Theatre ,
Martians and dinosaurs are no obstacle for L.A. Theatre Works
How on earth could a dramatic radio interpretation of a science fiction book possibly cause mass hysteria? Were the Americans of 1939 so gullible and naïve as to think Martians were actually invading New Jersey? After seeing, hearing and feeling the re-enactment of H.G. Wells and Howard Kochs' The War of the Worlds as presented by the uber-talented L.A. Theatre Works, I'm no longer surprised by the infamous impact of The War of the Worlds.
Originally produced in America by Orson Wells, The War of the Worlds fooled the audience by cutting away from the relaxing sounds of an ordinary evening music show with "this just in..." announcements of an alien invasion.
Reproduced Friday night at Yardley Hall, the L.A. Theater Works handily performed this iconic radio play. The professionalism of the on-air announcer, played by Kenneth Alan Williams, belied the fact that he is actually an actor. All of the characters sound authentic as the producer calls forth witnesses, experts and an array of significant political figures to verify the event.
The genius of the play is in this juxtaposition of soft and serious, hometown voices intermingle with scientific postulations. The action happens quickly and in less than one hour, New Jersey is under alien authority and New York City has been invaded.
It is only in the last scene, when the professor thinks he is the last man alive, that the play feels like a play. Josh Clark's soothing yet intense voice cools the action. The only other aspect that should have caused radio audiences to question the authenticity of a Martian invasion (besides that it was a Martian invasion) was the speed with which the experts and authority figures were dispatched and delivered well thought out and efficiently executed testimony.
One couldn't help feeling the parallel between this invasion and 9/11. Radio plays beautifully-drawn scenes in language for the listeners. Sights are described in detail and the sound effects only add a heightened sense of reality no matter how silly the objects are that create those sounds.
The second play of the evening was the highly entertaining The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Whether it was originally conceived as a comedy or morphed into one at the hands of the clever cast I do not know. It was, however, a refreshing change from the high drama.
Tour manager, foley artist, actress and writer, Diane Adair prepped the audience for their role as... the audience. Cheering, booing and roaring and speaking gorilla were practiced and the play began. The attractive young actress Kate Steele had a chance to shine as the intrepid, feminist paleontologist. Wearing heels and a fashionable hat, she paddled the Amazon with aplomb. Multi-cast as the newspaper boy, the effeminate head of the zoological society, the Indian guide, king of the Gorillas, a noble Incan savage, and a French Waiter, Kyle Colerider-Krugh pulled out all of the stops. His death scenes were particularly funny with much spinning and windmill arm movement. Good stuff.
The plays were directed by John De Lancie who not only played the infamous "Q" in the series Star Trek the Next Generation, but also has a music degree from Julliard and recently conducted Tosca with the Atlanta Opera Company. For the skilled cast of L.A. Theatre Works, speaking voices, not singing voices, and sound effects were their instruments drawing the same emotional result as if they were making music.
Carlsen Center at JCCC
L.A. Theatre Works Radio Plays
October 2 & 3, 2009 (Reviewed 9/2/09)
Johnson Country Community College
12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS
For tickets call 913-469-4445 or online at http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase
Top Photo:
Cast members Peter McDonald and Diane Adair
KC Events this week and beyond
Click here to see all the events on the KC Events performing arts calendar.
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As an arts organziation or musician, you can add and edit your own events.
KCMetropolis.org's mission is to promote traditional and independent classical music, dance, theatre and independent film. We are very sorry, but we do not cover pop, rock, Christian or country music; we do not cover the visual arts or non-performing arts community events. If you would like to send a press release about an upcoming performing arts event, please send to press@KCMetropolis.org.
KC Events Categories are:
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Dance
Theatre
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KC Events this week and beyond
Check out all the events on the KC Events performing arts calendar.
How do you list your events on KC Events?
As an arts organziation or musician, you now have the ability to add and edit your own events.
KCMetropolis.org's mission is to promote traditional and independent classical music, dance, theatre and independent film. We are very sorry, but we do not cover pop, rock, Christian or country music; we do not cover the visual arts or non-performing arts community events. If you would like to send a press release about an upcoming performing arts event, please send to press@KCMetropolis.org.
KC Events Categories are:
Classical Music
New Classical Music
Dance
Theatre
Jazz
To Submit Information:
- Please go to the KCM front page and click on the login tab located at the top right-hand side of the website.
- Create a login account and then sign-in.
- Read the KC Events Terms of Service before proceeding
- On the left-hand nav is a category called Submit Content
- Click on Submit an Event or Manage Your Events.
- Listings will be approved with 48 hours if it fits the KCMetropolis.org criteria
theSTEADY, Jazz,
Kansas City's golden era of jazz lives on
There's something to be said for purity.
Yes, plenty of music critics and general audiences will contend, "It's all been done before and musicians need to find a fresh, novel twist." While it's a valid argument, good intentions often lead to more gimmicks than genuinely fresh ideas, and talent often gets thrown to the wayside. When you've had your fill of the seemingly "hip," the time has come to make a pilgrimage to Central Ave and 8th Street - otherwise known as Scamp's Alley.
Nestled at the intersection of those streets is The Phoenix, Kansas City's historic jazz club that has acted as a home away from home to The Scamps. As one the oldest jazz and swing bands still actively playing in the metro area, The Scamps don't rely on quirky costumes, forced dialogue, or some newly conceived hybrid of their preferred musical genre. Rather, the latest incarnation of the band is still staying true to the roots that the pioneer members planted during the Great Depression. While original vocalist/cocktail drummer Earl Robinson left in 1994 and early pianist Rudy Massingale left his post in 2007, the current lineup is maintaining the tradition that has allowed The Scamps - revolving door of musicians or not - to thrive for close to 70 years.
The quartet's playlist in 2009 could certainly be deemed nostalgic, but their audiences are not limited to people whose formative years took place in the 1930's or 1940's. When the band played at The Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 3, you could spy an eclectic audience to the nth degree. Among those in attendance for the Happy Hour show were 20-somethings donning hoodies and jeans, a pair of senior ladies out for a night on the town, and more than a few baby boomers who proudly mouthed the words to every musical selection. Like any given club, there were those in attendance who would rather converse than concentrate on the music, but the attentive outnumbered the chatterers on this particular evening.
