Nassau notes
Opening Exercises (poster design: Laurel Masten Cantor; photo of Whitman College by Denise Applewhite)
Ceremony marks start of the year
The University will mark the beginning of the academic year with Opening Exercises at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, in the University Chapel.
The annual interfaith service will include an address by President Tilghman and the recognition of academic achievements of undergraduate students. It is open to all members of the University community.
Following the ceremony, members of the class of 2011 will participate in a “pre-rade” from the chapel through FitzRandolph Gate, giving them the opportunity to officially enter the campus to start their undergraduate experience and to be greeted by fellow Princetonians.
Classes begin on Monday, Sept. 17.
Constitution Day lecture set
Princeton legal scholar Stanley Katz will give a Constitution Day lecture titled “Who’s Afraid of Senator Byrd? The Constitution and the Uses of American History” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
Katz’s lecture will explore the federal government’s role in setting educational policy and in supporting a “traditional” understanding of American history and constitutional law. The title refers to U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, who sponsored the 2004 law requiring educational institutions that receive federal funds to hold programs about the U.S. Constitution on the anniversary of its signing, Sept. 17, or in the preceding or following week.
The lecture is sponsored by the Program in American Studies and the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
Concert launches new arts series
A Sunday, Sept. 23, concert featuring the music of acclaimed composer Michael Friedman, a visiting fellow at Princeton, will kick off the new Center Stage program, a series of lectures, readings and performances by notable artists sponsored by the University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.
“Gone Missing: The Concert Version” will be performed at 8 p.m. in the Matthews Acting Studio, 185 Nassau St. Musicians from the New York theater troupe the Civilians will present selections by Friedman from “Gone Missing,” a musical documentary currently running on Broadway.
Friedman is a founding associate artist of the Civilians. His music also has been heard in dozens of national and international venues, including the New York Shakespeare Festival and London’s Soho and Gate theaters. Friedman is at Princeton as one of three Hodder Fellows, who spend a year on campus teaching a course and pursuing independent projects.
Admission to “Gone Missing: The Concert Version” is free, but tickets are required. They can be obtained by calling University Ticketing at 258-9220 or visiting the Frist Campus Center ticket office from noon to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Tickets also may be available at the Matthews Acting Studio box office a half-hour prior to the performance.
Cloth map of Iceland (courtesy of the Department of Geosciences)
200th birthday of Arnold Guyot
The 200th birthday of Arnold Guyot, a Princeton geographer and geologist whose work was a basis for the U.S. Weather Bureau, is celebrated in an exhibit on the 200 level of the Frist Campus Center through Oct. 26. The exhibit reflects Guyot’s life as explorer, educator and scientist. It includes pieces such as this cloth map of Iceland, which he used to accompany some of his lectures while serving on the Princeton faculty from 1854 to 1884.
‘La Bohème’ to be simulcast at Richardson
Princeton is one of 32 schools across the country presenting a live broadcast of Washington National Opera’s new production of “La Bohème” on Sunday, Sept. 23. The performance will be simulcast from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and is anticipated to be the largest-ever simultaneous viewing of an opera in the world, with more than 45,000 expected viewers.
The Princeton simulcast will air at 2 p.m. on a 10-by-15-foot screen in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall, and is being sponsored by the Department of Music and Office of Community and Regional Affairs. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required.
The nationwide event is part of Washington National Opera’s initiative to bring opera to a wider, more diverse audience.
“Washington National Opera is offering us a terrific cultural and educational opportunity,” said Scott Burnham, chair of the Department of Music. “This will be so much more than the screening of an opera video — we will share the excitement of live opera not only with the immediate Princeton community but with college audiences across the nation.”
“La Bohème,” composed by Giacomo Puccini and first performed in 1896, is a story about ambition, love, loyalty, jealousy and sorrow. It was the basis for the hit Broadway musical “Rent.”
Washington National Opera’s presentation of “La Bohème” comes from Teatr Wielki National Opera Warsaw and is directed by Mariusz Trelinski. The production is set in the 21st century and features the character Rodolfo as a modern photographer working in the age of technology. Rodolfo is part of a contemporary group of artists searching for their identity and longing for a deeper and more profound connection with society.
The one-time, closed-circuit broadcast will be shown on an outdoor screen at the Washington Monument on the National Mall, as well as at high schools and universities nationwide.
Doors to Richardson Auditorium will open at 1:20 p.m., and a pre-simulcast program from Washington National Opera will air at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets for University faculty, staff and students will be available at the Frist Campus Center ticket office from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 19-21. Tickets for the public will be available at the Richardson Auditorium ticket office from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 20 and 21. Tickets are limited to two per person.
The Richardson ticket office also will be open the day of the performance from noon to 2 p.m. If tickets are sold out, there also will be a wait line for open seats before the performance.
