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| London City Opera in Farthing tonight |
Stephanie
Marshall
Entertainment Beat |
Heartbreak
is common no matter where one is from. One just has to be human
for it to be seen.
The London City Opera again visits Appalachian State University,
this time bringing the opera “Madame Butterfly” by Giacomo
Puccini, a story of love and extreme heartbreak.
The show will be performed in Farthing Auditorium tonight.
“This is a very tragic opera, and it is one of Giacomo Puccini’s
most popular operas,” Director of Marketing for the Office
of Cultural Affairs (OCA) Denise R. Ringler said Monday.
“OCA has been working on this for about a year now. Like all
our other performances, we found out about this performance through
the notification from our regular contact agents,” Ringler
said.
“Opera is very dramatic, colorful, full of passion and music
and has a lot of the elements of theatre, in addition to music,
that people are really moved by,” Ringler said.
The London City Opera is on a national tour, with Boone being just
one of the places “Madame Butterfly” will be seen, Ringler
said.
According to Ringler, this is not the first time the London City
Opera has been to Appalachian. Before, they have brought the opera
“Magic Flute” and “Merry Widow.”
“Madame Butterfly” is the classic story of girl wins boy,
girl loses boy and girl commits hara-kiri, according to an OCA press
release.
According to the press release, the story takes place at the turn
of the 20th century. A young American naval officer named Pinkerton,
played by Jim Heath, arranges through a broker to marry a beautiful,
young, Japanese geisha butterfly, played by Fabienne Borget.
The problem evolves when he does not love her, but she completely
denounces her family and every part of her old life for him.
After giving him her heart and soul, he moves back to America for
three years.
With child and having stayed loyal, the butterfly sees her husband
with another woman when he comes back to Japan, destroying her life
more than words can describe.
“We really support the idea of opera as a part of our series;
it’s extremely popular, and it’s an art form that really
thrills and inspires people of all ages,” Ringler said.
Tickets are $16 for the general public, $8 for students and $14
for seniors and Appalachian staff and faculty.
The performance starts at 8 p.m. and will last about two hours.
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| Legends to host Winter Gala |
Stephanie
Marshall
Entertainment Beat |
With the winter weather chilling the
social atmosphere on campus, the Winter Wonderland Gala might just
be the answer.
The gala will be held in Legends this Friday.
“The Gala is semi-formal, where one can come out and have a
good time at night. You and a date or friends can take advantage
of the local restaurants in the area and plus, get a great night
of entertainment at a cheap price,” Program Coordinator for
Student Programs Brad Vest said Tuesday.
Sponsors for the Winter Wonderland Gala are the Appalachian Student
Ambassadors, The Appalachian, Appalachian Popular Programming Society
(A.P.P.S.), Campus Residence Student Association, Club Council and
the Student Government Association.
A.P.P.S. President Anna L. Batten said A.P.P.S. finds one or two
representatives from each organization and splits into different
sections that do different tasks dealing with the Gala.
Vest said the work for the Winter Wonderland Gala started last November.
This Thursday, Legends will be decorated in a winter theme with
snowmen, tablecloths and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.
As for music there will be two bands, The Executives, who will perform
first playing warm-up party music, and The Chairmen of the Board,
who are the main band for the night, Vest said.
“What else do you have to do on a Friday night when it is supposed
to be from 0-10 degrees? Come on out, get dressed up and listen
to old, hot Carolina beach music,” Vest said.
Admission is $8 in advance at W. H. Plemmons Student Union’s
information desk for students, $10 for public, faculty and staff,
and at the door that night.
The AppExpress card will be accepted for payment of advance tickets,
but only cash will be accepted at the door that night.
Advance ticket purchases come with a coupon for a half-price meal
with the purchase of a meal.
This offer is only valid on Jan. 24 at the following restaurant-sponsors:
Makoto Japanese Steakhouse, Red Onion Cafe, Vintner’s Restaurant,
The Artist’s Palate, Dellorie’s Restaurant, The Peddler
and Murphy’s Restaurant and Pub.
There will be an age limit of 18 years with proper picture I.D.
to enter, unless you are an Appalachian student, because the event
is BYOB. There will be a limit of 750 milliliters of unfortified
wine and a six-pack of beer. No liquor is allowed.
The doors open for the Gala at 9 p.m. |
| Weekend Excursion back in Boone,
at Legends tonight |
Stephanie
Marshall
Entertainment Beat |
Appalachian Popular Programming Society (APPS)
is starting the second semester off with a bang, bringing a band
to Appalachian State University whose members once were Appalachian
students themselves.
Weekend Excursion, consisting of Appalachian
alumni, is coming to Legends tonight.
Weekend Excursion is a popular, fun band that
always puts on a good show that brings in the crowd, Peter D.
Van Schoick, stage shows chairperson, said Tuesday.
Weekend Excursion’s members include, but
are not limited to, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Chris
Groch, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Jeff Foxworth and
drummer and backing vocalist Cas Edmunds, according to the Weekend
Excursion Web site. This Raleigh-based band
got its start in 1995 while the members were still seniors in
high school. Their first show was held in Edmunds’ basement.
According to their official Web site, that year they ended up
making a demo tape that was sold in a local dentist’s office.
After graduation the band headed off to become
students at Appalachian. When they received an overwhelming response
to their demo tape, they brought in John Plymale to record their
debut, self-titled CD, according to their Web site.
From then on, the band was forced into juggling
its time between school and weekend tours. The time paid off because
they again recorded with Plymale in 1998 for a second EP, “Five
to Six.”
While at Appalachian, Weekend Excursion was
involved with the fraternity scene, Van Schoick said.
After college, the band went on to record their
third EP, released in 2000, called “Radioactive,” which
would become one of North Carolina’s hottest sellers released
that year. The band also spread their touring radius from Florida
to Washington, D.C., according to their biography on the Web site.
In 2001, violinist Mike Ferry announced that
he would be leaving the band, which was a shock to all, including
the other band members, according to www.SamHillbands.com.
Mike Ferry left the band to go to graduate
school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Van
Schoick said.
Weekend Excursion recently released their debut
with The Redeye label called “Take Me Home.”
This new release is the first song-writing
contribution of Fisher and the first without the violin work of
Ferry, according to the Web site.
“Kick off the new semester with a party,
Weekend Excursion style,” Van Schoick said.
The tickets are $7 in advance and are being
sold at the information desk in W.H. Plemmons Student Union or
$9 at the door.
The show starts at 9 p.m. with an age limit
of 18 years or older. |
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