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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Collaborating organizations Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and Owen/Cox Dance Group made the fairy realm come to life in their impressive staging of Purcell's Fairy Queen.  Primarily known for their contemporary repertoire, it was exciting to see the Civic Opera and Owen/Cox reach back into the catalogue to pursue this Baroque masterpiece.  They handled the task admirably with accompaniment provided by the KC Chamber Orchestra under Bruce Sorrell's baton.

 The production's quality certainly belayed its budgetary restrictions.  The sets, ranging from movable, gauze-wrapped trees to Phoebus' cloud chariot to a set of china come to life, were practical and effective.  The costumes and wigs by Marybeth Sorrell and Jan DeLovage were gorgeous and looked extravagant, in particular those for Titania, First Fairy, and the Four Seasons.  The lighting design was suitable with the sunrise being the most well-rendered.

As a semi-opera, the music to the Fairy Queen still manages to convey a loose narrative that was made even clearer by Linda Ade Brand's direction.  Justifiably, she altered which characters sang some of the pieces in order to keep an intimate cast. The story begins with the titular queen, Titania, prepping her wood and fairies to receive Queen Mary and King William for an evening of food, music, and dancing.  The King and Queen arrive as does a drunken poet à la Bottom from Midsummer Night's Dream.  Pleasantries are exchanged, fun is had, the party falls asleep, and awakes to a new day.  Not very deep but this is Purcell, not Verdi.  That of course does not make the music any less moving.

Fairy Queen contains a lot of varied music; there are jigs, airs, choral numbers, and Purcell's trademarks: chaconnes.  Most of it was played and sung very well.  I would have preferred slight amplification on the lute as it was almost inaudible for the entire performance.  The stand-out singers were the Victoria Botero (Titania), Jay Carter (Secresie/Phoebus), and Doug Dodson (First Fairy).  Botero, looking resplendent in her emerald hue, commanded the coloratura passages and never once reduced pitch to shriek.  Her melismatic lines contained energy and her phrasing was natural.  Having two stellar countertenors on one stage was amazing and their voices were in great form.  Carter's aria as Secresie "One charming night" was colored with effortless embellishments.  Dodson sung his acrobatic aria, "Hark how all the things," with aplomb and in his duet with Botero was balanced, restrained, and lovely.  Carter and Dodson, along with most of the cast, should also be applauded for their excellent diction. Kurtis Shoemake, Joseph DeSota, and Chad Flynn had humorous turns as Drunken Poet, Mopsa, and Coridon, respectively.  DeSota and Flynn had the audience roaring during their bawdy duet "Now the maids and the men are making of hay"-all double entendres are apt.

Jennifer Owen's choreography was fluid and light if a bit dull and repetitive.  I prefer her choreography when she pushes the envelopment a bit more.  However, the pas de deux between Christopher Barksdale and Lauren Fitzpatrick was beautifully choreographed and sensitively danced.

I hope these organizations are able to collaborate again in the future.  If the outcome is as musically and visually satisfying as this first attempt, the metropolis is in for many exciting performances to come.

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com