Led by the quietly charismatic saxophonist (and sometimes vocalist) Dwight Foster, The Scamps kick off their sets with little fanfare. After a bit of tuning and tweaking to their respective instruments, the musicians swiftly begin their hour-long sets with a fairly straightforward order of business: to deliver a seamless and tight set of jazz standards. While at least three out of the four members are likely past the age of 80, the playing was energetic and always on the mark during their 4:30 to 8:30 time slot at The Phoenix.
Guest vocalist Geneva Price has been known to lend her vocal stylings to The Scamps' set occasionally, but the bulk of this particular Saturday show was instrumental. There is a focused nature to each of one of the musicians, and only Foster offers brief commentary (if any at all) between numbers. "Body and Soul," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Girl From Ipanema" all made it onto the set list, and there were solos galore. "Satin Doll" was especially a highlight in the solo area, with emotional squeaks emanating from Foster's saxophone and a fury of drum fills delivered by Wallace Jones.
For all of the impressive musicianship throughout the night, perhaps the most poignant moment came during "Please Send Me Someone To Love." A blues ballad originally written and performed by Percy Mayfield, the song was delivered with quiet, yet heartfelt sincerity by Dwight Foster. There is certainly a rough-around-the-edges feel to Foster's voice that takes you off guard initially, but that same quality also makes it completely endearing. While there was intermittent conversation within the audience during the night, it seemed everyone's eyes were glued upon Foster during "Please Send Me Someone To Love." Losing oneself in the music was easy while in the thick of any instrumental, but it was impossible to deny Foster's distinct, stately presence during that ballad. His soft-spoken personality dripped out of every lyric sung, and it was only then when you truly became aware that he (and his past and present bandmates in The Scamps) represented a massively significant part of Kansas City's history.
In an era of instant gratification and flashy stage shows, will The Scamps leave every audience member contented? Probably not. But for purists who respect the creativity that comes out of jazz improvisation, it's hard not to relish the fact that these veteran musicians are still holding their own against the up-and-comers. Original compositions are a rarity at The Scamps' show, but again, the nostalgia factor is one of the most appealing aspects of their performance. And after all, you don't have to be 85 years old to appreciate the fact that Duke Ellington could write a hell of a tune.
For more information visit: http://www.myspace.com/scampskansascity
Upcoming Shows:
Saturday, Oct. 10, 4:30-8:30 pm
The Phoenix
302 West 8th Street, Kansas City, MO
Regular Phoenix gigs in November (calendar not yet announced)
Classical,
Three arts groups come together to present Purcell's "Fairy Queen"
The Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City is performing Henry Purcell's 1692 masterpiece, The Fairy Queen, in mid-October on two dates at the Goppert Theatre at Avila College.
Known for its offbeat programming and for featuring young singers in major roles, the Civic Opera has done unusual pieces before. Witness 2008's Our Town by contemporary composer Ned Rorem, its world premiere in 2007 of John Mutter's Everlasting Universe, its two presentations of Mark Adamo's contemporary retelling of Little Women, and its nine-year run of The Wise Women, a modern opera by Conrad Susa (due to return this December, by the way).
All of these are modern pieces, however. Why would the Civic Opera delve into the Baroque era to produce an opera by one of the most ancient, yet revered, composers of opera, Henry Purcell?
I asked David Adams, the locally famous tenor. He is a member of the Kansas City Chorale and since last December has also been the Producing General Director of the Civic Opera.
"Early music, particularly opera, doesn't have a real 'home' in Kansas City," he said. "As the new Producing General Director of Civic Opera Theatre, one of my passions is to make the company a regular venue for these early masterpieces."
Of course, one of the reasons for David's interest in Baroque opera is that the music is friendly to young voices. Also, as he points out, The Fairy Queen has never been performed by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, or for that matter, the Civic Opera - and may well never have been performed in Kansas City before.
Those expecting to see an English version of Italian or French opera may be disappointed. At the time Purcell was writing, the Italian and French styles of operas, so popular on the Continent, had not yet taken hold in England. In fact, the English rather preferred their musical evenings to include lots of dancing and choruses, be thin on plot and thick on visual entertainment. These works were based on, and were direct products of, the popular English spoken theater of the day. They took little or no inspiration from the Italian and French examples. In fact, the English didn't even call them "operas"; they called them "masques"
Purcell, always quick to respond to the public taste, premiered his first "masque" with The Tempest. So successful was it that he followed in rapid succession with several other works, culminating in The Fairy Queen in 1692. Like The Tempest, it was based upon a Shakespeare play, in this case A Midsummer Night's Dream.
The Opera calls for no fewer than 26 different singing parts. How does a modern opera company, particularly one operating on a spare budget like the Civic Opera, manage such a work?
"We had to make some rather liberal choices when moving forward," David told us. "The original score included seven sopranos and six countertenors. I believe that our approach to the production is sensitive to the piece while still quite innovative, with each singer singing multiple roles. That, of course, was a challenge for our stage director, Linda Ade Brand... one that she has absolutely mastered!"
The Fairy Queen has a sophisticated orchestral score, particularly since there are several orchestra-only interludes and a number of dance scenes where the orchestra is, of course, prominent. How is the Civic Opera dealing with the musical and choreographic demands?
"We are collaborating with two different organizations on this production," Adams says. "First, it is a challenging orchestral score, and we are most fortunate to have the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra performing the instrumental music behind conductor Bruce Sorrell. Actually, the idea for The Fairy Queen originated with Bruce, and I jumped at the chance to do it with him.
"For the dance scenes," says Adams, "we have invited the Owen/Cox Dance Group to join us. Jennifer Owen is a terrific choreographer and dancer, and she is bringing along some great performers, including Christopher Barksdale of Kansas City Ballet fame. We are delighted to have them share our stage. Their addition has provided a powerhouse to our effort... I think audiences will be overwhelmed with the beauty and charm of the result!"
Altogether, The Fairy Queen may be the most ambitious project the Civic Opera has ever tackled. Some productions of this opera over the years have been lavish and expensive affairs, yet the Civic Opera and its collaborators are approaching the production with a tight budget. How does that work?
"We are trying to be lavish but small!" laughs Adams. "This production will have much of the spectacle of the opera's original intent, yet maintain the intimacy that audiences of Civic Opera performances have grown to love."
