"LumenoCity" Celebrates Langrée, Marks Innovation for Cincinnati
Wow! No other word will do for the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra’s light and sound spectacular "LumenoCity" Sunday night
(August 4) in Washington Park.
It was the second night for the event, believed to the first of its kind anywhere in the world utilizing a live symphony orchestra. Created by Landor Associates, "LumenoCity" was conceived by the CSO – sparked by Tim Maloney of the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. /US Bank Foundation -- to welcome the CSO’s new music director, Louis Langrée.
A native of France, Langrée becomes the orchestra’s 13th music director this season. He led the CSO on the second half of the program in music synchronized with the light show. A marriage of visual and performance art – which had to be seen to be believed -- the show utilized lasers to project multi-colored designs keyed to the architecture of Music Hall onto the façade of the building.
More than 20,000 spectators filled Washington Park and surroundings (even the tops of buildings). That, added to attendance on Saturday night (15,000) and a dress rehearsal on Friday brought an estimated 37,000 people to Over-the-Rhine for what was a transforming event for the neighborhood, the CSO and the city as a whole.
The evening began before dark with a performance by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra led by conductor John Morris Russell that primed the crowd perfectly. The Pops (the CSO under a different name) was joined by members of the May Festival Chorus, Cincinnati Ballet’s second company and soloists from Cincinnati Opera’s just concluded summer festival at Music Hall.
On display on Elm Street in front of Music Hall was the CSO’s new van bearing an image of Langrée, who was named in April to succeed former CSO music director Paavo Järvi. The orchestra performed on a stage mounted on Elm Street opposite Music Hall with the imagery projected behind it. It was a sensory wallop not often experienced and sure to propel the CSO into the forefront of innovation and ingenuity (hopes are to repeat the show next season).
Lacking nothing in enthusiasm, Russell, who succeeded former Pops conductor Erich Kunzel in 2011, opened the concert with “Captain’s March” from “Captain America,” a selection from the Pops soon-to-be-released super heroes album (on sale at intermission). It was a mix of music keyed to America as well as France. In addition to “Oklahoma” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and “Carousel Waltz” from “Carousel,” there was “American in Paris” by George Gershwin and selections from “Les Miserables,” beautifully sung by soprano Adrienne Danrich, tenor Luther Lewis and baritone Kenneth Shaw. Dancers from the Ballet lent energy and spirit to the “Carousel Waltz.” Following “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray,” given a rousing, crowd-pleasing performance by Danrich and Lewis, Russell led an encore in tribute to Langrée, Richard Berry’s “Louie Louie,” prefaced by “The Marseillaise.”
It was a perfect night for the show, cool and
comfortable, with clear skies. As Langrée took the stage, a familiar rumble began
to sound. What happened next took the collective breath of the crowd, Music
Hall in architectural detail outlined in red and blue behind the orchestra and
the soaring fanfare from Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” (also known
as the theme from “2001”).
Langrée followed with the finale of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, accompanied by a succession of eye-popping abstract images. Copland’s “Variations on a Shaker Melody” (“Simple Gifts”) from “Appalachian Spring” brought seasonal designs to the Music Hall façade, suggesting fall, winter and spring. The heroic conclusion of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony saw images conjuring Music Hall (chandelier, balconies, etc.).
The concluding work, Ravel’s “Bolero” evoked figures
of people riding elevators and escalators, as well as dancing, exercising and
toting umbrellas to ward off “rain” projected onto the Music Hall façade. The
show came to an end with bubbles (balloons) loosed over the crowd to emulate
the bubbles projected onto Music Hall.
The evening as a whole was remarkable for its logistical coordination, the celebratory mood of the crowd and a spirit of pride in the CSO, the Renaissance of Washington Park and Over-the-Rhine and the city of Cincinnati itself.
“LumenoCity” will be visible on YouTube Sept. 17 and the four following Tuesdays. It will be broadcast by CET-TV on a date to be determined.