Dennis Polkow

Whether or not you hear the repetition in Philip Glass' music as a conscious means to move beyond consciousness or simply as tedious and trivial repetition for its own sake, is in a sense is irrelevant in Glass' latest stage work, "Orion," which is receiving its American premiere with this elaborate performance. Commissioned for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Glass is using the constellation of Orion--the brightest pattern of stars in the sky visible year round from virtually everywhere--as a cross-cultural symbol. "Orion" is not the typical Glass score in that much of it consists of musical portraits of other countries and continents represented by their respective musical styles and instruments. Mercifully, there is no "We Are the World" type finale trying to unite them all, but rather, the uniqueness of each culture is celebrated in grand style and with a who's who of world music performers appearing with Glass, including Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Mark Atkins, Ashley MacIsaac, Wu Man, Kartik Seshadri, Foday Musa Suso, and UAKTI.

The Philip Glass Ensemble performs "Orion," June 21 at the Ravinia Festival, Lake-Cook and Green Bay, Highland Park; (847)266-5100. (2005-06-15)

Also by Dennis Polkow

Tip of the Week
Light Opera Works is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in grand style by teaming up with the Actors Gymnasium to present an extravagant production of the rarely seen gem of a musical, "Carnival."
(2005-06-09)

Tip of the Week
Following up on its 2002 updating of Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte"--which took place in a singles bar--Chicago Opera Theater now turns its attention to that most perfect of musical comedies, "The Marriage of Figaro."
(2005-05-10)

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