To judge the result for yourself, check out one of the performances at the Goppert Theatre at Avila College on October 16 and 18.
The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City
Kansas City Chamber Orchestra
Owen/Cox Dance Group
October 16 at 8:00 p.m.
October 18 at 2:00 p.m.
Goppert Theatre, Avila College
119th and Wornall Road, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at tickets.cto.umkc.edu/public/load_screen.asp
For more information visit:
http://www.kccivicopera.org/
http://www.kcchamberorchestra.org/
http://www.owencoxdance.org/
Classical,
Met Opera's 2009/10 HD Broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera will again broadcast many of this season's operas in high def directly into your local movie theaters. These broadcasts have been very successful over the past few years, not only for their artistic values, but attendance has been uniformly excellent. If these were actual Hollywood movies, many of the broadcasts would have outsold all but the biggest offerings. I expect similar results this season.
So assuming you intend to pick and choose which ones to see as opposed to just going to all of them, here are some in the "can't miss" category and some can be skipped. Let's run them down.
Tosca - Giacomo Puccini
October 10, 2009 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours 27 minutes, 2 intermissions
Starring Karita Mattila as Tosca and Marcelo Alvarez as Cavaradossi.
This is a new production that was vociferously booed on opening night. The production replaced the highly beloved Zeffirelli production with a stripped down one and has several reportedly bizarre directorial decisions. The audience hated it. The reviews of the singing were mixed.
There are two reasons to go see this production. First - it's Tosca one of the most popular operas ever written. Secondly, if you were paying attention you will note that I didn't name who was singing the role of Scarpia, the bad guy. That's because the original Scarpia dropped out due to illness and his replacement has just been adequate. HOWEVER, rumors are swirling around New York that Bryn Terfel may be flown in just for this HD performance to sing the role. Bryn Terfel has an amazing voice and a riveting stage presence. I have seen him three times at the Met and your eyes never leave him for fear you will miss something great. If the Met announces him as a one time replacement, I would go see this just for Terfel no matter who else is in it and no matter how bad the production is. I would keep an eye out on the Met website and/or The New York Times for an announcement.
Aida - Giuseppe Verdi
October 24, 2009 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 56 minutes, 2 intermissions
Verdi's Aida is another of the most popular operas ever written. The Met's production is a lavish one and well worth seeing no matter who is in it. This performance stars Violetta Urmana as Aida, the great Dolora Zajick as Amneris, Johan Botha as Radames, and Carlo Guelfi as Amonasro. This is an excellent cast by today's standards and should be a very fine performance.
Turandot - Giacomo Puccini
November 7, 2009 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours 21 minutes, 2 intermissions
Another of the world's most popular operas in an absolutely stunning Franco Zeffirelli production. The cast includes Maria Guleghina, Marina Poplavskaya, Marcello Giordani, and Samuel Ramey. This should be a very fine performance.
Les Contes d'Hoffmann - Jacques Offenbach
December 19, 2009 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 4 hours, 2 minutes, 2 intermissions
This is another new production and is directed by the acclaimed Bartlett Sher. The Met usually assembles a top notch cast for new productions and especially for their HD broadcasts since they will eventually try to sell them on DVD. This cast includes Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Kate Lindsey, Joseph Calleja, Alan Held. I would call this a good cast (with Netrebko being the big selling name as she plays the tragic Antonia) but not necessarily a great one. Still worth seeing.
Der Rosenkavalier - Richard Strauss
January 9, 2010: Noon
US Encore: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 (6:30 PM local time)
Expected Running time: 4 hours, 45 minutes, 2 intermissions
Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier is a very popular opera but it's never been a favorite of mine. However, the Met has given us a great cast that includes Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Christine Schäfer, Eric Cutler, Thomas Allen, Kristinn Sigmundsson. Renee Fleming and Susan Graham are widely acclaimed for their portrayals in this opera and that alone makes this a must see.
Carmen - Georges Bizet
January 16, 2010
US Encore: Wednesday, February 3, 2010 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 30 minutes, 1 intermission
What can I say about Carmen? If I wanted to introduce someone to their first opera, Carmen might be my choice. Again we have a new production and a fine cast which includes Barbara Frittoli, Elīna Garanča, Roberto Alagna, Mariusz Kwiecien. This should be well worth seeing.
Simon Boccanegra - Giuseppe Verdi
February 6, 2010
US Encore: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 40 minutes, 2 intermissions
I have never seen a live production of Simon Boccanegra but I think it is unjustly neglected. The problem with this opera is that it needs a really great cast to put it over and the Met gives us exactly that with Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordani, Plácido Domingo, and James Morris. In fact, Domingo is singing the baritone role in this production. At this stage of his career, he has lost some of his top notes but is still singing at a very high level and he is assuming a few baritone roles. This should be very interesting to see how long he can still sing at such a high level. I will not be in the movie theater to see this as I will be seeing it live in New York. As far as I am concerned, this should be a great performance of a neglected masterpiece and true opera lovers will not want to miss this.
Hamlet - Ambroise Thomas
March 27, 2010 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 3 hours, 43 minutes, 2 intermissions
I doubt if any but the most fanatical opera lovers have seen this opera live in an opera house because it is rarely performed. However, from listening to this on CD, while it shouldn't replace Rigoletto (for example) it shouldn't be as neglected as it is. It is a very lovely and powerful work. Furthermore, it stars Simon Keenlyside as Hamlet (the French pronounce this Ohmm Lay) and my absolute favorite soprano, Natalie Dessay. I will also be in New York to see this at the Met because I am such a Dessay fan - and Keenlyside is a major talent. This performance also stars the wonderful Jennifer Larmore and legendary bass James Morris. The opera connoisseurs should not miss this one.
