Madrigal Dinner Theatre

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A perennial Holiday Season favorite, The Madrigal Dinner Theatre, returns to Lincoln Hall in Foxburg, PA for two evenings in early December, December 5th and 6th. This re-creation of a Renaissance period dinner is replete with period musical selections woven within a Christmas play with pageantry and toasts to the holiday season.

The Madrigal Dinner Theatre has been a sell-out each year.   Be sure to reserve your spots early–only 70 seats available for each performance.

ABOUT THE CONCERT

8740421_origCan you recall an earlier time in your life when the only utensil available to you at mealtime was a spoon? Back then, were there people dressed in elegant costumes serving your meal and entertaining you at once?

The Madrigal Dinner has become a Foxburg Christmas Tradition! Each December, Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts and the Madrigal Singers transform Lincoln Hall into a grand banquet hall reminiscent of Medieval England. The Madrigal Singers, adorned in period costumes, entertain with madrigal songs and traditional holiday carols. They serve each course of the meal, at the same time unfolding a story set to music. Think of it as a modern form of dinner theatre.

Lincoln Hall becomes the Great Hall setting for your experience of a Royal event. Candlelit tables, banners and coats of arms give one a sense of the majesty enjoyed by a select few. The king and queen arrive in grand flourish and invite all in attendance to share in a festive dinner. The madrigal choir, dressed in period costume, entertains with madrigal songs and traditional holiday carols. They serve each course of the meal, while a story unfolds set to music.

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The menu for each night is representative of typical dinner fare of the time and is yours to enjoy–spoon in hand! Of course, no meal back then was complete without continuous goblets of mead and this beverage flows freely.  The meal is divided into courses and each is heralded with a traditional song. A play is performed between courses and a concert of choral music concludes the festivities. The dinner is intended to imitate a meal that might have been served during the Middle Ages.

renaissancechoirMadrigal choral music originated in Italy in the 1520s. In Italy, the madrigal was the most important secular form of music of its time and reached its formal and historical zenith by the second half of the 16th century.  After the 1630s, the madrigal began to merge with the cantata and the dialogue. The rise of opera gradually displaced the madrigal. In early 18th century England, the singing of madrigals was revived by catch and glee clubs, and later by the Madrigal Society in 1741.

Jump start your family’s Holiday enjoyment with this Foxburg Christmas tradition presented by the Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts!