Experience The Music of the Impressionists at the Historic Asolo Theater

Sarasota, FL—June 6, 2007—The Music of the Impressionists will be heard at the Historic Asolo Theater on Friday, July 20, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.  This special program complements the Landscapes from the Age Impressionism exhibition on display June 16- Sept. 16, 2007 at the Ringling Museum of Art. Soprano Michelle Giglio and pianist Lee Dougherty Ross will perform and discuss the music of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century French and American composers in a lecture/recital co-presented with the Artist Series of Sarasota.

“The same purity of color and infusion of light that characterizes Impressionistic painting can be heard in the music from that period,” observes Lee Dougherty Ross, pianist and Artistic Director of the Artist Series of Sarasota.  “By presenting songs representative of that era, we hope to enrich the listener’s viewing experience of the paintings in the exhibition.” 

Soprano Michelle Giglio, a performer with both the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de France will sing a program that includes such French favorites as Debussy’s Beau Soir, Ravel’s Piece en forme de Habanera,  Satie’s Je te veux,  Massenet’s Elegie, Delibes’Lakme's Bell Song, Saint-Saens’Le Bonheur est Chose legere, and Duparc’s L'invitation au Voyage.  In keeping with the scope of the art exhibition, the performance will also include works by American composers such as MacDowell, Griffes, Chadwick, V. Herbert, and Carrie Jacobs Bond.  Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism features mid-nineteenth through early twentieth-century French and American landscape paintings from the Brooklyn Museum. 

Tickets for the Music of the Impressionists are $15 and $10 for Ringling Members, Seniors (65 and over), and students and are available by calling the Historic Asolo Theater at 941.360.7399.

General Admission includes the Ringling Museum of Art, special exhibitions,Cà d’Zan Mansion, Circus Museum,Mable’shistoric Rose Garden and Florida’s only rose test gardens, all on 66 acres of lushly landscaped grounds. Adults are $15; senior citizens (65 and over) are $13; children ages 6-17 are $5.  Free Admission for children 5 and under accompanied by an adult, museum members.  Advance tickets are available by calling 941.358.3180. Visit for more information.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, in its affiliation with Florida State University, is the largest museum/university complex in the nation.  It preserves the legacy of John and Mable Ringling, educating and enabling a large and diverse audience to experience and take delight in a world-renowned collection of fine art; Cà d’Zan, the Ringling historic mansion; the Circus Museum; the Tibbals Learning Center, the Original Asolo Theater; and historic architecture, courtyard, gardens and grounds overlooking Sarasota Bay.