Armida - Gioachino Rossini
May 1, 2010 at noon
US Encore: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 (6:30 pm local time)
Expected Running time: 4 hours, 19 minutes, 2 intermissions
I have mixed feelings about this one. First of all, it is a wonderful opera - but a very long one. It is also a bel canto opera which is an acquired taste for some people. I happen to like these neglected bel canto operas even if they are a long sit. Furthermore, they need bel canto coloratura specialists who can effortlessly sing all the coloratura that is demanded by these roles. The Met has cast this with wonderful bel canto coloratura specialists such as Lawrence Brownlee and Bruce Ford. But the lead is given to Renee Fleming. The Met only revived this production because Ms. Fleming wanted to sing it - and I must give her a lot of credit for wanting to sing rarely performed operas. The problem is that despite Ms. Fleming's numerous virtues (and I am a big fan of hers), effortless and spectacular coloratura is not among them. She sings coloratura very carefully instead of brilliantly and virtuosically. Nonetheless, if you have a sturdy backside, I would recommend going to see this as you never know if you will get another chance to see Armida.
So there you have it. The Met's HD schedule is an excellent one with no real duds among the broadcasts and several "must sees". All true opera lovers should be in the theaters or at the Met for these. Where will you be?
Theatre locations in the metropolis
Cinemark 20 (Merriam)
5500 Antioch, Merriam, KS
913-789-7038
Cinemark 14, The Palace
500 Nichols Road, Kansas City, MO
816-756-5877
AMC Town Center 20
11701 Nall Ave, Leawood, KS
913-498-8696
AMC Olathe Studio 29 with IMAX
12075 S. Strang Line Rd, Olathe, KS
913-393-3030
Kansas City 18 Cinemas
3200 Ameristar Dr,, Kansas City, MO
816-454-7921
Southwind 12
3433 Iowa Street, Lawrence, KS
785-832-1364
Hollywood Theaters 10
5405 N. Belt Hwy, Bldg. M, St. Joseph, MO
816-233-0929
Hollywood Stadium 14
6200 SW 6th Ave, Topeka, KS
785-272-7440
Classical,
Nareh Arghamanyan debut: ravishing insight
Armenian pianist Nareh Arghamanyan triumphantly took the stage of the Folly Theatre Friday night in a Kansas City debut recital that had concert goers abuzz with her sensitive and profound interpretations of some of the deepest music written for piano.
Arghamanyan was presented by The Friends of Chamber Music as the opening concert of their 34th season. Most recently the winner of the Montreal Competition and of a prodigious list of piano competitions worldwide, the 20-year-old artist presented works that paid tribute to the bicentennial celebrations of three bulwarks of romanticism, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Chopin, as well as to the father of the Romantic period, Beethoven.
But this was no evening of sentimental heart-throbbing fluff, despite the ultra romantic figure she cut onstage in a billowing garnet gown and long dark tresses that fell nearly to her waist. As if to illustrate Artistic Director and President of The Friends of Chamber Music, Cynthia Siebert's premise that these composers were all revolutionaries of the highest order, Arghamanyan presented a program of works culled from the mature apex of each that shared astonishingly similar elements of radical departure from form and tonality, rhythm and style.
To be certain, the program of free-form contemplative masterpieces may have been too demanding for some to fully appreciate at the end of a long work week. For my taste, it was the sort of recital I would like to listen to again and again to revel in the beauty and insights of some of my favorite works performed with such soulful interpretations. The only disappointment of the evening for me was the sight of some empty seats upstairs in the balcony despite The Friends' last minute generous offer to give ticket holders for the opening night concert two free tickets to the concert. After hearing her for the first time, it wouldn't surprise me if the next time Arghamanyan graces the stage of the Folly Theatre the seats are sold out.
The program opened with what is arguably Felix Mendelssohn's finest piano composition, the Variations sérieuses in D Minor, Op. 54, written in 1841 as his contribution towards a project to erect a monument to Beethoven in Bonn. Arghamanyan opened the work in a halting agogic statement of great tonal beauty that drew one in instantly. As she unfolded the 17 variations ranging from pensive melancholy introspection to colossally demanding virtuoso technical passages, a hallmark of her style emerged. Arghamanyan possesses a beautiful singing tone that never falters or loses its musical prominence even amidst blustery leggiero runs executed brilliantly. Her technical prowess is such that it serves her musical intelligence, rather than challenges it, and with the strength of this virtuoso's musical acumen, it is a wonder to behold.
It was followed by a performance of the Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110 by Beethoven that opened to a beautiful range of colors. Arghamanyan performed the original version composed by Beethoven, with his original nuances of phrasing that have only very recently been rediscovered by pianist and scholar Paul Badura-Skoda, whose urtext edition will soon be published. Arghamanyan studied with Badura-Skoda in Vienna for a year after winning the Herbert von Karajan Scholarship. The fugue at the end of the work hearkened to the regal and driving energy of a Bach fugue, interspersed with forays back into the pensive depths of Beethoven executed with rare lucidity and stirring passion.
Arghamanyan's beautiful singing tone throughout was marred only by a tinny sound in some of the top notes of the new Steinway grand piano which was also receiving its debut to Kansas City audiences that night. In a brief interview before the concert during the complimentary hors d'oeuvres and wine pre-concert reception, Siebert explained that the new instrument had only been previously played this summer at the Santa Fe Festival, and was not the same instrument heard last week on stage accompanying the Stefan Jackiw violin recital, also being auditioned for purchase from the Steinway Company. That mechanical problem was apparently successfully solved by tuning performed upon it during intermission, because those sounds did not discolor the remainder of the recital.
Following intermission, Schumann's Humoreske in B-flat Major, Op. 20 began with the longing tones of the pensive opening mood, evoked with exquisite lyrical transparency. The work, composed in five main sections, showcased Arghamanyan's formidable technical prowess and mature interpretive genius in her realization of its many sudden contrasting moods.
Arghamanyan concluded the program by going straight into Chopin's Polonaise-fantaisie in A-flat Major, Op. 61, with its opening mystical chords followed by transcendental arpeggios that serenely set the tone for the ravishingly passionate interpretation of Chopin's inward journey that followed. No note played was just a note for Arghamanyan - every single one sang within the sublime nuance of her superbly evoked musical lines or disappeared into the underlying undulations of accompaniment.
The evening ended with an encore piece that tied together subliminally all the works of the program, the adagio movement from Bach's Keyboard Concerto in D minor, BWV 974, a transcription of Alessandro Marcello's Oboe Concerto in D minor. The long and hauntingly pensive melody was played with a ravishing perfection of timing that revealed layer upon layer of exquisite beauty.
