Naked Philharmonic – Out to Lunch – It’s New Orleans
On May 22, 1796, while George Washington was still president, the first opera performance in America was staged here in New Orleans.
These days most of us think of New Orleans music as small bands playing jazz and funk. But orchestral music has been played here continuously from that night in 1796.
Today, Carlos Miguel Prieto leads a classical music orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic.
Guitarist, composer and co-founder of The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, Jonathan Freilich is the founder and leader of The Naked Orchestra.
The LPO plays 120 performances a year and is the orchestra for the New Orleans Opera and Ballet companies.
The Naked Orchestra has been playing since 1997 and features some of New Orleans greatest jazz musicians.
On this edition of Out to Lunch, Carlos Miguel Prieto and Jonathan Freilich talk with Peter Ricchiuti about a different side of the New Orleans music business.
Photos at Commander’s Palace by Alison Moon.
