Lamplighters Music Theater
BY GEORGES! A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de-Saint Georges
Book and Lyrics by James D. Sasser
Music and Lyrics by Charles Vincent Burwell
CREATIVE TEAM: Stage Director – Céline Ricci, Music Director/Conductor – Mary Chun, Choreographer – Antoine Hunter, Set/Projections Designer – Peter Crompton, Costume Designer – Miriam R. Lewis, Lighting Designer – Brittany Mellerson.
CAST: Alexandre Dumas – Martin T. Bell, Chevalier St. Georges – Omari Tau, Mme de Sac d’Argent – Krista Wigle, Mlle de Pompeuse, Blanche – Amy Foote, Mlle Lilette Sauverfaire – Leslie Katter, Marie Antoinette – Deborah Martínez Rosengaus, Jean Un – Eric Mellum, Jean Deux – Jonathan Spencer, members, Actors’ Equity.
Joseph Bologne The Chevalier de Saint-Georges was the first known classical composer of African ancestry, a virtuoso violinist, conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris, and renowned champion fencer. A satirical imagining of a day in the life at the height of his fame, as he tries to balance the loss of a rich patron, raising money for his new opera, and fighting several duels over various matters of honor. Not much has changed for artists creating new work over the years, it seems.
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Commissioned by Lamplighters Music Theatre - its first new works commission in its 70 year history.
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WORLD PREMIERE May 2023 in San Francisco at the Presidio Theatre.
836M
Producer: Céline Ricci on behalf of 836M
The multi-Grammy-winning, San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet marks its fiftieth anniversary in the 2023/24 season with the KRONOS Five Decades tour, a year-long celebration from July 2023-June 2024, adding to its legacy of innovation by performing programs that feature new commissions, signature works from its vast repertoire, and pieces from Kronos’ Fifty for the Future project.
Co-hosted by Illuminate the Arts and 836M, Kronos Quartet performed their “kick-off” concert for this celebration at the iconic Bandshell in Golden Gate Park on August 26, 2023.
Ars Minerva
A sex farce with teeth. Clever, lecherous Messalina turns the tables several times on the gullible Emperor Claudius, who is hardly innocent himself. Meanwhile two other couples suffer their own romantic vicissitudes. Furtive assignations, frustrated trysts, kidnappings, betrayals, sudden recognitions, a heroine and a hero both in drag, and a plot as convoluted as only 17th-century Venetian opera can put together, all lead to a reconciliation that will last only as long as Messalina can keep pulling the wool over Claudius’ eyes.
CREATIVE TEAM: Director: Céline Ricci, Costume Designer: Marina Polakoff, Backdrop Projections: Entropy, Light Designer: Thomas Bowersox, Make up Designer: Joanne Kay, Stage Manager: Sarah Terman.
CAST: Empress Aura Veruni (Messalina), Deborah Rosengaus (Emperor Claudio), Kevin Gino (Tullio), Shawnette Sulker (Floralba), Kindra Scharich (Erginda/Alindo), Patrick Hagen (Caio), Zachary Gordin (Tergisto), Marcus J Paige (Lismeno).
ORCHESTRA: Conductor: Jory Vinikour, 1st Violin: Cynthia Black, 2nd Violin: Laura Jeannin, Viola: Aaron Westman, Cello: Gretchen Claassen, Theorbo: Adam Cockerham.
ACED
Creator and Producer on behalf of ACED: Céline Ricci
On September 23, 2023, ACED SF celebrated the inaugural Jackson Square Arts Day. The neighborhood proudly presented this community event, with the closure of Jackson Street from Montgomery Street to Sansome Street. A main stage hosted a range of performances, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to all the participating artists who performed on the main stage in Jackson Street.
In addition, participating businesses, including coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores, were thrilled to welcome visitors, and we express our gratitude for their support. The neighborhood galleries also joined in with an enchanting Art Walk, and we thank them for their participation.
Ars Minerva
Olimpia Vendicata is Ariadne auf Naxos in a distinctly more 17th-century Italian key. Poor Olimpia, a Princess of Holland, is abandoned on a desert island by her faithless lover, Bireno. Kidnapped by pirates, she is made a slave at the elegant, sensuous court of Hibernia, where it seems everybody is amorous of somebody else. (Remember, this is fiction.) Imagine her surprise when Bireno crops up and begins wooing the Hibernian princess Alinda! With finesse and malice, Olimpia exacts poetic justice.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Director: Céline Ricci - Conductor: Matthew Dirst. Videography: Lawrence Dillon - Sound: David Bowels.
CAST: Olimpia: Leslie Katter, Bireno: Nina Jones, Oberto: Deborah Rosengaus, Alinda: Aura Veruni Osmiro: Sara Couden, Araspe: Nicolas Garcia, Niso: Sidney Ragland.
ORCHESTRA: Conductor: Matthew Dirst, Concertmaster: Cynthia Black, Second Violin: Laura Jeannin, Viola: Daria D'Andrea, Cello: Gretchen Claassen, Theorbo: Richard Savino, Bass: Farley Pierce. CREATIVE TEAM: Director: Céline Ricci, Score Transcription: Adam Cockerham, Costumes: Marina Polakoff, Projections: Entropy, Lights: Del Medoff, Translation: Joe McClinton, Make up: Daniel Cartagena, Stage Manager: Chase Kupperberg.
836M
Producer on behalf of 836M: Céline Ricci
La Rose des Vents is a monumental public art artwork in front of the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Created by renowned French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, the gilded, kinetic sculpture now belongs to the city’s Civic Art Collection as a gift from 836M.
During the dedication ceremony, representatives from several divisions of city government, including Recreation and Parks, Public Works, the Arts Commission, and the Cultural Districts Program, spoke alongside Othoniel and the Consul General of France in San Francisco. In the first hour, attendees were treated to a performance designed by choreographer Dimitri Chamblas. Titled Slow Show, the site-specific performance features an ensemble of 15 local performers and music by artist and deejay Eddie Ruscha, responding to the immediate context of the location through a series of intense, concentrated, and trance-like operations. Following celebratory remarks, the program closed with an incredible concert by French nu-pop and disco band L’Impératrice.