Since The Toby opened in 2009, we have held a Winter Nights film festival in January and February. This winter the theme for our Winter Nights 2012 series is Technicolor.

Design is generally a pretty subjective endeavor, so when starting a new project I like to do a little research into the subject in order to guide the generation of formal elements. Fortunately Technicolor offers a wealth of visual elements to play with, but the methods and appearance of color film varies a lot depending on the time. The earliest versions of color motion pictures involved three separate rolls of film—black, cyan, and magenta—that were layered together in order to produce the color projection. It’s a very distinctive look, and is wholly different from the colors you see in The Godfather: Part II, the last American film made using Technicolor’s dye transfer process. The early three-strip technique provided inspiration for the initial Winter Nights designs, involving a large and somewhat abstract W made from shaded cubes to reference a frigid, icy winter.

While working on this abstract and wintry version, we also pursued a more literal direction using film as the starting point. Keeping the W, this solution retains the grainy texture that characterizes many of those older movies. While each had its merits, ultimately we decided to go with the film-centric version for this year’s series, and a final version was created that made very clear the series’ relationship with film, as well as including the Technicolor theme in the graphic.

Using film stills in a campaign for Technicolor movies is a no-brainer, but this was not as straightforward as one might think. In the 1940s, Technicolor threw out a large volume of color negatives after the studios didn’t reclaim them, and unless they’ve been re-mastered those movies are now only available in black and white. Fortunately, we were able to find some great color images from Charade and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The beauty of these movies speak for themselves when you see them, and in order to try imparting some of that drama and motion in print pieces, I relied on careful crops.

One particularly seductive image of Marilyn Monroe offers plenty of details to highlight—Marilyn’s face, her eyes lightly closed, could be mistaken for being asleep when viewed alone. The diamond bracelet and thick gray fur are a glimpse of luxury, sensuality, and elegant excess. The full image, my favorite among Marilyn’s publicity shots for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, shows the actress dressed in red, wrapped in fur, and draped in diamonds. Her open mouth, even more red than her dress, completes a frozen moment of ecstasy, and was the perfect image to use for our Winter Nights banner.

Filed under: Design, Marketing, Public Programs, Uncategorized

Jarred Alterman, Director of "Convento."

A few years ago, I was traveling in Portugal with friends, driving along the southern coast in search of good, cheap eats and local wine.   On the road, you meet people.  We heard rumors of a secret monastery in the Alentejo region, converted into an artist retreat and nature preserve.  Feeling adventurous, we decided to check it out.  I had this strange feeling there was something there waiting for me, beckoning me, but at the time I had no idea it would be the focus of my first feature film.

We made the drive from a coastal touristy backdrop to the barren countryside.  The green hills slowly became orange and tan and you could begin to hear the hissing sun.   The Alentejo is brutal in the summer, and we felt this intensity as we arrived at The Convento Sao Francisco, in the village of Mértola.

My first impression was an impressive gate daring me to swing open and explore.  It was so quiet, except for the hum of winged insects and the faint crescendos of clicking storks in the distance. There was no one to greet us and I felt like an outsider immediately, of mythological proportion.

After what felt like an eternity, I slowly lifted the latch on the gate, feeling the warm rusted surface on my fingers. As we slowly made our way up a long winding path, the background shifted before our eyes. Tall trees, exotic flowers and hidden stone sculptures suddenly replaced the once dry earth.  As we made our way deeper into the grounds, an oasis in the middle of this desert-like region surrounded us.  The sun’s rays, now dappled through the tall trees, illuminated a falcon circling above us.

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Filed under: Contemporary, Film, Public Programs

When I was a kid my all-time favorite movie was the 1982 musical Annie. I loved everything– from the drunken Miss Hannigan, to Annie and her curly red hair and spunky attitude. So when I started doing my research for Indianapolis Opera’s upcoming production of La Traviata, I was thrilled to find a connection to my childhood favorite.

One of the things I love about opera is its tendency to permeate all different aspects of life. La Traviata actually began its existence in 1848 as a novel by Alexandre Dumas, Le Dame aux Camélias or The Lady of the Camellias. The novel was such a hit that it was quickly adapted for stage – The Lady of the Camellias premiered at Théâtre de Vaudeville in Paris in 1852. The stage play was such a success that Giuseppe Verdi turned it into the opera La Traviata, premiering in 1853. The tragic love story is so engaging, there have been approximately twenty different movie adaptations – the most famous being the Academy Award nominated Camille, premiering in 1936 and starring Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor.

Which brings me back to Annie – about half way through the musical, Daddy Warbucks, Grace and Annie go to the movies, and it’s everything I wanted the movies to be as a kid – ushers in tailcoats, Rockettes, glamour and movie magic. The oh-so-romantic black and white movie they were seeing was Camille.

