Tafelmusik makes Luminato Festival debut with Mark Morris Dance Group
in Canadian premiere of L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, June 21 - 23
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir with guest soloists
sopranos Karina Gauvin and Shannon Mercer; tenor Thomas Cooley; baritone Douglas Williams
and the Mark Morris Dance Group
“A modern miracle …”
—The Huffington Post
Toronto, Canada, June 13, 2013 … The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir makes its Luminato
Festival debut in the Canadian premiere of the Mark Morris Dance Group’s iconic L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il
Moderato. Choreographed by Mark Morris, this legendary piece for two dozen dancers, vocal soloists, choir and
orchestra is set to Handel’s eponymous oratorio, and has been called “one of the great dance works of the
twentieth century.” (The New Yorker). The performances are conducted by Jane Glover and feature a stellar cast
of soloists including sopranos Karina Gauvin and Shannon Mercer; tenor Thomas Cooley; and baritone Douglas
Williams. L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato will run from June 21-23 at the Sony Centre for the Performing
Arts, as part of the 7th Annual Luminato Festival.
Since its creation in 1988, choreographer Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato has earned global
recognition as his company’s crowning achievement. Morris’ singular interpretation of the oratorio, combining
Handel’s music with John Milton’s cosmic poetry, William Blake’s luminous paintings, and Morris’ two dozen
dancers, is at once joyous, exhilarating and profound. In 1995, Tafelmusik collaborated with the Mark Morris
Dance Group on another baroque music-inspired project, Dido and Aeneas. Morris’ multi award-winning dance
adaptation of Purcell’s opera was filmed and produced by Rhombus Media for broadcast on CBC Television, and
was directed by Barbara Willis Sweete.
“We are excited to be making our Luminato Festival debut, and it is a privilege for the Tafelmusik musicians to
work with Mark Morris again,” said Music Director Jeanne Lamon. “He is an outstanding artist, whom we’ve had
the pleasure of working with in the past, making a film of his groundbreaking ‘danced opera’, Dido and Aeneas.
We can't wait to experience his interpretation of Handel's L'Allegro, about which we've heard so much.”
The music of George Frideric Handel has been at the core of Tafelmusik’s repertoire for more than three decades,
and the ensemble’s live and recorded performances have earned them praise and recognition around the world.
Tafelmusik performed L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato in Toronto under the direction of Nicholas McGegan
in the mid-1980s. Handel composed the oratorio in 1740, working with the librettist Charles Jennens, who later
collaborated with him on the text for Messiah. Jennens adapted L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, two poems by John
Milton, and penned the third poem, Il Moderato, himself.
The New York-based Mark Morris Dance Group is one the most revered modern dance companies today, and has
earned international acclaim for an impressive spectrum of productions in dance and opera. The pairing of the
Mark Morris Dance Group with “one of the world’s top baroque orchestras” (Gramophone) and “the best period
performance choir anywhere in the world,” (Globe and Mail) ranks L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato among
the most highly anticipated events of the 2013 Luminato Festival.
In addition to the performances at the Sony Centre, Tafelmusik will participate in L’Allegro Movement Project, the
Mark Morris Dance Group’s groundbreaking DANCE FOR PD® program, in partnership with Toronto’s DANCING
WITH PARKINSON’S. Using thematic and structural elements from L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato as the
basis for the movement creation, the participants — including local elementary school students from Nelson
Mandela Park PS and Winchester Junior PS— will explore the choreographic, poetic and musical elements of Mark
Morris’ signature work. Through this collaborative, intergenerational initiative, young students and participants
with Parkinson’s disease can explore and celebrate the expressive possibilities of movement through dance and
music. There will be one FREE performance on June 19 at Ada Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum, as part of the 7th
Annual Luminato Festival. A team of young filmmakers will document the project and the completed short film will
premiere as part of the Regent Park Film Festival in the fall of 2013.
L’ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO
Mark Morris Dance Group
Featuring Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir
Music Director Jeanne Lamon | Ivars Taurins, Director, Chamber Choir
Conductor Jane Glover
With Karina Gauvin, Soprano |Shannon Mercer, Soprano |Thomas Cooley, Tenor | Douglas Williams, Baritone
Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East
June 21-23, 2013 – Three Performances Only!
Friday and Saturday at 7:30PM • Sunday at 3:00PM
$45-$95 (includes HST and facility fee; plus applicable service charges)
Purchase online at luminatofestival.com or by phone at 416-368-4TIX (4849)
Ticket holders are invited to join arts journalist and noted dance expert Michael Crabb for a pre-show introduction
prior to each performance at the theatre
Presented by TELUS
With support From Mohammad and Najla Al Zaibak. Major Media Partner: Toronto Star
L’ALLEGRO MOVEMENT PROJECT
Wednesday, June 19 at 7pm – One Performance Only!
Daniels Spectrum, Ada Slaight Hall, 585 Dundas Street East
Admission is FREE and includes a post-performance panel and Q&A
A project of Luminato Festival’s Education and Community Outreach program
Limited Public Seating
Presented by TELUS
With support from Mohammad and Najla Al Zaibak.
Major Media Partner: Toronto Star
-30Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, led by Music Director Jeanne Lamon and founded in 1979, is one of the world’s leading period
performance ensembles. The orchestra performs over 50 concerts a year at home in Toronto, tours extensively around the
world, has released over 80 CDs and has received nine JUNO Awards and a Grammy Award nomination. Tafelmusik Media, the
choir and orchestra’s multi-platform recording label, was launched in January 2012. Tafelmusik is the Baroque Orchestra-inResidence at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto where it hosts its annual Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. The
Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the Orchestra. The
2012/13 touring season brings Tafelmusik’s two most recent multi-media concerts, The Galileo Project and House of Dreams,
to audiences across North America. For details, visit Tafelmusik.org.
Tafelmusik Education Concert Sponsor:
ABOUT THE LUMINATO FESTIVAL
Luminato Festival is the international multi-arts festival for people open to having art change their outlook on the
world. For ten days each June, the Luminato Festival transforms theatres, parks and public spaces across the city
and creates a home for artists to come play, share and create. When the unexpected meets the transformative,
that’s a Luminato moment.
The seventh annual Luminato Festival takes place from June 14–23, 2013. Tickets for all Luminato Festival 2013
programs are now on sale. For details, visit luminatofestival.com.
Tafelmusik media contact:
Luisa Trisi, Media Relations Manager, tel: 416 481‐1161, [email protected]
Luminato Festival media contact:
FLIP PUBLICITY, 416.533.7710, Grant Ramsay X222, [email protected]