Ensemble Vairon
Abbozzi dell'isola
Music for a Desert Island
- Time: 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 21
- Location: Oliver Winery - if rain: First Presbyterian Church
- Oliver Winery website
- Tickets $15 General Admission, $10 Students/Seniors
One of the first records of people's fascination with the concept of life on a desert island comes to us via Theologus Autodidactus, a theological novel by Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288). In the mid-eighteenth century Metastasio wrote a libretto titled L'isola dishabitata, or The Uninhabited Island. In the nearly 80 years since its publication this libretto was set to music by composers such as Arne, Jomelli, Holzbauer, and Haydn. Over the years literary takes on this idea have included Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, and William Golding's Lord of the Flies. More recently, one can refer to movies such as Cast Away and TV shows such as Gilligan's Island and Lost, all of which explore life in isolation.
Tonight we are on an imaginary visit to the island of Oliver Winery. The program combines the tradition of the eighteenth century tafelmusik, or "table music," and modern island stories. People make trips to the beautiful Oliver Winery grounds to escape from everyday life, to relax and have fun while enjoying good wine and food. The experience is a getaway-an island away from the daily routine.
You are invited to enjoy and stretch your imagination by immersing yourself in the music, vignettes about island life, and, of course, good wine!
