David Syrotik Sr. Archives - Cleveland Classical

The life of a puppeteer:
Cleveland Philharmonic, National
Marionette Theater come together
for Peter and the Wolf

October 10, 2018 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

It’s not every day — or really any day — that you get to talk to a puppeteer. Filling that void in my life was David Syrotiak, managing director of the Erie-based National Marionette Theatre. We connected recently by telephone, about thirty seconds after one missed call — he told me he had paint all over his fingers from working on some new marionettes.

Syrotiak will bring his marionette company to Northeast Ohio this weekend for a unique take on Prokofiev’s ever-charming Peter and the Wolf in collaboration with the Cleveland Philharmonic, led by Victor Liva. Catch them on Saturday, October 13 at 7:30 pm in Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University, or on Sunday, October 14 at 3:00 pm at Westlake Performing Arts Center.

The program also includes Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 and Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, featuring Ron Palka and Coren Estrin Mino of the Double Digit Piano Duo, and narrator Todd Christopher. (Purchase tickets here.) [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

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