Opera may not be the mother of modern performing arts \u2014 in terms of Greek theater, which was up and running 1200 years before Jacopo Peri\u2019s\u00a0Euridice\u00a0first blew the minds of Florence, Italy, audiences in 1600 \u2014 but it is definitely its coolest, most knowledgeable auntie. Consider: There is music, singing, set and costume design, acting across the emotional spectrum from comedy to tragedy, world-building, and essentially everything in between.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, thanks to the upcoming series by Mostly Baroque<\/a> \u2014 an ensemble founded by Miami native Dr. David O. Hartman in 1997 to deliver \u201chistorically informed performance of the music of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi among other Baroque composers\u201d \u2014 in the black box Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center <\/a>this February 26 through March 1, Miami audiences will be able to experience this holistic, gloriously human art form in an intimate, immersive, and accessible setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou really do step into another world,\u201d Hartman tells New Times, promising an \u201cexclusive series showcasing the full breadth of classical performance that audiences love\u201d \u2014 opera, oratorio, orchestral, solo choir, solo recitals\u2014 \u201call within a three-concert experience.\u201d<\/p>\n That experience is not merely diverse in performance. It is kaleidoscopic in its curatorial intent, encompassing everything from Bach\u2019s Brandenburg Concertos, songs Jacques Ibert wrote for G.W. Pabst\u2019s 1933 film version of Don Quixote, and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi\u2019s saucy 1733 La Serva Padrona (translation: The Maid Turned Mistress) starring bass-baritone Johan Hartman and soprano Yi-Chun Sarah Tsai to the multicultural Miami Oratorio Society performing Black Spirituals by African American pioneering composer Florence Price and choruses from Handel\u2019s Messiah, Gerald Finzi\u2019s Shakespeare-inspired 1942 \u201cLet Us Garlands Bring,\u201d and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Hartman, who now lives in Connecticut, the show is very much a homecoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n In junior high, Hartman played in a forty-kid strong orchestra conducted by Dr. Robert Bobo, a legendary French horn player for the Miami Philharmonic, Fort Lauderdale Symphony, New York City Opera, and New York Philharmonic \u2014 quite a pedigree! \u201cHe was a real professional musician who held us to a high standard and believed in us,\u201d Hartman says. \u201cHe made us want to play well.\u201d He was introduced to Brandenburg Concerto \u2014 which will be performed at the Mostly Baroque series \u2014 and luxuriated in Handel\u2019s Messiah at Miami Marine Stadium at age 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to appreciate as a child, but the older I get, the more I realize how unusual it is to grow up surrounded by so much world-class art and music,\u201d Hartman says. \u201cI\u2019m a huge Miami booster even if I don\u2019t live there anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n