Throughout its history, the Harriman-Jewell Series’ Discovery Concert Series has sought to promote the careers of emerging artists while providing high-quality, free-of-charge concerts for the Kansas City community. It was therefore an unconventional move to select a relatively established figure such as Freddy Kempf for the Series’ Discovery concert on January 20^th. Few in the audience were complaining: Kempf brings an old-world gentility to the piano, as well as a mellow, mahogany tone and a refined sense of voice leading. Although the entire program did much to showcase his signature style, the second half proved particularly satisfying.

Kempf dove headfirst into a highly ambitious program of Romantic masterpieces, beginning with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no. 26 in E-flat Major, “Les adieux.” Minor technical mishaps in the first movement of the Beethoven threatened to derail Kempf at the outset, but the expertise with which he handled these slips was admirable. An exquisite and profound understanding of Beethoven’s harmonic devices (along with tasteful use of the pedal) characterized the somber second movement, while the considerable demands of the third movement posed few major problems for the soloist.  Kempf found a more ready vehicle to display his uniquely urbane sensibilities in Brahms’s 16 Waltzes, Op. 39. Due to Brahms’s lifelong affinity for experimentation with form and harmony, each one of these waltzes provides ample opportunity for the performer to stretch the genre as much as desired. Although Kempf rendered each of these delicate miniatures with cultivated charm, it was still somewhat disappointing to hear luscious Neapolitans and deceptive cadences glossed over in favor of keeping the tempo as constant as possible. The rigid fashion in which Kempf depicted the Brahms waltzes carried over into the two concluding works of the first half – Chopin’s third and fourth Ballades. Unlike much of Chopin’s earlier work, his Ballades, particularly the third and fourth, showcase a reverent sense of contrapuntal concepts popular in previous centuries. Kempf’s graceful rendition of the Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major evoked intricate Rococo scrollwork with its ornate trills and preponderance of inner voices nestled between bass and treble, while the Ballade no. 4 in F minor showcased his command of counterpoint while navigating the Bach-like labyrinth in the early development section. The entire second half of Kempf’s program consisted of one daunting work: Schumann’s suite of twelve Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Kempf once again hurled himself precipitously into the music, exuding enthusiastic energy and almost seeming to pounce on the piano during demanding octave passages. The Symphonic Etudes provide many opportunities to showcase both the raw technical prowess and the heart-melting sensitivity of the most accomplished pianist. Kempf, seeming to be very much at home, met both of these demands handily despite the occasional surfacing of an uneven phrase. His effortless execution of the barn-burning final variation brought most of Folly Theater’s full house to its feet, calling him back to the stage a total of four times. As an encore, Mr. Kempf chose Franz Liszt’s popular arrangement of Wagner’s “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde. Its exhilarating climax and subsequent catharsis brought the evening to a particularly rewarding conclusion. Erin Hales is a graduate student of 2001 Van Cliburn Piano Competition gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University. She announced for Radio Bach (formerly KXTR) between 2009-10 and is active in the Kansas City musical community.

NOT TO BE MISSED: SPRING 2012’S TOP 25 EVENTS IN MUSIC, DANCE AND THEATER

January 6^th-February 9^th: Beer for Breakfast (American Heartland Theatre). Four buddies plan a weekend hunting trip, only to have one of the wives show up instead of her husband. What ensues is a sort of battle of the sexes “country-style,” with plenty of wit.

January 20^th-26^th: Yo-Yo Ma, cello (Kansas City Symphony). Dvořák’s Concerto is one of the cornerstones of the cello repertoire, and Yo-Yo’s interpretation is legendary. The program also includes a splendid rarity, the Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra.

January 20^th-February 19^th: My Romance: Music of Rodgers and Hart (Quality Hill Playhouse featuring J. Kent Barnhart). Some say that Richard Rodgers was most readily inspired by the wistful, clever verse of his first lyricist, Lorenz Hart: “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “Blue Moon,” “My Funny Valentine” and, of course, “My Romance.”

Vivica Genaux performs on the Harriman series.

January 24^th-February 14^th: Bach Festival (a collaboration of the Friends of Chamber Music, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra and the UMKC Conservatory). Pianist Konstantin Lifschitz will perform not one but five concerts/recitals of Bach’s music.

January 28^th: Parsons Dance (Harriman-Jewell Series). Series founder Richard Harriman was loved by scores of international artists who appeared on his series over nearly five decades – admired for his acumen, warmth and humanity. KayCee native David Parsons was one of those admirers, and he has created a new choreographic work in Richard’s honor.

