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Imagine being bold enough to have slept
with Marlene Dietrich. And beautiful
enough to have slept with Greta Garbo.
And sexy enough to have snared Isadora
Duncan. And cultured enough to bed
Katharine Cornell, Edith Wharton, and
Eva Le Gallienne. And daring enough to
have diddled with Tallulah Bankhead.
Imagine your sexual conquests reading
like a Who's Who in Hollywood. Who else
would you be but the raving beauty,
Mercedes de Acosta?
As a playwright, poet, and costume
designer, de Acosta was celebrated, but
it was her string of well-known lovers -
and her daring frankness about her
sexuality - that made de Acosta a
celebrity on par with her lovers.
As part of the Philadelphia
International Festival of the Arts (PIFA),
composer Joseph Hallman has created a
work based on de Acosta's life and
loves. Composer-in-residence of the
Rosenbach Museum & Library, Hallman
examined the de Acosta archives to help
create his commissioned song cycle
exploring de Acosta's relationships with
the many celebrated women in her life,
including her sister, the fashion icon,
Rita Lydig.
Performed by Dolce Suono Ensemble,
Philadelphia's highly-regarded chamber
music group, headed by flutist Mimi
Stillman, Hallman's "Raving Beauty" will
be performed in the salon of the
Denworth Room at Rosenbach Museum and
Library on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 at
two p.m.
Don't be too surprised if you encounter
a woman in a tuxedo, smoking a
cigarette.
Buy tickets:
https://tickets.pifa.org/Cart/Cart.aspx?perf_no=12450
Sixth in a series of features about
the Philadelphia International Festival
of the Arts (PIFA), continuing through
May 1 with the support of PIFA.
Follow PIFA at
http://www.twitter.com/PIFAPhilly
“Like” PIFA at
http://www.facebook.com/PIFA.Philly |
