Some classical music lovers are mourning the loss of a cultural icon.
The Chautauqua Amphitheater is no more.
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I confess that when I first heard about the demolition of the century-old Amphitheater, I felt dismay.
I’ve sung many times in the spindly, yellow structure with friends and family members in the Rochester Oratorio Society and Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. My parents and I performed Verdi’s Requiem together more than twenty years ago. Aside from me being nearly arrested for jaywalking, that was a magical experience. More recently my two teenage sons and I performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Chautauqua Symphony and Chautauqua Ballet. It was a revelation for them and a joy for me to see my kids experience the thrill of singing with a live orchestra for the first time.
But I have to be honest.
It was physically uncomfortable.
We were perched on hard, narrow benches, squished and crowded way up high with little ventilation. At the risk of sounding like a complete wimp, I think a newly designed Ampitheater will be a blessing for patrons and performers alike.
Our memories will live on, and future performers will thrive in the new space.
(On another note: Read an account of a potential scandal here. The project’s main contractor has been tied to a bid-rigging case connected to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” development program.)