January 28^th: Simone Dinnerstein, piano (Performing Art Series at JCCC). Simone made her name initially with an amazing recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which was No. 1 on the Billboard charts when it first came out, but she has since proven her mastery in other areas of the repertoire.

February 3^rd: Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano and Europa Galante (Harriman-Jewell Series). Since her spectacular debut at the Met in 1997, where she stepped in for an ailing singer, the Alaskan-born singer has been riding high. Dazzling virtuosity, thrilling vocal vibrancy, acting smarts – she has it all.

March 2^nd-4^th: Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor (Kansas City Symphony). Former Cleveland Orchestra music director Christoph is one of the elder statesmen of conducting today, and his appearance here indicates just how far our local orchestra has gone toward raising its international profile.

March 2^nd-April 1^st: Make Someone Happy: The Songs of Comden and Green (Quality Hill Playhouse). Think you don’t know Betty Comden and Adolf Green? Ever heard of Singin’ in the Rain or On the Town? Okay, then. J. Kent Barnhart brings his magic to their peerless songs.

March 10^th-18^th: Nixon in China (Lyric Opera of Kansas City). John Adams’ 1987 opera based on Nixon’s historic visit to meet Chairman Mao in 1972 was the first of the so-called “CNN operas” – works whose stories were taken from news events – and it remains arguably the best of them.

March 12^th: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (Harriman-Jewell Series). Originally formed from two ballet companies, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet has become one of the most promising new troupes in America. “A breath of fresh air,” wrote The New York Times.

February 17^th-March 18^th: The Great Immensity (Kansas City Repertory Theatre). Contemporary theater often finds itself dealing with big issues, and what could be bigger (and more controversial) than climate change? The path-forging artistic team The Civilians presents a play that is part story-telling, part empirical exploration.

February 17^th-26: Romeo and Juliet (Kansas City Ballet). Ib Anderson’s choreographic version of the classic story, set to Prokofiev’s riveting music, is one of the more engaging settings of the Bard’s story.

February 19^th: Juan Diego Flórez, tenor (Harriman-Jewell Series). Juan Diego made his recital debut on the series that Richard Harriman founded, and he’s been back several times since.

March 4^th: “Tschaikowski” St. Petersburg State Orchestra (Performing Arts Series at JCCC). Russia is still rich in orchestral tradition, and in recent years, audiences in Our Town have heard quite a number of the ensembles that have grown up – or evolved – since the end of the Soviet era.

March 14^th: Murray Perahia, piano (Harriman-Jewell Series). One of the great American pianists presents a generous program including Bach’s French Suite No. 5, Beethoven’s Op. 90, Brahms’ Op. 119, Schubert’s A-major Sonata, D. 664 and Chopin’s C-sharp-minor Scherzo.

March 23^rd-25^th: Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano (Kansas City Symphony). America’s favorite mezzo grew up right here in Prairie Village. She’ll sing Rossini’s torchy Giovanna d’Arco and The Deepest Desire: Four Meditations on Love by the American composer Jake Heggie.

March 24^rd-25^th: When I Knew (Heartland Men’s Chorus). When this chorus takes on serious topics, it can knock you off your feet. This time the subject is “coming out” as a young gay person and all of the negative stuff that ensues. Dan Savage hosts this fascinating mix of music, narration and multimedia.

April 14^th-19^th: Time Stands Still (Unicorn Theatre). As U.S. troops return from Iraq, few plays could be more apt than Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still, a 2010 Tony Award nominee. A photojournalist returns home with serious war injuries, and her boyfriend is wracked with guilt about leaving her alone there.

April 20^th-May 20^th: Little Shop of Horrors (Kansas City Repertory Theatre). Howard Ashman’s musical based on Roger Corman’s classic B movie – about a “vampire plant” – is actually a love story (believe it or not).

April 21^st: Giuseppe Filianoti, tenor (Harriman-Jewell Series). The Harriman Series is famous for its acumen when it comes to rising vocal stars: It presented recital debuts of Pavarotti, Ben Heppner, Juan Diego Flórez and many others. Giuseppe is recognized as one of the finest lyric tenors working today.

May 4^th-13^th: Masters of American Dance (Kansas City Ballet). The Ballet presents an ingeniously conceived program that includes George Balanchine’s iconic Serenade, Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, Peter Martins’ Les Gentilhommes, and Todd Bolender’s Souvenirs.

May 12^th: The Chorale at the Kauffman (Kansas City Chorale). When the Chorale presented a CD of works by the relatively obscure composer Alexander Grechaninov, it won a fistful of Grammy Awards. Now, Charles Bruffy and his fearless ensemble introduce music by another undersung Russian, Georgy Sviridov.

