NEWSLETTER
Sunday, April 26, 1:00 PM
Staatsburg, N.Y. — On April 26 at 1pm, Staatsburgh State Historic Site will offer "A Performance and Conversation on The Musical Life of Ruth and Ogden Mills." Dr. Christopher Brellochs, Chair of the Academy of Music at Dutchess Community College, will present a musical program for soprano, mezzo-soprano, piano and saxophone that will feature arias from Metropolitan Opera productions like Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, and I puritani, operas that were popular during the Gilded Age, paired with original 19th century compositions for saxophone based on those operatic themes.
The performance culminates in selections from French composer Jules Massenet's Werther (1892), which was one of the first operas to prominently feature the saxophone. This afternoon’s performance will be filmed for the documentary series, “Music of the Gilded Age in the Hudson Valley.” The setting for the performance will be the opulent dining room of the mansion, overlooking the historic grounds and a magnificent view of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains.
Program attendees who would like to take a guided tour of the mansion after the performance will be able to purchase admission to the site, when they arrive for the program.
Ruth and Ogden Mills, Staatsburgh’s Gilded Age residents, were faithful attendees and financial supporters of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where they owned box seats.
The program is funded in part by an IBM Community Grant and supported by Vincitore's Hudson Valley Piano Center. The cost to attend is $15 per person and $12 for members of the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (845) 889-8851 x 300. Site admission for the optional guided tour of the mansion after the performance, is $6 per person.
Staatsburgh State Historic Site and the Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial State Park are located on Old Post Road in Staatsburg, off Route 9 between Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. The historic site is one of 6 sites and 15 parks administered by the Taconic Region of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. For more information, call 845-889-8851, or visit Staatsburgh’s websites at https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/25/details.aspx and www.facebook.com/StaatsburghSHS.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 77 million people annually. A recent study found that New York State Parks generates $1.9 billion in economic activity annually and supports 20,000 jobs. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.
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Photo: Dr. Christopher Brellochs
Contact:
Donald Fraser | Donald.Fraser@parks.ny.gov | (845) 889-8851 ext. 338