Silent Shakespeare and the Sonnets

This is the home of the Silent Shakespeare series presented by Burnett Thompson in partnership with the Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare Guild, National Gallery of Art, Goethe-Institut German Cultural Center, Castleton Theatre, and Two Cities Modern Art Gallery in Shanghai, China. The screening and musical performances of many of the surviving silent films of Shakespeare plays will be presented from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Thompson's scores are extemporaneously improvised, and provide an instant interpretation of the action on the screen.

Schedule

Friday, April 29, 2011 7:00 p.m. The Sonnet Song Cycle: 10 sonnets set to music. Coco Zhao, vocalist. Sung in Mandarin Chinese. Two Cities Gallery, Shanghai, China. Music composed by Burnett Thompson, translation by Janet Tan.
On Youtube: The Complete Shanghai Concert

Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Noon. The Sonnet Song Cycle.
Lena Seikaly, Vocalist; Marshall Keys, saxophone; Eric Wheeler, bassist; Burnett Thompson, composer and pianist
On Youtube: Sonnet 138
Followed by additional excerpts great silent film: Richard III , 1912, with Frederick Warde. This was the first significant Shakespearean film produced in the U.S., possibly the first full-length feature film.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010, Noon. The Sonnets presented by three actors: Vanessa Buono . Theodore Snead and Paul Edward Hope

Followed by excerpts from the great silent film: Richard III , 1912, with Frederick Warde. This was the first significant Shakespearean film produced in the U.S., possibly the first full-length feature film.

Shakespeare Theatre at the Harman Theater in Washington, DC. All original scores composed and performed by pianist Burnett Thompson

Admission is Free.

Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008. 2:00 p.m. As a foretaste of things to come, the National Gallery of Art presents a non-Shakespearean piece, The Last Days of Pompeii with original musical score by Burnett Thompson. Auditiorium of the East Wing. Admission is Free.

March 11, 2009, 6:30 p.m. Othello, 1922, Director: Dmitri Buchowetzki. Cast: Emil Jannings, Lya de Putti, Werner Krauss. Goethe Institute Steinway piano provided by Jordan Kitts Music

March 14, 2009, 1:00 p.m. Julius Caesar Dir: Enrico Guazzoni. Idea: Raffaele Giovagnoli. Cast: Gianna Terribili-Gonzales, Augusto Mastripietri, Ignazio Lupi, Lea Orlandini. National Gallery of Art

March 16, 2009 The Sonnets: 10 Sonnets with newly composed musical settings. Casey Biggs will read the Sonnets. National Arts Club, New York, NY

Wednesday, March 18, 2009, Noon. Silent Shakespeare and the Sonnets: Charley Chase and the Sonnets read by Debra Tidwell. Shakespeare Theatre at the Harman Theater in Washington, DC.

Many thanks to Sylvia Blume at the Goethe-Institut German Cultural Center, John Andrews at the Shakespeare Guild, Rita Venturelli at the Italian Cultural Center, and Peggy Parsons at National Gallery of Art.

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Discography

Beauty’s Rose

Derived from the Sonnets of William Shakespeare: A collection of improvised pieces for solo piano, composed and performed by Burnett Thompson

JazzTimes Review
Washington Post Review
Cadence Magazine Review
List of Tunes
The Text
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