Midsummer’s Music Welcomes Susan Platts

Susan Platts. Submitted.

Midsummer’s Music welcomes international mezzo-soprano star Susan Platts, who will perform with the ensemble during the final four concerts of the 2018 summer season. Platts has performed at Covent Garden, Royal Albert Hall, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and many more.

She will sing in two pieces. First is “Dover Beach” by Samuel Barber. Based on a poem by Matthew Arnold that is deeply pessimistic, Barber used the poem’s rich imagery to create descriptive musical details, such as wavelike movements and rocking figures in the string parts representing shifting light on the sea.

The second piece is an audience favorite, Franz Schubert’s “Die Forelle (“The Trout”),” D. 55. The original text was not just about the catching of a fish, but the danger, as expressed in the final stanzas, for women who might be “reeled” in by unsavory characters.

“The Creative Aquifers” program plays at 7 pm, Aug. 31 at Birch Creek; 3 pm, Sept. 1 at The Clearing Folk School; 3 pm, Sept. 2 at Hope United Church of Christ; and 3 pm, Sept. 3 at Björklunden for Midsummer’s annual Labor Day Benefit. The Labor Day Benefit includes a pre-concert social time, the concert, a silent auction, a wine pull and a reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres.

To purchase tickets visit midsummersmusic.com or calling 920.854.7088. Tickets are $29 for adults, $10 for students, and free for youth 12 and under, except for the Sept. 3 benefit, when tickets are $95 for adults, $75 for students, and free for youth 12 and under.