Every year, the Savannah VOICE Festival seeks to uplift spirits in the community, but this year it seems they’re going to summon some spirits as well.
The Savannah VOICE Festival returns Aug. 7 through 21 for its tenth season and five different Savannah OPERA productions will be included: "Return to Brigadoon;" "Faust;" Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Medium;" "Alice Ryley, a Savannah Ghost Story;" and "Anna Hunter, the Spirit of Savannah."
Maria Zouves, SVF Co-Founder and President of the Milnes VOICE Programs and President of the Milnes VOICE Programs, said that COVID changed the last few years of the festival, and while they are still taking precautions this year, they are excited to offer full shows and more productions.
“It feels so good to be able to make that kind of music in Savannah again. And of course, the artists are equally as excited being back in the city. There's such a love affair between our classical art and Savannah now after ten years.”
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
The tenth season of The Savannah VOICE Festival is themed VOICES from Beyond and kicks off Aug. 7 at the Jewish Educational Alliance with a swing concert.
“We start with something completely out of the box with our swing concert at the JEA. So it kind of gives a little look-see into the stories that we're going to be telling with the theme of being Voices From Beyond, right? We're going to be a little bit transcendent and that means a million things… It’s a little on the spooky side. It's a little on the ethereal side. It's a little on the colloquial side. It's beyond!”
The swing concert with Elite Party Band will be followed by a reception where people are invited to dance.
Aside from the swing concert, the overall theme of this season of SVF is definitely spooky like Zouves and Jorge Parodi, SVF’s Artistic Director, said.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
“These shows all have associations with ghosts and the afterlife, enchanted places and of course Faustian pacts with the devil, so they are set very much beyond the day-to-day world,” said Parodi. “We also want to celebrate that we are moving beyond the difficulties of the last two years. Many of the Festival artists that will join us are VOICE alumnae.”
It’s definitely Halloween in August with the production of “The Medium” on Aug. 11 at the Telfair Academy. This one-act American opera tells the story of a medium falling victim to her own fraudulent voices.
“This piece should be done every Halloween in Savannah,” said Zouves.”It is so spooky and so amazing. And so to do it in the [Telfair] Academy in Savannah? I can't wait for that to happen.”
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Aug. 12 and 13 will be the dual performances of “Alice Ryley, a Savannah Ghost Story” and “Anna Hunter, the Spirit of Savannah” at the Charles H. Morris Center. Both were written by Savannah OPERA’s Composer-in-Residence Michael Ching and follow the lives of two different Savannah women. “Alice Ryley” follows the story of the Irish indentured servant who was put on trial for murder in the 1730s.
“Anna Hunter” portrays the life of one of the women who saved the historic Davenport House from destruction and founded the Historic Savannah Foundation.
“These are Savannah’s own opera stories, based on real people who existed and changed Savannah, and Savannah changed them,” said Zouves.
Lerner and Loewe’s “Return to Brigadoon” on Aug. 16 and 18 at the Charles H. Morris Center is a special treat for musical fans. The fairytale it weaves is all about memories and finding a lost time.
Of course, opera fans are no stranger to Charles Gounod’s “Faust” which will be Aug. 19 and 21 at Asbury Memorial Church. It may sound strange to perform an opera about a man making a pact with the devil in a church, but stranger things have happened in Savannah. This somehow fits.
There will still be COVID precautions in place to keep attendees and performers safe.
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
Credit: Adriana Iris Boatwright / For Do Savannah
“We know that everyone is a little tired of taking precautions, but we also know that our fans will want to keep artists and themselves safe,” said Zouves. “Therefore, we want to reassure everybody that we will take appropriate precautions, whatever these may be at Festival time.”
For more information on this year's Savannah VOICE Festival, go to savannahvoicefestival.org/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah VOICE Festival embraces its spooky side in its 10th season with array of opera favorites
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