'The Dot and the Line' and other tales go to Carnegie Hall
6th October 2017
from 'The Dot and the Line'
The Dot, coaxing the Line
On October 14, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s will bring three family-friendly stories to life at Carnegie Hall: The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s setting of a favorite children's book by Norton Juster (who will attend), Sergei Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf, and Caroline Shaw’s adaptation of The Mountain That Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran. Edwin Outwater will conduct and acclaimed actor and author John Lithgow will narrate all three.
Rodríguez's work, with projections above the stage, is a co-commission by Carnegie Hall and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; the performance will be its New York premiere. Peter and the Wolf will include visuals by illustrator Chris Raschka.
About Robert X. Rodríguez
Rodríguez's children's opera Monkey See, Monkey Do is one of the most frequently performed contemporary operas in the United States. Frida, his opera based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, has had many acclaimed productions, most recently by Michigan Opera Theater, Long Beach Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. Rodríguez has served as Composer-in-Residence for the Dallas Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. He holds an Endowed Chair in Art and Aesthetic Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Get to know some of Robert Xavier Rodríguez's humorous and thoughtful settings for Orchestra and Narrator:
A Colorful Symphony (20 min)
Based on Norton Juster’s classic children's story The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), A Colorful Symphony has become a musical classic in its own right, with regular performances throughout the United States on youth and family concerts.
Trunks, A Circus Story for Narrator and Orchestra (18 min)
This family favorite integrates familiar melodies (such as The Magic Flute theme and Mexican Hat Dance) into the charming story of a boy who befriends and circus elephant.
We, the People: The Story of the American Constitution (15 min)
For all of the budding history buffs, this musical snapshot of colonial Philadelphia provides a lively account of how our country's most important document came to be.
– For more information about Robert Xavier Rodriguez and orchestral programming ideas, please contact Rachel Sokolow.
