The June 26 Style review of a Gay Men's Chorus concert incorrectly described the song "At the Window." It is about a gay man's desire to adopt a son, not a gay man unable to visit his hospitalized partner.
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Cristina Caprioli
Everything about Cristina Caprioli is unassuming. The Swedish Italian dancer, who stands less than five feet tall, performed at the House of Sweden on Sunday wearing a basic black T-shirt and plain gray sweat pants. Her stage presence is so understated that it seems she doesn't know she has an audience. And yet Caprioli, described in program notes as "Scandinavia's Twyla Tharp," is a captivating mover who quietly commands attention.
In one sequence, she tugged at her T-shirt, writhing uncomfortably beneath it. Later, she placed her palm on her chest and it looked as though her hand was sending waves of energy through her undulating torso. In a discussion following the performance, Caprioli said her choreographic inspiration often comes from simple starting points. This was indeed evident in such straightforward, unvirtuosic movements.
A video camera recorded Caprioli's performance and the footage was projected onto a screen behind her with a delay of only a few seconds. The camera captured a side angle that the audience could not otherwise see. These varied perspectives demonstrated how thoughtful and multilayered her choreography is -- even in this brief performance intended to showcase her process rather than her finished pieces.
All of Caprioli's movement was done in silence, which proved a smart and powerful choice. An elaborate musical score would have overwhelmed her work. The dancing and video stood alone quite successfully.
-- Sarah Halzack
Gay Men's Chorus
The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington presented the world premiere of its latest commission, "This House Shall Stand: Songs of My Family," on Sunday afternoon at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. GMCW Artistic Director Jeff Buhrman conceived the work as a way to explore relationships in gay and lesbian families, and the chorus set up an online questionnaire to solicit stories. Composer Robert Seeley and lyricist Robert Espindola then turned the stories into a cycle of 13 songs for chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra.
Espindola's texts capture real emotion, despite some grammatical gaffes that one hopes will be removed before future performances. The stories provided ample material for Seeley, whose score for "This House Shall Stand" sits solidly in the musical-theater tradition, with uncomplicated textures, catchy tunes and sweeping balladry. The resulting work contains some vivid and affecting vignettes: "At the Window," for example, pairs a heartbreaking tale of a gay man unable to visit his hospitalized partner with an equally moving melody.
Under Buhrman, the chorus sang with crisp ensemble and unmistakable passion throughout. The anthemic number "This House Shall Stand" made a rousing finale.
The concert opened with selections by a symphonic ensemble from D.C.'s Different Drummers, which played under Artistic Director K. Scott Barker with an enthusiasm that provided some compensation for a general lack of polish. The ensemble sounded best in its two most appealing works: Gustav Holst's delightful First Suite for Band and Frank Ticheli's "An American Elegy," whose ruminative harmonies memorialize the victims of the Columbine High School shooting.
