Duke Ellington found himself in Ontario, Canada, in August of 1956. The American jazz legend and his orchestra were leading a concert series at the annual Stratford Shakespearean Festival. Somehow Ellington and the festival staff liaised. (Accounts differ on what happened. Some say the staff approached Ellington about composing a William Shakespeare-inspired piece; others say Ellington felt inspired by the festival and started the conversation himself.) Either way, the result was “Such Sweet Thunder,” a 12-part suite that A.B. Spellman of the National Endowment of the Arts called “one of the most remarkable orchestral pieces in all of American music.” Each suite seems to evoke a Shakespearean character, passage, or theme; for instance, “The Star-Crossed Lovers (aka Pretty Girl)” and “Lady Mac” are two of the more obvious. The legend goes that Ellington and his collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the whole record in three weeks. Their big-band compositions are the source material for choreographer Silas Farley’s new work of the same name—Such Sweet Thunder—for the Washington Ballet, one of six local institutions performing in D.C’s citywide Shakespeare Everywhere Festival. In choosing Ellington’s work, the dance company is simultaneously honoring the playwright and the 125th birthday of the composer, who is also one of D.C.’s most famous and cherished artists. Such Sweet Thunder: An Evening Inspired by William Shakespeare runs Oct. 26 through 29 at the Warner Theatre. washingtonballet.org. $50–$105. —Mary Scott Manning
Such Sweet Thunder, Oct. 26 to 29
