BURBANK : Poetry Set to Music Touches Hearts of Moms

Senior mothers in Burbank received an early Mother’s Day gift of chivalry and song Friday in a special performance of classic romantic poetry set to music.

Clad in period costume, five singers from the Overture Company of Opera Pacific used the works of John Keats, William Butler Yeats and other great poets to create a musical portrayal of all the facets of love and lovers, from the triumphant and idealistic to the forlorn and even comical.

“I had trouble holding back tears,” Dorothy Turner, one of about 100 mothers who attended the noontime performance at the Joslyn Adult Center, said of soprano Kimberly Allman’s rendition of “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways.”

“I lost my husband a few years ago and that was one of his favorite poems. It brought up a lot of memories,” she said.

The melding of classical poetry and music is the work of John Axelrod, 28, a Harvard-educated composer who has written scores for several theater productions. Axelrod said he began setting music to his favorite love poems in 1993 as a Valentine’s Day gift for his wife, but the idea eventually blossomed into a full-fledged operetta titled “How Do I Love Thee,” which has been released on CD.

“There’s such a classical legacy to the poetry that I thought the best way to approach it musically was from a classical point of view, so as not to cheapen it, but I also wanted it to be more accessible than the Norton Anthology of English Literature,” said Axelrod, who accompanied the singers on piano.

The works performed Friday offered a sampling of the Axelrod’s complete operetta and included works by Shelley, Wordsworth and even an uncharacteristically romantic ode by Poe. Axelrod said he and the singers have scheduled several free shows in honor of Mother’s Day this week.

“We thought it would be a nice gift for the moms, especially those who aren’t able to be with their loved ones this Mother’s Day,” he said.