Overview
In 1904, the A.C. Frost Company created Ravinia as an amusement park intended to lure riders to the fledgling Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad. The amusement park boasted a baseball diamond, electric fountain and refectory or casino building with dining rooms and a dance floor. The prairie-style Martin Theatre (then called Ravinia Theatre) is the only building on the grounds that dates back to that original construction. When the park's existence became jeopardized following the railroad's bankruptcy, local residents (for the most part Chicago businessmen) formed a corporation in 1911 to purchase and operate the park. Music was a confirmed summer activity from then on, except for a brief hiatus during the Depression.
Over 100 years later, Ravinia Festival is the oldest outdoor music festival in North America and is lauded for presenting world-class music. The festival attracts about 600,000 listeners to some 120 to 150 events that span all genres from classical music to jazz to music theater over each three-month summer season. Over the years, the festival has hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Joan Baez, Anita Baker, The Ballet Russe, The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Luciano Berio, Leonard Bernstein, Lucrezia Bori, Dave Brubeck, Sandip Burman, Montserrat Caballé, Glen Campbell, Pablo Casals, Chicago, Van Cliburn, Joe Cocker, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Aaron Copland, Bill Cosby, Elvis Costello, Deep Purple, Placido Domingo, Doobie Brothers, Jackie Evancho, Horacio Gutierrez, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Dorothy Dandridge, Duran Duran, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Roberta Flack, Ella Fitzgerald, Renée Fleming, Aretha Franklin, George Gershwin, Jose Greco, Buddy Guy, Hall & Oates, Marvin Hamlisch, Herbie Hancock, Isaac Hayes, Jascha Heifetz, John Houseman, Jennifer Hudson, Janis Joplin, The Judds, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, Chaka Khan, Lyle Lovett, Patti LuPone, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Yo-Yo Ma, Maroon 5, Sarah McLachlan, Idina Menzel, Joni Mitchell, Moody Blues, Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Mandy Patinkin, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Peter, Paul & Mary, Robert Plant, Bernadette Peters, Oscar Peterson, Bonnie Raitt, David Sanborn, Beverly Sills, Stephen Sondheim, Isaac Stern, Sting, Elaine Stritch, Donna Summer, James Taylor, Train, Carrie Underwood, Sarah Vaughan, Rufus Wainwright, Clara Ward, Orson Welles, Frank Zappa and Denis Matsuev.
The Festival includes symphony concerts, often with guest soloists, as well as opera, jazz, blues, folk, and rock performances, plus ballet, drama, and educational programs which take place year-round.
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