Looking back at the 26th annual production of
A CELEBRATION of the WINTER SOLSTICE
with TRADITIONAL and RITUAL
DANCES, CAROLS, PROCESSIONALS
and DRAMA
conceived and directed by Patrick Swanson
music director George Emlen
With:
John Fleagle
Les Cornemuses de Cornouaille
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
(Masks by Ralph Lee)
Fesí Noz
Le Choeur de Quimper
Les Petites Chanterelles
Cambridge Symphonic
Brass Ensemble
The Pinewoods Morris Men
The Lord of the Dance
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The Christmas Revels, Cambridge's annual celebration of the Winter Solstice, returned to Harvard University's Sanders Theatre for a 16 performance run December 13-15, 19-22 and 26-29. The program took us on a journey to 19th-century Brittany, in Northern France.
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New material abounded in this Breton Revels but some familiar carols and audience favorites were included as was audience participation, a Revels hallmark. Besides singing with the cast, audiences were invited to join in "Lord of the Dance", the rousing recessional that traditionally ends Act I. Other highlights included the 13th-century Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, with it’s magical folk figures and haunting pipe and author/playwright Susan Cooper's adaptation of the Arthurian legend, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", featuring larger-than-life puppets designed by Ralph Lee, the award-winning puppet-maker and artistic director of the Metawee River Company in New York. This show marked the fourth collaboration between the Revels and Lee, whose magnificent mythological creations were first seen by Revels audiences in the 1993 Scandinavian Christmas Revels. Production staff included George Emlen, Music Director; Virginia Morton, Production Manager; Berred Ouellette, Technical Director; Eric Levenson, Set Designer; Nancy Goldstein, Lighting Designer; and Heidi Heimiller, Costume Designer with costumes constructed by CostumeWorks. The production was conceived by Revels' Artistic Director Patrick Swanson who also served as Stage Director.
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| Sheldon Brown & Roger Ide photos |
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christmas96 Since March 30, 1997
url https://www.sheldonbrown.com/org/revels/christmas96.html