Lenoir-Rhyne Alumni Invited to Reception Before Musical Program

Alumni of Lenoir-Rhyne College are invited to attend a wine and cheese reception from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 prior to the college’s folk opera production, “An Evening of Kurt Weill Music Featuring Down in the Valley.” There is no charge for alumni to attend the reception, but they should respond by Feb. 7 to Nikki Hayes, director of alumni programs, at 828-328-7080 or hayesn@lrc.edu. Discounted tickets to the performance will be available at the reception.

The folk opera will be performed in P.E. Monroe Auditorium beginning at 8 p.m. It will feature a 20-piece orchestra, conducted by John Gordon Ross of the Western Piedmont Symphony. “Down in the Valley” was initially composed for the radio. It is described as an American folk opera that uses famous American tunes to carry the story.

Kurt Weill, a contemporary of George Gershwin, was born in Germany in 1900 and moved to the United States in 1935.  His most important works are: the “Violin Concerto” (1925), “The Threepenny Opera” (Bertolt Brecht, 1928), “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogany” (Brecht, 1930), “The Pledge” (Caspar Neher, 1932), “The Seven Deadly Sins” (Brecht, 1933), “Lady in the Dark” (Moss Hart and Ira Gershwin, 1941), “Street Scene” (Elmer Rice and Langston Hughes, 1947), and “Lost in the Stars” (Maxwell Anderson, 1949). Weill studied with Engelbert Humperdinck in Germany and collaborated with Ogden Nash and Ira Gershwin while in New York. His music has been performed by Bob Dylan, Bobby Darin, Jimmy Buffet, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra.  It was for the “Threepenny Opera” that his most popular piece, “Mack the Knife,” was composed. 

Performance dates for “An Evening of Kurt Weill Music” are Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 9-10 at 8 p.m., and a Sunday matinee Feb. 11 at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices for the performance are $15 for adults, and $10 for seniors, children, and students. Tickets may be purchased one hour before each performance. Special rates will be given for Senior Bears, and group rates for 10 or more are available as well. This performance is funded in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music Inc., 7 East 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10003. Additional funding is provided by the Advisory Board of the Lenoir-Rhyne College Friends of Music.

For reservations, please call the Playmakers daytime box office at 328-PLAY 7529.  Daytime box office hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. beginning Monday, Jan. 29, and continuing till Friday, Feb. 9.  In addition, the Box Office will be open Saturday, Feb. 10, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

© 2005 Lenoir-Rhyne College