THE WEST END THEATER presents

L'AMFIPARNASO
A madrigal comedy from 1594 by Orazio Vecchi

THE WESTERN WIND
Sopranos: MICHELE KENNEDY, LINDA LEE JONES
Countertenor: WILLIAM ZUKOF
Tenors: TODD FRIZZELL, DAVID VANDERWAL
Baritone: ELLIOT Z. LEVINE
with
Mimes: CATHERINE GASTA & ALEXANDER REED
Stage Direction by GAMA VALLE
Set Design by BRADLEY WEHRLE
Lighting Design by JASON FOK
Costumes by LUIS E. SANTIAGO

The West End Theater
The Church of Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, 86th Street between Broadway and West End Ave.
Call 212-873-2848 or visit http://www.westernwind.org
May 28 - 31, 2015

The Western Wind ensemble of singers sang Vecchi's madrigal comedy in delightful and witty notes characteristic of the 16th century commedia dell'arte form. For those who don't understand Italian, there were subtitles so one could follow the story. The traditional comic characters including Pantalone, Pedrolino, Dr. Gratiano, Capitano and the lovers, Isabella, Lucio, Lelio and Nisa were all interpreted by two very skillful mimes (Catherine Gasta and Alexander Reed).

It's a madcap revue about love, hurt, lust, greed, and playful seduction. The madrigal comedy genre was brilliantly sung by The Western Wind as the singers had to shift quickly from character to character in a tricky polyphonic alternation.
It's a short run and I'd recommend to see L'Amfiparnaso at The West End Theater. It's not often, you see a 16th century madrigal comedy in the 21st century!

If you miss it, then you can buy The Western Wind CDs on their website. They're an acclaimed vocal sextet devoted to a cappella music and their repertoire goes from the Renaissance to medieval carols to jazz standards to avant-garde works. They've performed all over the world at distinguished venues, such as, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center and have won many awards, including the ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award.

- Laura Thompson -
http://www.loralia.com @LORALIA