Metro Chamber Orchestra marks 100th anniversary of WWI with ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

May 15, 2014 From Metro Chamber Orchestra

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Brooklyn’s Metro Chamber Orchestra will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I with the American premiere of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” an opera by the American composer Nancy Van de Vate, who adapted the libretto from the classic Eric Maria Remarque novel.

The Metro Chamber Orchestra production will be directed by Artistic Director Philip Nuzzo at the Roulette Theatre (509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn), on Saturday, May 24 at 8 p.m.

“It’s always a special occasion when we perform a new work and at this concert we’re delighted to be presenting the American premiere of ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’” Nuzzo said. “The performance will be particularly poignant since this year is the 100th Anniversary of the start of World War I. Additionally, our decision to partner with Operation Warrior Wellness to honor our wounded veteran heroes will make this performance even more exceptional.”

Nancy Van de Vate, an American composer living in Vienna where she teaches Music Composition at the Institute for European Studies, is known for her music in large forms. Her “All Quiet on the Western Front” debuted to critical acclaim in 2013 in Osnabruck, Germany, the hometown of the book’s author Eric Maria Remarque. It is the first opera composed by an American woman to be performed in Germany and one of the few American operas to be performed in that country.

Van de Vate’s chamber opera, “Where The Cross Was Made,” based on play by Eugene O’Neill, was selected by the National Opera Association as the winner of its international biennial competition for new chamber operas. Her 26 orchestral works include “Chernobyl,” which has been performed in Vienna, Hamburg, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and in the United States at the Chautauqua Festival and by the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra. A special performance on Feb. 25, 2006 by the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Toshiyuki Shimada, conductor, marked the 20th anniversary of the world’s most famous nuclear accident.

The composer has also created a large body of solo and chamber music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles.

Now in its 11th season, the Metro Chamber Orchestra has developed into one of New York City’s finest musical ensembles and is an active part of the Brooklyn Renaissance. Audiences have responded enthusiastically to accessible programming that combines custom arrangements for chamber orchestra with commissions of entirely new instrumental and vocal works. Established in 2002 by Artistic Director Philip Nuzzo, the Metro Chamber Orchestra is comprised of some of New York City’s most talented musicians, many of whom are veterans of the New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and major Broadway productions.

Tickets are $40, $50 and $150 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/445937 or visit metrochamberorchestra.org.