News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 5/8/03   LPO PLANS “FANTASTIC” MAY 16 CONCERT AT SLU’S COLUMBIA THEATRE       HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts will once again welcome the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra to the downtown Hammond theater’s stage on May 16.       Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert, “Fantastic Finale!,”  are $30, Orchestra 1 and Loge; $25, Orchestra 2 and Balcony 1; and $20, Balcony 2. Tickets are available through Ticketw eb and will go on sale on May 12 at the Columbia box office, 985-543-4371. The box office, located in the theater’s lobby at 220 E. Thomas Street, is open from noon to 5 p.m.       Louisiana Philharmonic Music Director Klauspeter Seibel will conduct the orchestra in Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40 in G Minor,” and Rossini’s opera “An Italian Girl in Algiers.”       By far the strongest and most direct influence on the composition of Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” was a young Shakespearean actress, Harriet Smithson, who appeared in Paris as Ophelia and Juliet in productions by a touring company from England. When Berlioz first saw her on stage on September 11, 1827, he was so overwhelmed and consumed with passion for her that he became like a man possessed. In a heroic gesture designed to attract her attention to his burning love, this most romantic of Romantics wrote his “Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist” to prove to her that he too was a dramatic artist.         The most prominent autobiographical element of the score is the use of the “idée fixe,” a melody that recurs throughout each of the five movements in varying guises -- fervent, beatific, distant, restless, or diabolical, depending on the changing scene.         An aura of reverence, mystery and romantic fantasy surrounds Mozart's penultimate symphony. It was written, along with two other symphonies, during just six weeks in the summer of 1788, and is one of more than 50 symphonies by Mozart written in the minor key.       Rossini’s early opera, “The Italian Girl in Algiers,” written in 1813, started him on the road to global fame which would see him produce more than two operas each year for the next 15 years. For American audiences, this opera makes rare appearances, usually on university campuses. Filled with gay and witty music, the opera's fame lives through its brilliant overture. A masterpiece of orchestration, it is a perfect concert overture, filled with drama, spirit, and charm.         For additional information about the LPO “Fantastic Finale!” concert and other Columbia 2003 performances, call the Fanfare-Columbia office, 985-543-4366 or e-mail fanfare_ctpa@selu.edu. Return to News Releases