REVIEW:
The Friends of Chamber Music
Nareh Arghamanyan, piano
Friday, October 2, 2009
Folly Theatre
300 West 12th Street, Kansas City MO
For tickets call 816.561.9999 or online www.chambermusic.org
Film,
"Cold Souls" won't give you a warm, fuzzy feeling
What is your soul worth to you? Is it worth putting in cold storage at a warehouse somewhere in New Jersey so you can live more carefree, or perform better in a play? Paul Giamatti, as Paul Giamatti, gambles with his soul and almost loses it in the lackluster comedy/drama Cold Souls.
Drowning in despair over his inability to portray a character from a Russian play, Giamatti (John Adams, The Illusionist) becomes desperate to satisfy his director's expectations. The possibility of relief comes when he reads an article in the New Yorker about soul storage.
Initially, Giamatti disbelieves the possibility of removing a soul from one's body, despite the reassurances of Dr. Flintstein (David Strathairn - The Bourne Ultimatum, We Are Marshall) who exhibits a childlike fascination with souls. In the end, the desire to perform well overcomes Giamatti's doubt and so he undergoes the bizarre, soul-removing procedure.
To his dismay, Giamatti cannot handle life without his soul. Furthermore, his concerned wife Claire (Emily Watson - Gosford Park, Angela's Ashes) feels like he's a different person. Getting his soul back isn't easy when it disappears to Russia where a black market in soul trafficking exists. His only hope is Flintstein's mule Nina (Russian actress Dina Korzun) who feels sorry for Giamatti.
Cold Souls is an often disjointed piece of cinema that attempts in vain to blend some dark humor into drama. It's an interesting concept, but it never really stirs any emotions one way or the other. While watching the film I couldn't help but wonder how much of the real Giamatti was reflected in the Giamatti he portrays on the screen. Could Paul Giamatti be as depressive and boring as the Paul Giamatti before and after he has his soul removed?
What's most disappointing is the wasted talents of Watson and Korzun. Watson is a brilliant, Oscar-nominated talent who is completely underutilized in a part that as it turns out is beneath her talents. The relatively unknown Korzun is mesmerizing in her role, but the depth of her character development is all too shallow.
The one powerful question that the unsatisfying Cold Souls does raise is, is how valuable are our souls? Are they priceless or would people actually sell them if they had the chance? And does Cold Souls try to make a case that we just simply fade into nothingness when we die? You'll have to be the judge for yourself if you see the film.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Cold Souls receives an C.
Cold Souls is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 99 minutes.
Now showing through October 8 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for showtimes.
Theatre ,
There is always a first time
During My First Time, currently running at the Unicorn Theatre, I was met with an evening of offbeat and often shocking anecdotes. Through a series of monologues, the actors were able to speak for nearly every one's first sexual experience. The stories were broken up by statistics about sex, virginity and first times. Audience members were asked to fill out a survey and their answers were read anonymously during the show.
Based on a website first made popular ten years ago, where people could share their "first time" stories anonymously, www.myfirsttime.com, while I'm sure therapeutic for the thousands of contributors, was occasionally distasteful. In fact, it was verging on pornographic. With that in mind, I was apprehensive about what the show would actually contain.
Walking into the Unicorn Theatre, the set was lit with lamps and candles. A large bed was stage center with cushioned benches on either side, along with a few random bits of furniture. Each would be used in many different ways for many different stories. Scenic designer, Gary Mosby, provided all necessary elements for each story, without allowing the stage to feel crowded. The mood was set.
The next thing I noticed was a projection screen directly behind the bed. Before the show, famous quotes about virginity were highlighted. During the show, details about each story were displayed along with erotic art and statistics about first times. Some of the statistics were shocking. Some were amusing. Some were statistics about our particular audience. Jeffrey Cady was the projections designer.
Tanya Brown's properties were functional without drawing much attention. Alex Perry's lighting design featured a strobe light (epileptics beware), single spotlights, and plenty of lighting cues. Benjamin G. Stickels' sound design included songs like Marvin Gaye's Let's Get it On and music from Who Wants to be a Millionaire during the audience survey (clever!). Jon Fulton Adam designed very simple costumes that, nevertheless, told you something important about the kind of characters each actor would play.
Cheryl Weaver, for example, was wearing a conservative pink outfit with a cardigan. She often performed female monologues from the 1960s, or typically "good girls". Her "innocent young girls" monologue, done in silhouette was moving, but I disliked that she played all her virgin characters as nerdy or unsure of themselves. Lauretta Pope's role seemed to be a mid-twenties "normal-type". She had one particular monologue towards the end that was extremely controversial, which she pulled off admirably. Keenan Ramos, a formidable presence onstage, was given some tough character bits that he charmed his way through. Scott Cordes seemed to represent the everyman. He was a bit of a chameleon in this show, slipping in and out of each role with fanfare and delivering a solid performance.
The show, directed by Cynthia Levin, producing artistic director of the Unicorn, was done tastefully, considering the subject matter. (No nudity, thank goodness... that always makes me uncomfortable.) The blocking was brilliant, as the actors moved seamlessly from one story to another. Every part of the stage was used, and nothing was done incidentally, without purpose.
The play was written and compiled by Ken Davenport, who also created The Awesome 80s Prom and Alter Boyz for Off-Broadway. The show opened off-Broadway in the summer of 2007. In the past two years, the show has played all over the United States, and in a few international venues.
Although I try very hard to keep my personal objections out, I think it fair to warn people that this show is about sex (Duh). The virgin was ridiculed for remaining virginal. People of faith are mocked for disagreeing with the "accepted" viewpoint. The show itself is a monument to losing your virginity, getting over it, and looking forward to "the next time". The actors informed us that the gentlemen who created the website wanted to see if anyone else's first time "sucked as much as theirs did". Personally, I disagree with the prevailing attitude, but if the show sounds like your cup of tea, you could do worse.
REVIEW
The Unicorn Theatre
My First Time
Running September 25 - October 18 (Reviewed September 25, 2009).
3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
For tickets call 816-531-7529 or online at www.unicorntheatre.org
Cover Photo:
Cast members Lauretta Pope and Keenan Manuel Ramos. Photo by Cynthia Levin
Theatre ,
Terrifyingly electric
In this thrilling amalgamation by Jeff Church presented by the Coterie Theatre, six Edgar Allan Poe pieces explode into dynamic and murderous life as one actor and one electric guitar-toting performer rock the theatre with passion and awesome talent.
