitiated, a madrigal feast is a sort of dinner theatre event, mixing a full meal, choral music and either a series of vignettes (either comedic or dramatic) or a full play. The Chorale’s production will include a traditional holiday dinner of turkey and dressing catered by Tradition’s restaurant, with theatrical portions directed by Felicity Enas of the Actor’s Preparatory Exchange.
“This isn’t really comparable to anything we’ve done before,” said Donald Duncan, artistic director for the production and director of Tyler Civic Chorale. “It’s basically a journey back in time to Renaissance England, with costumes and music and theatre and sets and food.”
For the uninitiated, a madrigal feast is a sort of dinner theatre event, mixing a full meal, choral music and either a series of vignettes (either comedic or dramatic) or a full play. The Chorale’s production will include a traditional holiday dinner of turkey and dressing catered by Tradition’s restaurant, with theatrical portions directed by Felicity Enas of the Actor’s Preparatory Exchange.
“This isn’t really comparable to anything we’ve done before,” said Donald Duncan, artistic director for the production and director of Tyler Civic Chorale. “It’s basically a journey back in time to Renaissance England, with costumes and music and theatre and sets and food.”
The more theatrical side of the production is far different from anything the Chorale has done before, but it’s also combining so many different elements that often provided the most significant challenge, Duncan said.
It’s a lot of hands, a lot of talent involved. We have everything from jesters and troubadours to instrumentalists playing,
horn, trumpet, flute, harpsichord, and then of course Tyler Civic Chorale singers in large groups as well as small ensembles and quartets,” Duncan said. “It’s a really rich, beautiful, multi-faceted kind of production.”
Duncan said he drew from his deep love of English culture and history in putting together this venture and said he aimed to create the sort of fun experience one might have when attending a Renaissance faire or a Medieval Times dinner theatre event.
“I have a real love of Renaissance faires and I love going to Medieval Times. I love that whole experience,” he said. “It’s like walking onto a movie set, when going to a madrigal feast, and that’s what we want to recreate for people, that sense of being at a high-level theatrical production or onto a set.”
The English Holiday Madrigal Feast will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30 and Sat., Dec. 1. Tickets are $25 per person and must be purchased in advance. For tickets or additional information, visit www.tylercivicchorale.com.
It’s a lot of hands, a lot of talent involved. We have everything from jesters and troubadours to instrumentalists playing,
horn, trumpet, flute, harpsichord, and then of course Tyler Civic Chorale singers in large groups as well as small ensembles and quartets,” Duncan said. “It’s a really rich, beautiful, multi-faceted kind of production.”
Duncan said he drew from his deep love of English culture and history in putting together this venture and said he aimed to create the sort of fun experience one might have when attending a Renaissance faire or a Medieval Times dinner theatre event.
“I have a real love of Renaissance faires and I love going to Medieval Times. I love that whole experience,” he said. “It’s like walking onto a movie set, when going to a madrigal feast, and that’s what we want to recreate for people, that sense of being at a high-level theatrical production or onto a set.”
The English Holiday Madrigal Feast will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30 and Sat., Dec. 1. Tickets are $25 per person and must be purchased in advance. For tickets or additional information, visit www.tylercivicchorale.com.
