As Orchestra Lumos’ concert season continues, the group takes on more fantastic tales. In their upcoming performances on Nov. 9 and 10 in Stamford’s Palace Theatre, they’ll present Shakespeare on Love, a mix of orchestral music and spoken word hosted by actors and performers Michel Gill and Jayne Atkinson. The evenings are set to include works like Berlioz’ “Scène d’amour” from Romeo et Juliette and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy.
WSHU’s Eda Uzunlar sat down with the two and the ensemble’s Music Director, Michael Stern, to learn more.
WSHU: Jayne and Michel, you're the hosts for these concerts themed around Shakespeare. Not only are you both seasoned performers, but you're also a couple who has been married for close to 30 years. Tell me about how you plan to share the stage.
JA: So just imagine I'm playing Juliet. I'm saying the words, “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow. And I will say good night till it be the morrow.” The level that I was just doing it, the level of which comes to — not only because I'm older, but because the idea of ever having to say goodbye or good night to him, it has such a richness. The feeling is there that, I can do, I could emulate with somebody else, but it's my husband. It's the love of my life. And so you are going to have that reservoir there in such a way that that is just really very, very special.
WSHU: Michel. Tell me more about that magic and working together.
MG: You know, we can profess so much. But, the thing is, we love working together. I think it's an added bonus and enjoyment for the audience when they actually do know we're together. Sometimes, they have never known, and they're pleasantly surprised, and they go, “Oh, that's why that felt so intimate and close.” So, you know, actors are very good at making believe, and love scenes, and all kinds of dramatic scenes. And we do very well without each other. But then, when we are together doing something like this, it infuses us personally in a way that is almost indescribable because there's such a comfort level, such a level of trust, such a level of familiarity, and such a level of love.
WSHU: Now to Michael Stern, Orchestra Lumos’ music director. Tell us how the musical component makes these concerts more than a sum of their parts.
MS: Imagine with all of that going on and the audience feeling that so viscerally, you then switch to, let's just say, the Berlioz music. This love scene starts with this incredible mysteriousness. It is night, it is quiet, it is secret and you're already drawn into this world of heightened expectation. And then, as the music begins, there's this hesitancy, right? These two young people, unsure, innocent, and yet practically, you know, vibrating with the moment, and then the music opens up and expands in this fulsome way, which just, I mean, there is no heart that is not going to be susceptible to that.
When the music meets the moment, there is this unspoken power that is so immediate. The words will enhance the music, the music enhances the words. The concept is there. This is why we are collaborating. And what we're trying to do is invite people who may not have heard Shakespeare performed live on the stage, who may not have heard some of this music performed live by an orchestra. They're getting the entire package in a way that is so accessible and so, so open that they shouldn't be afraid to just jump right in.