Upon entering the darkly lit theatre from the mid-day hustle and bustle of Crown Center, the atmosphere noticeably changes. Grim and ambient metallic music fills the room. One can imagine the 200 years that have passed since Poe's birth as one's eyes adjust. The Burton-esque set designed by Rex Hobart is a masterful piece of art in itself, which was inspired by the 1953 animation of Tell-Tale Heart and which promises to set the stage for fright.
Straight-jacket clad Bruce Roach (what an apropos last name for this production) begins the performance with the poem Alone, a short work that transitions easily into The Bells, a more daunting piece, that Roach rushed through a bit. However, he happily found his way out of the straight-jacket (and gained his footing) by the lesser-known short story Wilson Wilson. Roach's extraordinary performance of The Raven led into the hair-raising enactment of The Pit and the Pendulum, given entirely and skillfully from the tabletop. The humor he brought to Tell-Tale Heart put a personal spin on the well-known classic. Roach's breadth of skill is fully showcased in his depiction of six separate narrative characters.
Composer, set designer, and technical director, Rex Hobart accompanied Roach with electric guitar. Hobart's own twangy style and dark electric riffs acted as an instrumental narrator, a transitory device, and even as the pendulum in The Pit and the Pendulum with a flashlight cleverly affixed to the neck of his guitar. Georgianna Londre's gothic costume design fitted Hobart perfectly for the sometimes wandering, sometimes lurking electric specter.
To top it off, SeifAllah Cristobal's projection design was superb and added to the sophistication of the dark atmosphere, expertly casting eerie images of floating skulls, ravens, and more. The morbid and downright frightening Poe themes moved many young patrons to find the laps of their escorts where they stayed through the duration - a testament to the horrifying performance.
This thrilling and unique rendition of classic Poe may not be for the very young, but it is for everyone else. Tell-Tale Electric Poe is a visual and musical spectacular - a must-see this season.
REVIEW
The Coterie Theatre
Tell-Tale Electric Poe
Runs September 15 - October 9 (Reviewed: September 20, 2009)
2450 Grand Boulevard, Suite 144, Kansas City MO
For tickets call 816-474-6552 or online www.coterietheatre.org
Top Photo:
The Coterie Theatre's Tell-Tale Electric Poe
Theatre ,
It's midnight at AHT
Award-winning playwright, Peter Colley's, "I'll Be Back Before Midnight," currently running at the American Heartland Theatre, kept audience members on the edge of their seats and guessing right up until the end. Somewhere between an Agatha Christie mystery and an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, this fast-paced comedy thriller doesn't disappoint.
A remote farm house sets the stage where Greg Sanderson is determined his wife, Jan, will recover from a mental breakdown. Jan's hope for recuperation quickly dissipates as their randy, off-color landlord George tells the couple of a murder in the house and of the ghost who still haunts it. Jan is obviously shaken, and husband, Greg, just fuels her emotional frenzy when he tells her of his sister, Laura's impending visit. What follows is a cleverly orchestrated plot packed with fun and fright.
The rustic set design by Del Unruh brought the audience into the living room of the shabby, haunted homestead with open rafters, worn furniture and an out-dated tape deck, used frequently by the actors and which provided a subtle musical richness to the scenes. Shane Rowse's spectacular lighting design - from the eerily lit windows and stairwells to the strikes of lightening to the spooky flashlight accents - reinforced the building drama throughout the production, and in conjunction with Donna Miller's impeccable sound design, put the exclamation point on this first-rate murder mystery.
A veteran of the American Heartland Theatre and an experienced television actor, Darren Kennedy gives an energetic and convincing portrayal of a Greg Sanderson. Kennedy effectively juggles his character's transitions in and out of the personas of concerned, caring husband, dedicated geologist, loving brother and more.
Vanessa Severo who plays opposite Kennedy, is no stranger to the Kansas City stage and her performance as Jan Sanderson displayed her talents and experience well. Severo's authentic delivery of a woman in mental and emotional agony was only slightly diminished by her overly-manipulated voice and a couple of lost lines.
From her first entrance onto the set, Jan Chapman playing Laura Sanderson is the sister-in-law you love to hate. Her palatable foulness kept the audience cringing and squirming in their seats. Chapman's deliberate use of her body moments, her coyness of voice, and near-perfect timing coalesce into a superb performance.
James A. Wright as George is the obvious audience favorite. As the redneck, landlord George, he appears at just the right moments to catalyze his scenes towards increasing doom with expertly timed hilarity and freshness. Wright portrays a knowable and open - even lovable - character whose antics surprise and humor delights.
With its wicked and worrisome twists and turns, "I'll Be Back Before Midnight" is a fearful, yet comedic tale and a good kick-off for AHT's 2009/10 season.
REVIEW
American Heartland Theatre
I'll Be Back Before Midnight
Runs September 11 - October 25 (Reviewed: September 16, 2009)
Crown Center
2450 Grand Boulevard, Suite 314, Kansas City MO
For tickets call 816-842-9999 or online at www.ahtkc.com
Top Photo:
Cast members Greg Sanderson and Vanessa Severo
Theatre ,
Where the wild things are
At the beginning of the Inferno, Dante's narrator speaks of finding himself lost at middle age "in a dark wood"; in Maurice Sendak's picture book Where the Wild Things Are young Max, after spying his mother kiss a man who is not daddy, finds himself surrounded by all manners of mythic-like beasts, and in a way becomes one, too. Transformation links both these stories, separated by six hundred years and set apart by Freudian theory. Add music and lyrics, and one has the magnificent Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical Into the Woods, an adult fairy tale in which the forest of the unconscious hides the beasts within us that we meet at our own risk.
Freud is linked to Grimm in Into the Woods: such well-known tales as that of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and the Baker and His Wife are interwoven with an all-inclusive Wicked Witch and connected by a blonde-haired, British speaking narrator with vines threading outwards from his costume. The music is lithe and invigorating; the lyrics are as technically demanding as they are intellectually commanding. How Sondheim and Lapine find darkness in already dark woods without yielding to the unbidden rule to entertain is one more miracle of this show, one of Sondheim's most abstract musicals yet one of his most fulfilling.
