A holiday tradition for nearly five decades, “The Christmas Revels” is a joyful theatrical celebration of the winter solstice that travels the world each year showcasing cultural traditions including music, dance, folk tales and rituals. This year’s holiday treat takes us to Renaissance Venice, crossroads of the world!
WHO LET THE DOGE OUT?
The Doge of Venice has had it. It is time for the solstice and the Feast of the Seven Fishes and everyone wants his opinion – merchants, lawyers, politicians, artists, even the fishwives want him to rule on who makes the best spaghetti putanesca. So he is going to take a little unauthorized vacation and meet some of his more lowly subjects. The wild adventures ahead involve reckless actors, jailbreaks, itinerant musicians, English Morris men and maybe even the Spanish Armada! A beloved holiday tradition since 1971, “The Christmas Revels” features luscious music, tricky sets and gorgeous costumes, superb musical guests, a tuneful, dancing chorus, some familiar Revels touchstones, and street kids who sing like angels.
Our 100-member ensemble includes musician and song leader David Coffin, The Revels Chorus of adults and children, a brilliant group of vocalists and musicians from the Early Music community (Sophie Michaux, Gideon Crevoshay, Lysander Jaffe, Daniel Meyers, Simon Martyn-Ellis, Nathaniel Cox, and Fabio Pirozzolo), The Serenissima Dancers, our acting troupe, Commedia Buffo (old friends Noni Lewis, Billy Meleady, Mark Jaster and Sabrina Selma Mandell), and Richard Snee as the Doge. The Cambridge Symphonic Brass Ensemble and The Pinewoods Morris Men also join us onstage at Sanders this year. Besides the carols and rounds we’ll ask you to sing, performance highlights include the Bal do Sabre, an Italian Sword Dance, plus familiar Revels touchstones like the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, Susan Cooper’s classic poem, “The Shortest Day,” and our signature piece, “Lord of the Dance,” which will literally have you dancing in the aisles!
18 Performances – Matinees & Evenings
December 8–27, 2017 at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, Mass.
Directed by Patrick Swanson; Megan Henderson, Music Director
Order Tickets online through a link at www.revels.org, by phone at 617-496-2222 (Tue–Sun 12–6 p.m.) or in-person at the Harvard Box Office at Farkus Hall, 10 Holyoke Street, near Harvard Square (Tue–Sun 12–6 p.m.).
Groups of 15+ Call 617-972-8300 x22 or email Alan at acasso@revels.org
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