Mark Morris is one of the great innovators of American dance, but his works rarely have what you would call “the shock of the new.” In fact his choreography is so deftly and intuitively attuned to the music that it often has an almost organic feel to it, a naturalness that grows from both musicality and […]
Read MoreThere are some things on this earth that many of us just thought would never happen. Who could have imagined the dissolution of the Soviet Union, or the reunification of Germany, or the Arab Spring, with dictators falling like dominoes? And now there’s a new “first,” courtesy of the Harriman-Jewell Series: the first United States […]
Read MoreThere are good reasons why Emanuel Ax is held in such high esteem in the American classical scene. He has an innate, “natural” musicality that seems to adapt to any period or style, he plays with extreme delicacy but can also tear into a thunderous fortissimo without banging, and he can “sing” you a melody as if […]
Read MoreThere’s something about Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, whose thunderous opening chorus “O Fortuna” is one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music ever, that makes you want to pull out all the stops. And that’s just what the Kansas City Ballet plans to do at their season opener that starts on October 12th at the Kauffman Center. […]
Read MoreIf you want to be a member of the Mark Morris Dance Group, you’d better get busy. For not only are the auditions for his 18-member company as rigorous as just about anything in modern dance, some 300 men and women show up to fill one position, but Mark requires much more than just dance […]
Read MoreIt’s hard to say which opera is the most popular in the repertoire, but The Barber of Seville certainly ranks among the top five. This wittiest of comedies formed a fitting conclusion to what may have been the Lyric Opera’s most distinguished season so far – its first in the Kauffman Center – and the four originally […]
Read MoreAfter one of the most gruelingly hot summers in Kansas City history, Our Town gets a fabulously hot autumn – culturally speaking, that is – with a sizzling selection of musical artists, dancers, visiting celebrities, vibrant drama, and raucous comedies available for your pleasure. Below are our highly opinionated suggestions of choices for the fall […]
Read MoreElizabeth Caballero has built an opera career playing strong women, and she knows a bit about mettle herself. When she was 6 she and her family boarded a boat off the shore of Cuba and set off for America, as part of the 1980 mass immigration known as the Mariel Boatlift. “Being a child, it […]
Read MoreOne of the highlights of each holiday season in Kansas City is Quality Hill Playhouse’s annual New Year’s Eve Cabaret, which executive director J. Kent Barnhart and friends have been performing for 18 years. This past New Year’s Eve, Kent was joined by vocalist Molly Hammer and double bassist Brian Wilson for a program they […]
Read MoreSeveral of Kansas City’s major performing arts organizations have announced their 2012-2013 seasons in recent weeks and now is the time to think about subscribing or renewing your existing subscriptions. Some renewal deadlines have already passed, so call soon. Phone numbers are listed below. Check websites for more information. Scroll down for a summary of […]
Read MoreDeborah Sandler traveled many roads before finding her niche: She sang, played the piano, studied mathematics, worked on a doctorate in musicology, wrote grant applications. But when she started working in opera, she knew she’d come home. “Producing opera is really my passion,” says the Philadelphia native, who on July 1st becomes the Lyric Opera of Kansas […]
Read MoreThrough his invaluable contributions to musical research, as well as his exceedingly mindful approach to performance, Murray Perahia has become one of the most sought-after gentlemen-scholars of the piano in recent years. His considerable gifts include a rarely matched degree of sincerity stemming from a fundamental empathy with the composer’s intent; a consistently warm, mellow, […]
Read MoreAspen Santa Fe Ballet has been called one of the standard-bearers for the future of American dance, and their programs of almost entirely new works suggest that, while ballet remains at the foundation of what we do, dance must continue to explore new territory to keep growing. Their Harriman-Jewell Series program on March 31st at the […]
Read MoreMidori possesses an exceptional gift for rhetorical expression and soaring melodic lines, and her violin tone is rich and full, never forced, even when she bears down hard. On October 27th at the Folly Theater she and her pianist, Özgür Aydin, were best in Shostakovich’s Sonata, Op. 134, where their inner musical personalities meshed beautifully to convey the composer’s […]
Read MoreSure The Barber of Seville is a frothy, wry and at times deliciously silly comedy. But it can’t be played as pure farce, says William Theisen, who directs the Lyric Opera’s production opening on April 21st at the Kauffman Center. “These characters cannot be cartoons,” said the director. “You do have a heightened reality here, and certainly Bartolo is very […]
Read MoreUnicorn production of ambitious war drama rides on fine direction, choice performances During the second Iraq war that began in 2003 we had plenty of movies, books, plays, documentaries and news stories about the impact of the war on those who fought it, and on the Iraqi people who lived through it. But there’s been […]
Read MoreThe Heartland Men’s Chorus has an uncanny knack for picking timely, even “hot” topics for their programs. In 2003 they performed The Few, the Proud, a multimedia concert that told stories about gays and lesbians in the armed forces throughout American history – literally the same week that we entered into the Iraq war. All God’s Children dealt with […]
Read MoreItaly, Ireland, Mexico, Cuba, Russia, Scotland, China, Canada, Australia: The Harriman-Jewell Series’ 2012-2013 season boasts one of the most cosmopolitan rosters in its 46-year history, and also one of the most varied. The goal, says executive director Clark Morris, is to maintain the international excellence for which the Series is known while achieving an impressive variety of […]
Read MoreIn 2007, Giuseppe Filianoti feared his opera career might be over. The Italian-born singer, whom critics were calling one of the leading tenors of his generation, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid gland, and in the aftermath one of his vocal chords became completely paralyzed. But Giuseppe, a native of Reggio Calabria in the far south of […]
Read MoreTenor displays suave lyricism, broad emotional range Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti possesses a clear, honest voice that is imbued with pathos and a sort of sunny heroism in the upper range, as well as firm pitch control overall. But his real strength is his wide emotional range, which can embrace everything from sorrow to ebullience, resignation to […]
Read MoreNATIVE DAUGHTER: A Colorful Homecoming for DiDonato at the Kauffmann Center The Kauffmann Center’s Helzberg Hall has certainly seen its share of impressive performances throughout this auspicious inaugural season, and last night’s Symphony spectacular proved to be one of the more ambitious and successful of these endeavors to date. For the first time, the hall […]
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