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre's presentation of Into the Woods under guest director Moisés Kaufman's God-like execution, which opened September 18th at the Spencer Theatre, brings to light the show's bedazzling interplay between the story and the songs. It is not too high praise to say that the intermission is needed so the audience can catch its breath for the second act which builds to its famous finale. Kaufman has cast wisely: many of the performers have worked in Sondheim's productions on Broadway or in national tours, though all of them register in their characters as snugly as their colorful costumes fit them (courtesy of Clint Ramos). The Spencer stage is, as Goldilocks would say, just right. The sets, by Narelle Sissons, fill the area like Rousseau paintings come to life, with a child's bedroom configured in the middle of the stage surrounded by tall trees that come and go; in the opening number "Prologue: Into the Woods," some characters (like Riding Hood, the show-stopping Dana Steingold) make their entrances through a C.S. Lewis-like open closet. Trees ascend and characters descend, just as they sometimes disappear below the stage floor. Indeed, with Japhy Weideman's sharply etched lighting, the collective staging recalls one of the Metropolitan Opera's sweeping productions.
The first act first presents the characters' problems and then finds their happy endings--or so we assume. The Baker (Zachary Prince) and his Wife (Brynn O'Malley) wish to have a child, but some spell on their house by the Witch (Michele Ragusa) prevents them. Cinderella (Lauren Worsham) has her familiar story, as does Jack (KC Comeaux) whose mother (Tina Stafford) insists he sell his one friend, his cow (whose mechanical facial reactions are worked by the great puppeteer Paul Mesner). The songs--"Cinderella at the Grave," "Maybe They're Magic," "Hello, Little Girl," the last sung to Riding Hood by the Wolf (Claybourne Elder)--gradually reveal the sadness and the uncertainty behind the characters' adventures. Sondheim's songs, routinely at odds in what they mean versus how buoyantly they are sung, gradually take over the stories. By the end of the first act, the Wolf is dead and Riding Hood is safe, the Baker and his Wife have followed the Witch's commands and been given a son; Cinderella, Rapunzel and the rest all seem happy, and the Witch is transformed into an evening-gowned socialite. Yet the ensemble song "Ever After" rings hollow. This is, after all, Sondheim, not the therapeutic-lite Shrek or even Wicked.
The ritual Sondheimesque twist comes in act two, as the assembled fairy-tale characters begin to doubt their happiness. The second half perversely reprises the first, in the manner of an earlier (still more conceptual) Sondheim-Lapine musical, Sunday in the Park with George. Jack's descent from the beanstalk (which caused the death of the giant, so that his angry widowed giantess begins to trample the countryside), in a neat psychoanalytic metaphor, sets off everyone else's descent into guilt and mutual recrimination. It is the other boot coming down on the guilty and the innocent alike, reminiscent of the last-act barber's killings in Sweeney Todd, in which victims are murdered indiscriminately and Mrs. Lovett sends them down the chute, merrily singing all the while.
The unfailing coldness of the musical's unfolding--one senses had Sondheim written, say, The Sound of Music the von Trapp family would have been massacring Nazis while singing "Edelweiss"--is elemental to Sondheim's style. The opening notes, those three piano chords played with insistent march-like determination, announce the show's tone. But it is always a treat to hear the various song threads diverge and combine and recombine, with performers singing over one another; yet, if done right, heard just precisely enough to draw together the emotions rather than spread them apart. Sondheim's songs are composed more like logarithms than with lyrics. The technical unwinding in songs like "First Midnight" and "No One is Alone" demands that the actors truly work together. Their expressiveness in finding the heart of these songs is the key to unlocking the ardency hidden within. For few other composers in any medium can reach so far into themselves, in short pithy rhymes or in soaring ballads. As dark as Into the Woods is, it ends on a note of pessimistic optimism.
For the Rep's production, Moisés Kaufman has reinterpreted the show here and there (he turns one verse of one of the Witch's solos into a rap version that is unnecessary but adds a contemporary touch, and makes up for the Wolf just like Hugh Jackman's Wolverine) without meddling overall. On Broadway, the Witch was the star (Bernadette Peters, Vanessa Williams); here, an ensemble feel makes all the characters compelling. If certain performers stand out more, such as Cinderella's Prince whom Claybourne Elder plays with a nod to Steve Martin's comic vanity and Brynn O'Malley whose Baker's Wife's sadness is sung so sweetly, the Opening Night audience fell completely under the sway of Dana Steingold. Her Riding Hood is petite, tough-minded, and seems to be not merely singing the songs but singing them for the first time. Steingold's timing is Rolex-perfect. It is one of the theatre's magic nights when an audience meets an unknown performer and knows something special is happening. All the wild things in the dark forest remain by the show's end: but for the moment, at least, they are banished from the theatre.
REVIEW
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Into the Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Directed by Moisés Kaufman
Runs September 11-October 4 (reviewed September 18)
NOW EXTENDED thru October 11
Spencer Theatre at UMKC
4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-2700 or online at www.kcrep.org
Top Photo:
Michele Ragusa (Witch), Lauren Braton (Rapunzel)
theSTEADY, the STEADY, Jazz,
Giggin' on theSTEADY
See you at the concerts!
Lonnie McFadden
Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club
4536 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-6480 or online at www.jardines4jazz.com or www.lonniemcfadden.com
Lonnie McFadden, Donovan Bailey & Mark Lowrey
Friday, October 16 at 4:30 p.m.
The Phoenix Restaurant and Nightclub
302 W. 8th St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-221-JAZZ or online at http://thephoenixkansascity.com/ or www.lonniemcfadden.com
Mark Lowrey with Drums
Friday, October 16 at 10:30 p.m.
Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club
4536 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-6480 or online at www.jardines4jazz.com or www.marklowreymusic.com
Ida McBeth
Saturday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club
4536 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-6480 or online at www.jardines4jazz.com or www.idamcbeth.com
Alacartoona
"Night is the Mirror" Film Premier
Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Screenland Theatre at the Crossroads
1656 Washington St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-421-2900 or online at www.screenland.com or www.alacartoona.com
Snuff Jazz Late Show
Saturday, October 17 at 11:00 p.m.
Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club
4536 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-6480 or online at www.jardines4jazz.com
Barclay Martin Ensemble
Tuesday, October 20 at 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Jardine's Restaurant and Jazz Club
4536 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-561-6480 or online at www.jardines4jazz.com or www.barclaymartin.com
City Classics, Classical,
Music and Dance through October 14
Kansas City Symphony
Rachmaninoff and Dvorak
Friday, October 9 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 10 at 8 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
11th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
Sunday, October 11 at 2 p.m.
Topeka Performing Arts Center for October 11
214 S.E. Eighth Street, Topeka, KS
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org.
Alban Gerhardt is the guest cellist for the Symphony's classical concerts this weekend, performing the gorgeous Dvorak Cello Concerto, one of the most moving pieces ever written for the instrument. If you love Dvorak's New World Symphony, one of the repertoire's great "standards," then you will also love the Cello Concerto. The great Bohemian composer shows off the instrument in all of its splendor, and why not? It was written for his friend Hanus Wihan, the cellist with the Bohemian String Quartet and one of the day's leading performers.
Gerhardt, a native of the Netherlands, debut with the Berlin Philharmonic as a 21-year-old in 1990, and has since been featured as a soloist with more than 180 different orchestras worldwide, including the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to our Symphony, he is performing this season with Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, the Danish Radio Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, the Orchestre National de France and the New World Symphony. When he played the Dvorak Cello Concerto in London, the London Times wrote that "once he started in on the Dvorak, mouths dropped...There was such force and feeling in that opening improvisatory flourish."
Sticking with an Eastern European theme, the Symphony will also perform the Dance of Galánta by Zoltán Kodály and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.
Kodály made it his life's work to study the folk music of his native Hungary and to write original compositions inspired by the folk tradition. The Dances of Galánta held a very personal meaning for him, as the town of Galánta (now in Slovakia) was the place where he had grown up, having moved there as a child with his family. Returning to his hometown, he listened to the dances played by local musicians, and when turning them into an orchestral composition was undoubtedly also recalling the tunes which reverted in memories from his childhood.
Rachmaninoff is best known to modern concert goers for his three spectacular piano concertos, as well as his two outstanding symphonies. His Symphonic Dances, however, still maintain an important place in his musical output. In this delectable suite, Ravel paid tribute to the graceful music of the French Baroque. He conceived of it as a piece for piano, beginning work on it in 1914. World War I interrupted the composition, however, and he returned to it only in 1917. The war years left an indelible impact, for the piece contains an element of homage: each movement bears a dedication to a friend who died in combat. The orchestral version was produced in 1919 by the great French orchestrator and composer Maurice Ravel.
Harriman-Jewell Series
Virsky Ukrainian Dance
Friday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m.
Folly Theater
12th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-415-5025 or online at www.harriman-jewell.org
For dance enthusiasts, this program will offer an unusual opportunity to see the excitement and charm of Ukrainian dance. This folk dance ensemble is named after Pavlo Virsky, a well-known Ukrainian ballet master, who created the special form of dance for which the group has become famous. Its performances are filled with "bright colors, the unity of content and form and the vivid embodiment of its stage concept," according to the group's publicity, and embrace "the beauty of its native Ukraine, the wisdom of its people as well as the folk tradition of humor and optimism."
The ensemble has toured many different lands including Austria, England, Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, Belgium, Venezuela, Greece, Ecuador, Italy, India, Spain, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Mongolia, Germany, Peru, France and Switzerland, in addition to the United States
Lied Center, University of Kansas
Orquestra de São Paulo
Friday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS
For tickets call 785-864-2787 or online at www.lied.ku.edu
Considered the most significant symphony orchestra in Latin America, the Orquestra de São Paulo is led by the talented American conductor Kazem Abdullah. In this concert, the orchestra will be joined by internationally acclaimed percussionist Evelyn Glennie, and will present works by Guarnieri, Brahms, and a special concerto for percussion and orchestra by the contemporary Scottish composer James MacMillan.
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Conservatory Wind Ensemble
Friday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/conservatory.
The Conservatory Wind Ensemble is one of the most enjoyable of the ensembles featured by the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Its first concert of the season will feature the music of Hanson, Bernstein, Puckett, Grainger and other American and British composers. Joseph Parisi is the conductor.
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance Signature Series
Cypress String Quartet
Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.umkc.edu/conservatory.
The Signature Series of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance is the Conservatory's series of concerts by headliner guest artists, often in residence for a short time to teach master classes to Conservatory students. This year the Signature Series season opens with the Cypress String Quartet, a young San Francisco-based quartet which has been singled out by Chamber Music Magazine as "a Generation X ensemble to watch."
The Quartet is known for its education and outreach programs nationwide, reaching over 100,000 students and earning the group an "Exemplary Arts Educators" award from the California Arts Council. The quartet was also recognized for its devotion to education by the faculty of the Juilliard School. They have performed at major concert venues around the world, including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, the chamber music societies of Detroit, Columbus and Honolulu, the Ravinia Festival, and many more.
Liberty Symphony Orchestra
Young Artists Concert
Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Liberty Performing Arts Center
1600 South Withers Road, Liberty, MO
For tickets call 816-439-4362. For more information visit www.libertysymphony.org
Another talented Northland ensemble, the Liberty Symphony Orchestra, gets its 2009-2010 underway this weekend with the music of Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Bernstein.
The Wagner selection is the Overture from The Flying Dutchman, a challenging adventure for a community orchestra. Of Tchaikovsky the orchestra will play two selections, Joan's Aria from the opera The Maid of Orleans with mezzo-soprano Renee Taylor, and the challenging Violin Concerto with soloist Emily Shehi.
Leonard Bernstein will be represented by a performance of three dance episodes from his movie score for On the Town.
KCM News,
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KCMetropolis.org - YOUR Online Journal of the Performing Arts - is a nonprofit arts service organization designed to offer critical, quality dialogue about our community's performing arts through new online technologies and social medias. We have been publishing for over a year and feature articles on traditional and independent classical music, dance, theatre, indie films and jazz, and are in the process of launching a new section called theSTEADY that will highlight local hard-working generative performers in the community. We are a true grassroots organization and have 20+ local writers on board - talented and expert voices coming from the musicologists, professional writers, etc within the community.
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