| 'Messiah' reduced to single show
By Cathy Guiles
Staff Writer
The Calvin Oratorio Society will be singing “The Hallelujah Chorus” a little bit differently this Christmas.
Due to a scheduling conflict with the Grand Rapids Ballet Company’s 2003 performances of “The Nutcracker,” the Oratorio Society had to negotiate to schedule its annual performance of Handel’s “Messiah” at DeVos Hall in downtown Grand Rapids. Under a decision reached March 26 by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, the four main users of DeVos Hall—Broadway Theatre Guild, the Grand Rapids Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids and the ballet company—must allow the society to perform “Messiah” at the hall through 2007.
However, Calvin will have to give single performances there in 2003 and 2005.
“We believe that the Authority Board has come up with a reasonable compromise for the many desired uses of DeVos Hall in December,” Calvin President Gaylen Byker said. “In two of the next five years, the Oratorio Society has one Sunday evening performance at DeVos Hall. In those years we plan also to have a sing-along performance in the Fine Arts Center on Saturday evening.”
The sing-along will include the soloists, choir and full orchestra used in the regular performances. Tickets will be required.
The Sunday night performances might have some drawbacks, according to Oratorio Administrative Director Vicki Duyst.
“I do not think this will affect our ability to hire soloists, but it will definitely affect our choir members,” Duyst said. “Many of them have responsibilities in the churches and most of them have Sunday night services.”
She added, “It will be less expensive [than two performances] but not a lot because we will still need to have a dress rehearsal on Saturday morning in DeVos and we are fitting this in between symphony performances—therefore we will need to pay more in stage setup fees.”
Ticket prices for the performance at DeVos Hall will also go up this year, for two reasons.
“One is that DeVos Hall is now charging a $2.00 per ticket facility usage fee for all events and two, we have not raised ticket prices for the last two years and it is time to do that again,” Duyst said.
Under the new arrangement, the Oratorio Society will perform “Messiah” on a Wednesday and Thursday in 2004 and on a Friday and Saturday in 2006 and 2007. (In previous years, the performances took place on a Thursday and Friday night.)
“Thanksgiving is early in these two years,” Duyst said. “Therefore there is an extra weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
The scheduling conflict arose last year when the Oratorio Society and the Grand Rapids Ballet Company asked for the same weekend this year for their respective productions. Last December the arena authority gave the ballet company two weekends in mid-December for “The Nutcracker,” shutting “Messiah” out. The Oratorio Society appealed and the arena authority asked both sides to reach an agreement. The four year-round users of DeVos and Calvin were able to compromise on 2003 but disagreed over future Decembers, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
“The Nutcracker” and “Messiah” generate the majority of revenue for the Grand Rapids Ballet Company and the Oratorio Society, respectively.
Although the Oratorio Society encountered opposition from some of the prominent arts organizations in Grand Rapids, Byker is optimistic that the relationship between Calvin and the local community will remain positive.
“Calvin has had a good relationship with local arts organizations,” he said. “I think that the negotiations over scarce December weekend dates produced some strains, but we hope to continue to work with these organizations to coordinate our shared use of the Hall as smoothly as possible and to increase overall participation of the arts in West Michigan.”
Duyst is looking to see what happens with this year’s production.
“We have never done it like this before and it is more than one change,” she said. “We will know more after we are done with this year’s ‘Messiah.’ I really hope that I have a huge surprise and we will have a wonderful experience.”
Byker agreed.
“We are glad that the 70-year tradition of ‘Messiah’ performances downtown will continue, and we are eager to try this new performance sequence,” he said.
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