November 2003 - Nr. 11
KW and Beyond
by Irena Syrokomla
Centre in the Square – Masterpiece Series – Sinfonia Concertante
Friday, October 10 was the night Oktoberfest began. For some it was the first night of beer drinking and chicken dance, for some other it was Joseph Haydn’s Feuersinfonie and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. The third complementary piece played that night was Igor Stravinsky Symphony in C. It was the evening of three symphonies, different but complementing each other, deeply satisfying and highly appreciated. This particular concert was part of and sponsored by The Canadian-German Festival, a celebration of German culture, music and traditions. Among major supporters are noted Heffner Lexus Toyota, Spaenaur Inc. and Mr. and Mrs. Klaus Woerner, who were publicly acknowledged as well.
The audience came expecting more than an average performance and was not disappointed. The orchestra did very well under the watchful eye of Martin Fischer-Dieskau and together they offered an exceptional concert.
Both the Haydn and Mozart compositions required violin centerpiece performances that put plenty of pressure on KW Symphony Concertmaster Stephen Sitarski, and in case of Mozart’s Sinfonia, the violin duet with David Rose. Stephen Sitarski is well established in our community and feels appreciated every time there is an opportunity for him to perform solo. David Rose is less known, having moved from Saskatchewan to Vancouver and then to Kitchener-Waterloo in 1999. Both of them joined their talents and together were rewarded with a standing ovation upon the closing of the concert.
To my surprise, the hall was not fully sold-out, hard to say
why (Oktoberfest festivities?). The concert was exceptional and the audience
present received an exceptional artistic performance, and rewarded the
orchestra, the conductor and the soloists with great applause.
Waterloo Stage Theatre "Scenes from my Dock"
It was last January that I saw The Bible at the Waterloo Stage Theatre. Again this season the General Manager Steve Roth and his team have assembled five plays, light and entertaining, very much in demand in this town.
Scenes from my Dock, written by Vince Grittani with music by Grittani and Rosalind Mills, is the first and clearly relates to summer cottage life. It should really be staged in cottage country as a traveling production and would be enthusiastically received and highly appreciated. In Waterloo, the house was sold out and most, if not all, of the audience related to the stories of haggling over the purchase price of a summer retreat, long drives to the cottage, continuous repairs and maintenance, children, the joys of fishing with your father, and best of all - visitors from hell. Do I need to elaborate? The dialogue must have been taken right from life and real experiences, the acting of all four actors was professional and polished, the music – especially in the second part with melodies borrowed from well-known operas – a perfect fit as well. On occasion, the live background music was a bit overwhelming and some of the dialogue was lost; some actors projected better than others, or perhaps it was just a problem of the acoustics of the old movie theatre converted into a live stage?
Randolph Johnson was excellent, I saw him the last time in The Bible. Terry Barna had an opportunity to show how diversified his acting talents are. The stage design and costumes were done very well and completed this delightful show.
The other plays scheduled for the coming months are the Christmas-theme play Dear Santa by Norm Foster, Steel Magnolias from mid January to mid February, Man of LaMancha based on Cervantes’ Don Quixote in March, and Dads 2 in May 2004. It is a good mix of drama and comedy to lighten the mood during our long Canadian winter, and well worth seeing. Individual tickets are priced between $20 to $28, very affordable, the location is downtown Waterloo. Give them a call at 519-888-000 or visit their web site www.waterloostagetheatre.com. Of course, there are flyers promoting Waterloo Stage Theatre all over town. Judging by the full house, they fulfill the need for comedies in the K-W area and do it well. Many thanks to Mr. Steve Roth!
