 |
|
Maestro Fights His Corner Bringing Boxing To Opera
May 19, 2004A music expert at Kingston University is hoping to deliver a knockout production after being given the go-ahead to develop a major opera about boxing. Dr Howard Fredrics has been awarded almost £5,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Board to create The Whitechapel Whirlwind, based on the life of 1920s and 30s boxing legend Jack "Kid" Berg.
Dr Fredrics, creative technology leader at Kingston's School of Music, is a distant cousin of Berg. The Jewish boxer from London's East End dominated the world junior welterweight division during his heyday and was nicknamed The Whitechapel Whirlwind. Having collated hours of taped interviews with Berg, fight footage and photographs, Dr Fredrics will use his expertise in electronic composition to produce a multimedia opera. The final product will
include video clips and audio segments as well as electronic music and a conventional orchestra.
"I've researched Berg's life extensively and spoken with family members, boxing historians and Jewish historical societies to build up a picture of what he was like," Dr Fredrics said. "He had a tremendous career in the boxing ring but after retiring he was determined to remain in the spotlight. Even in his fifties and sixties, he was convinced that some day he would make a comeback and refused to believe that his celebrity years were gone."
Dr Fredrics said the opera would explore the reasons so many young men from immigrant communities tried their hand at boxing in the early 20th Century. "Regardless of how much punishment he took from his opponent, Berg had a reputation for never giving up. His fighting style is symbolic of his personal battle against anti-Semitic discrimination and also the struggle of all immigrants and minorities at that time," he said.
The research award has allowed Dr Fredrics to appoint librettist Jacob Sager Weinstein. A sneak preview of the opera will be shown at York Hall in Bethnal Green next March as a part of a weekend-long Boxing Extravaganza event, presented by the Jewish East End Celebration Society. Dr Fredrics hopes to have the opera in full production within five years.
Kingston University
Science Research Departments
Earth Science
Alternative Energy | Anthropology and Archaeology | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | Environment and Nature News | Global Warming | High-Energy and Particle Physics | Ozone Hole | Scientists Slow Light | Tsunami
Space Science
Astronomy and Space News | Black Holes | Chandra X-Ray Observatory | Extrasolar Planets | Hubble Telescope | International Space Station | Jupiter Galileo Mission | Jupiter Cassini Mission Flyby | Mars Exploration | Mars Odyssey 2001 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Polar Lander | Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars Pathfinder | Meteors and Asteroids | Mir Space Station | NEAR Asteroid Probe Mission | Pluto Planet Debate | Search for Extraterrestrial Life | Space Shuttle Program | Space Shuttle Mission: STS-102 | Space Weather
Life Science
Animal News | Biotechnology and Genetics | Brain Research | Human Cloning | Dinosaur and Fossil Discoveries | Endangered Species | Gene Therapy | Genetically Modified Food | Stem Cell Research | Whales and Whaling
 | The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book: Boil Ice, Float Water, Measure Gravity-Challenge the World Around You! (Everything Kids Series) by Tom Robinson Science has never been so easy - or so much fun! With The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book, all you need to do is gather a few household items and you can recreate dozens of mind-blowing, kid-tested science experiments. High school science teach Tom Robinson shows you how to expand your scientific horizons - from biology to chemistry to physics to outer space. You'll discover... |
 | Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua An amazing (and some would say magical) resource on photographic lighting that has been talked about in the community and recommended for years. This highly respected guide has been thoroughly updated and revised for content and design - it is now produced in full color! It introduces a logical theory of photographic lighting so if you are starting out in photography you will learn how to... |
 | Principles of Environmental Science by William Cunningham, Mary Ann Cunningham Rather than the 25 to 30 chapters found in most environmental science textbooks, the authors have limited Principles of Environmental Science: Inquiry and Applications to 15 chapters--perfect for the one-semester, non-majors environmental science course. True to its title, the goal of this concise text is to provide an up-to-date, introductory view of essential themes in environmental science... |
 | The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 (The Best American Series) "The articles . . . draw the reader more tightly into the web of the world. They forge links in unexpected ways. They connect us to nature and to each other, and those connections nourish the intellect and uplift the spirit."—Jerome Groopman, M.D., editorThis year's Best American Science and Nature Writing offers another rich assortment of "fascinating science and impressive journalism" (New... |
 | On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. Now, for its... |
 | Science Fair by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby... |
 | Influence: Science and Practice (5th Edition) by Robert B. Cialdini Influence: Science and Practiceis an examination of the psychology of compliance (i.e. uncovering which factors cause a person to say "yes" to another's request). Written in a narrative style combined with scholarly research, Cialdini combines evidence from experimental work with the techniques and strategies he gathered while working as a salesperson, fundraiser, advertiser, and in other... |
 | Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences by Frederick J Gravetter, Larry B. Wallnau By far the best-selling introduction to statistics for users in the behavioral and social sciences, this book continues to offer straightforward instruction, accuracy, built-in learning aids, and real-world examples. The goal of STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, 8th Edition is to not only teach the methods of statistics, but also to convey the basic principles of objectivity and logic that... |
 | The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View by Laura King Why Things Go Right. The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View by Laura King (University of Missouri at Columbia) is the first text to bring a truly appreciative view of psychology-as a science and for exploring behavior-to introductory students. It is built around the idea that students must study the discipline of psychology as a whole, that the sub-disciplines are intricately connected,... |
 | The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles A simple way to create wealth and happiness in your... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |