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Chautauqua: Instituting Change

For more than 130 summers, visitors to Chautauqua Institute have sampled lectures, the arts, study groups and special interest programs. Geek vacation? Maybe. Methodist founders felt the combined study of religion, discussion of secular matters and exposure to the arts created a well rounded citizen and a better society.

We can recite Western New York treasures that went big time in popular culture—chicken wings, Goo Goo Dolls, the Pierce Arrow—but it’s nice to know that our region has also made an indelible mark worldwide of a higher, more intellectual, spiritual kind.

“Chautauquas” were replicated around the US in the 19th century. Some of these centers still exist. After Disney CEO Michael Eisner vacationed at the institute, he instituted a chautauqua in Florida, not far from the Epcot Center, combining education and recreation.

US presidents, foreign leaders and master musicians have come to our Chautauqua Institute since 1874. The institute’s calendar is so active that the liveliest art is almost overwhelmed. Almost, but never quite.

Conservatory programs at Chautauqua mean that performances showcase the works of emerging stage talent teamed with veteran guest artists.

June 30-July 8: Ah, Wilderness! Perfectly scheduled since Independence Day 1906 is the setting for this light-hearted Eugene O’Neill comedy. Conveniently timed, too. Anyone who saw Irish Classical Theater’s A Long Day’s Journey Into Night this past season might especially enjoy this story. The Connecticut shore is again the setting but the summer is more summery, the mood more festive and the ending is certainly happier.

July 21-29: The Just. Social change is the theme of this script by Albert Camus, written in 1949 when so many European dramatists were reflecting on the impact of the recently past world war on the future of humanity. Perhaps the play is more timely now. Five idealists want to change the world. Their dedication is so fierce they are willing to die for their cause. Or to kill for it.

August 11-18. Much Ado About Nothing. Popular when it was written, popular now and little wonder why. A man and woman so obviously well matched as a couple fight their mutual attraction. Breezy word play and plots to hook the two up carry the evening to its happy end.

In addition, Chautauqua Theater Conservatory will present workshops of two new scripts, July 12-14 and August 2-4. Their schedule is rounded out with lunchtime performances and evening cabarets.

Double your pleasure by considering the Institute’s opera offerings, as well. One pleasure of opera performance at Chautauqua Institute is that theatrical values have equal emphasis with musical values. And that is as it should be. The essence of opera is the theatricalization of music, and the musicalization of theater. Furthering its mission of accessibility, Chautauqua Opera performs in English and, each summer, includes a title from American opera or musical theater. The remainder of their four-show season balances well known titles and less performed works.

July 6 & 9: The Elixir of Love. Nemorino, a poor peasant, is in love with Adina, a landowner, who loves Belcore, a sergeant in the army. You already see where this is headed, don’t you? Upwardly mobile or truly in love, these relationships are tested when Nemorino buys a potion from a quack doctor to make him a winning lover. For this production Gaetano Donizetti’s opera is moved from a Basque village of 200 years ago to the California’s Napa Valley during Prohibition—a cunning bit of resetting since Nemorino’s elixir is nothing but wine.

July 20 & 23: Carmen. Opera’s baddest bad girl heats up July. She’s a gypsy, she’s a tramp, she’s a thief, she’s bad-tempered, fickle and she smokes. We love her even as she leaves behind her a wake of men who should know better.

August 3 & 6: Werther. Music by Massenet and a story by a Goethe provide the appropriate measures of French romance and German despair for this opera. The title character is a depressed writer failing with each attempt to prove his love for Charlotte. She, somehow, remains clueless until Werther borrows pistols from Charlotte’s own husband bringing about a fateful ending.

August 17, 19 (matinee) & 20: Once Upon a Mattress. An unrepentantly funny script, this is the musical that catapulted Carol Burnett from Broadway to the world. The old story of the princess and the pea is set to music…and as camp as a row of tents.

The southbound drive to Chautauqua from Buffalo is a delight, lasting a bit more that 90 minutes. Add time to explore of the Institute grounds and for an ice cream cone as you stroll.

Dinner? The restaurants on the grounds are efficient. They will get you to your theater by showtime, especially with a reminder to your server. In addition, a little Googling will match you with a meal to your appetite and budget with a restaurant you can find en route. For further information visit ciweb.org or phone 1-800-836-ARTS.