Released during the golden age of cinema, Camille tells the story of Marguerite Gauthier (Greta Garbo), a glamorous and charming Parisian courtesan. Camille is a kept woman and her lifestyle is financed by the wealthy Baron de Varville (Henry Daniell) – who she meets, incidentally, at the opera – until she falls in love with the handsome Armand (Robert Taylor). Camille is ready to give up her lavish lifestyle to be with Armand until Armand’s father (Lionel Barrymore) begs Camille to turn away from his son, knowing her past will ruin his future in Paris. You’ll have to join us at the Toby to see what choice she makes.

This film is full of classic Hollywood drama and is a great preview to Indianapolis Opera’s final production of the season, La Traviata. Join us on May 5 for Camille at the Toby and for La Traviata at Clowes Memorial Hall on May 13 and 15. Tickets are available at indyopera.org or the Clowes Memorial Hall box office.

Filed under: Local, Public Programs, The Toby

Working with living composers is, hands down, the best part of my job. Young or old, famous or totally unknown, bright-eyed or curmudgeonly, supportive or critical, it is always an eventful artistic road trip.

Composer Steve Reich was a boyhood hero of mine, so when we had the opportunity to work with him on Double Sextet, his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2008 piece that ends our concert at the IMA, I was full of nervous excitement. We’d been warned about his uncompromising vision, mostly via fifth-hand rumors that were some variation of, “He’s really demanding, and will freak out if he isn’t happy with what you’re doing.”

Reich was much more hands on than was typical for composers of his stature. Although he wasn’t ever actually in the room with us until the day of the premiere, we sent him rough recordings from our rehearsals at every step in the process of preparation, from the day of our the first Double Sextet rehearsal. He would offer us comments in detailed, illuminating emails, and we would try to respond to these concerns in further recordings.

Here’s an example, from a January 2008 email:

“Winds, strings and vibes from 409 – 432 are a bit ‘blocky.’ Try to always have the music ‘leaning forward’ vis a vis the beat and not right on top of it, hammering it. Light and always moving ahead (not rushing) wins the day.”

And another:

“When strings and winds come in at 537 its a bit too ‘espressivo’ – just a bit cooler will do it. Held notes have no crescendo – just evenly held. Think baroque.”

Both emails created heated arguments, and we went back and forth several times with Reich until he was happy.

Why does Reich get so involved in this process? Forty years ago, Reich’s house band, the Steve Reich Ensemble, was the only group performing his music. They evolved a distinctive sounding “house style” with its own unique energy. Compositions like Drumming and Music for 18 Musicians were developed without much recourse to the printed page. This intense, collaborative process led to a certain energy and style of playing that have become inseparable from the music, and Reich perhaps feels that it is his responsibility to pass this down to all ensembles that are encountering his work for the first time. This can ensure a sort of “legacy” for performances of his music during the composer’s lifetime, but what about well into the future?

And those rumors of Steve as an unreasonably hard taskmaster? Hugely exaggerated. After this exhaustive, intense process of preparation we were all a little jittery about what the composer might say when he heard us play the piece live. At the end of the Double Sextet dress rehearsal, at which the composer was present, Reich’s only reaction was, “Wow, fantastic. I really have nothing to say.”

Filed under: Public Programs

It was a Sunday afternoon in the home of a long-time IMA patron on one of winter’s bleakest, iciest days that we heard a wonderful performance of Franz Schubert’s great 1827 song cycle Die Winterreise, or A Winter Journey. The cycle comprises 24 songs about the painful feelings of a lover’s rejection, personal loss, loneliness and confronting mortality.

Now that it’s spring, we’re days away from a concert of another sort: Grammy-award winning contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird will perform at The Toby Saturday, March 26 in a concert co-sponsored by Ensemble Music Society and the IMA. So what’s the connection besides the truism that spring always follows winter?

One striking aspect of that wintry afternoon was the spectacular contemporary art everywhere in the home.  Wherever we glanced were paintings and sculptures by well-known artists. The collection was fabulous. So the guests were listening to a great collection of early 19^th century music while enjoying paintings and sculpture from 150-175 years later.

What would you think if the contrasting periods were switched?  Does the art you enjoy at the IMA or have on your walls at home match your “art for ears?”  Are you willing to go to a concert and be as surprised and challenged as you are when you enter the fourth floor galleries at the IMA?

I remember thinking once I was quite sophisticated and knowledgeable about modern music, so I expounded to a friend, “John Adams and Philip Glass—how pointlessly simpleminded.”  Then I went to a conference in LA where we heard excerpts from Adams’ then somewhat new opera Nixon in China. That evening changed my perspective on an entire group of modern composers and deepened my belief that music loses so much when it’s recorded.

When eighth blackbird first came to Indianapolis almost three years ago, I experienced a tinge of anxiety before the concert because this group included extensive percussion and used video projectors with amplification in the program, again extending my personal boundaries of “classical” music, and as well as for many in the audience.  The audience reaction by people of all ages was enthusiastic.  You have to be willing to jump in and try it out.

So look beyond the dozens of recordings of Vivaldi or Pachelbel on iTunes and come to The Toby on March 26.  Be open to change and discover exciting music by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Missy Mazzoli and others.

Filed under: Public Programs, The Toby