
DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711140053

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  128 lines

PERLMAN TO HEADLINE 1998 VIRGINIA WATERFRONT FESTIVAL

VIOLIN VIRTUOSO Itzhak Perlman, jazz great Art Farmer, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the Universal Ballet of Korea's production of ``Swan Lake'' highlight the second Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival.

Artistic director Robert W. Cross will announce the roster prior to this evening's appearance by the Kirov Ballet at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk.

Set for April 23-May 10, the second edition of the festival - like last spring's premiere - promises a potpourri of chamber, orchestral and world music, pop and jazz, modern and classical dance and theater.

Again, performances will be presented in venues from Williamsburg to Norfolk. Single tickets go on sale Jan. 12. A partial schedule is available now; a complete schedule will be available in January.

What's new for 1998?

Three performances at the new Chesapeake Conference Center.

Increased participation by local arts groups.

More classical dance and theater.

The Virginia Waterfront, a regional tourism campaign underwritten by the city of Norfolk, and Virginia Tourism Corporation, the state's tourism office, are marketing the $2 million festival. Corporate sponsors and private donors underwrite festival operations.

This year's inaugural festival, featuring the Mark Morris Dance Group, minimalist composer Steve Reich, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and a live broadcast of Garrison Keillor's ``Prairie Home Companion,'' attracted 82,000 people to 70 performances in 23 venues.

``They liked the diversity - that it wasn't just classical music or just dance,'' Cross said. ``Our fear was how spread-out everything was. (But) people liked that it was a regional event, not just downtown Norfolk or the Oceanfront.''

While Cross can't begin to guess at next year's numbers, he can count on a big turnout for Perlman's performance with the Virginia Symphony. Co-sponsored by the United Jewish Federation, it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.

A concert by Israeli pop sensation Noa might be more of a gamble, but it's one Cross is willing to take, especially after seeing a tape of her performance at the Vatican before an audience of 100,000 that included Pope John Paul II and the late Mother Teresa.

``For us, one of our goals is to help establish a presence for important artists that aren't well-known in the United States,'' he said. ``She's huge in Europe and Israel.''

Cross fielded several requests for more classical dance on the 1998 schedule. The Seoul-based Universal Ballet is presenting a full-length production of Tchaikovsky's ``Swan Lake.'' Modern-dance enthusiasts have the Parsons Dance Company and ThePerksDanceMusicTheater.

Patrons also asked for more theater. Virginia Musical Theatre and the Generic Theater have scheduled productions during the festival. Theatre of the Millennium, founded by Michael Curry, director of the Hampton Arts Commission, follows this year's production of Samuel Beckett one-acts with Ibsen's ``Hedda Gabler.''

The Virginia Symphony and Virginia Stage Company are collaborating on ``A Midsummer Night's Dream.''

Virginia Opera, the Tidewater Classic Guitar Society, the Feldman Chamber Music Society, the Virginia Beach Forum and the Tidewater Performing Arts Society are among other area arts groups tying into the festival.

``It shows you that with the scope of the festival, some of these companies can do larger works than they would normally do,'' Cross said. ``They all had good crowds this year; there was so much going on. It's exciting for us that they want to come back and work with us.''

Chesapeake was left out this year because Cross couldn't find the right venue. That's changed with the recent opening of the city's Conference Center, which hosts a recital in the Lunchtime Chamber Music Series and a performance of Vivaldi's ``Four Seasons.''

Among next year's highlights:

The festival again kicks off with the International Military Tattoo, a show of precision marching and stirring music. This year's was such a surprise success - 6,200 showed up at Scope, twice the estimated turnout - that two evening performances and a student matinee have been scheduled. Units from Denmark, Canada and the United States are participating.

Christ and Saint Luke's Church in Norfolk hosts Anonymous 4, the glorious female a cappella quartet devoted to ancient music. It's an ideal match of artist and venue. ``Anonymous 4 would not be the same at Chrysler Hall,'' Cross said.

Andre-Michel Schub, the 1981 winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, returns to coordinate the well-received Lunchtime Chamber Music Series. He's recruited many of the artists who performed this year: the Miami String Quartet, Lydia Artymiw, Toby Hoffman, Ani Kavafian and Nathaniel Rosen. The series is being recorded by National Public Radio's ``Performance Today'' for later broadcasts.

Speaking of ``Performance Today,'' Martin Goldsmith, the program's host, will narrate Camille Saint-Saens' ``Carnival of the Animals'' at the Virginia Zoological Park. An avid baseball fan, he'll also do the play-by-play for a Norfolk Tides game.

The festival will screen the Oscar-nominated documentary ``A Great Day in Harlem,'' about the creation of a historic photograph of 57 jazz luminaries, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie and Thelonious Monk, posed outside a Harlem brownstone in 1958.

The film will be shown at Willett Hall in Portsmouth. Afterward, trumpeter Art Farmer, one of the participants in that shoot, and his ensemble will play a tribute to his colleagues.

One of the major changes in the festival won't be noticed by those attending it.

The 1997 staff totaled all of three, with a handful of volunteers. There are now seven full-time staffers on board, one part-timer and two full-time volunteers.

``The board (of directors) met during the festival and afterward,'' Cross said, laughing. ``Usually, they're apt to make cuts. But the one thing they wanted to make clear was we had to have a bigger staff.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

VIOLINIST ITZHAK PERLMAN

UNIVERSAL BALLET OF KOREA

Photos

LOIS GREENFIELD

The Parsons Dance Company will please modern-dance enthusiasts as

part of the second Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival.

DENNIS KEELEY

Israeli pop star Noa, who is very popular in Europe and Israel, is

less well known in the United States but is expected to be a hit in

Hampton Roads.

Graphic

TICKETS