June 14^th-17^th: Joshua Bell, violin (Kansas City Symphony). Joshua performs Lalo’s infectious Symphonie espagnole, a pillar of the violin repertoire, in a program that also includes Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony featuring Helzberg Hall’s new Casavant organ.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

This year will go down in history as a milestone in Kansas City’s performing arts life, as the opening of the Kauffman Center has spurred all of our local arts groups to new heights. Here are a few of my favorite moments of the year, listed in chronological order. All of these have been reviewed on this blog: Use Search screen at upper right.

Harriman-Jewell Series: Joshua Bell, violin, and Sam Haywood, piano. Joshua delighted a sold-out Folly Theater audience with his signature earthy-sweet tone and lovely, long-breathed phrasing, in a program that included Brahms’ Second Sonata, Schubert’s Fantasy in C major and Grieg’s Second Sonata. His collaborator is one of the most musically adept and sensitive pianists I’ve heard in recent years: His fragrant underpinning made for fine partnering. The Kauffman Center has altered KC indelibly

Kansas City Ballet: Jerome Robbins’ Moves. This remarkable ballet, performed in total silence, was part of the company’s spring performance. It is quite literally a study in moves – some as small as a shrug, others big and dramatic and angular – and is remarkable in that it has an inner “beat” despite the lack of music. It shared a program with the premiere of William Whitener’s Mercy of the Elements, in which choreography responded naturally and intelligently to musical phrasing and structure.

Quartet Accorda: Beethoven Op. 95 and Dvorak Piano Quintet No. 2. It was a sad day when violinist (and KC Symphony concertmaster) Kanako Ito and cellist Martin Storey moved to the United Kingdom two years ago, so it was a delight to welcome them back for a concert at Park University with their fellow quartet members, violinist Ben Sayevich and violist Chung-Hoon Peter Chun. Their Beethoven was marvelously textured and dense; they were joined by the excellent pianist Marina Sultanova in the Dvorak, which was played with rare clarity of articulation and expressiveness.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s Cabaret. When you do a piece by a KC native son, in this case John Kander, you’d better do it up right. This production, directed by Eric Rosen, featured a central disc that rotated, surrounded by seats on all sides. It was an incredibly effective way of communicating a sense of claustrophobia, as the encroaching threat of Nazism tightens its grip and makes us feel more and more trapped.

Friends of Chamber Music: Handel’s Acis and Galatea. The Boston Early Music Festival presented what was most likely the first fully authentic production of a Baroque opera in Kansas City’s history. Though its conceit of a “play within a play” was a bit strained, the voices were attuned to 18^th-century vocal style – especially those of Teresa Wakim, Aaron Sheehan and Douglas Williams. The capital chamber ensemble was led by two of the leading figures in early music, Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs.

Bachathon, sponsored by The Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. If you’re going to devote a whole afternoon to the music of one composer, it might as well be the greatest who ever lived. The AGO has been hosting this for 32 years (!), and it’s almost always a highlight of the concert season. Especially memorable this year was Jan Kraybill’s bracing performance of the “St. Anne” Fugue, one of the most amazing displays of virtuosic musicianship I have heard in Kansas City.

Kansas City Actors Theatre: Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. This harrowing early play by the late British playwright, directed by Bruce Roach at the intimate H&R Block Stage, was given a first-class treatment by a cast that included T.J. Chasteen, Robert Gibby Brand, Melinda McCrary, Mark Robbins and Brian Paulette. It’s mysterious and creepy and funny and altogether a theatrical tour de force.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s August: Osage County. This sprawling family tragedy reminded me of the great plays of Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill, and its content is very nearly on the same level. It was another landmark in Eric Rosen’s years at the Rep. Merle Moores led an incredible cast of local actors, who worked together as comfortably as any theatre ensemble I’ve ever seen.

Openings: The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity. What a year it was for our performing arts organizations, as the Kansas City Ballet opened its newly renovated building in the Union Station complex and the Kauffman Center opened to grand acclaim after 16 years of planning and construction. The national press was out in droves, and the initial reactions were quite favorable. The Ballet can now boast one of the finest dance facilities in the country, and the Kauffman is going to alter the face of Kansas City’s cultural landscape forever.

Kansas City Ballet’s Tom Sawyer. Years in the making, the ballet based on Mark Twain’s classic novel was a risky undertaking but paid off big, in a production that was sophisticated, humorous and engrossing. The music by Maury Yeston featured singable tunes, and the choreography by artistic director William Whitener contained a good-natured mix of ballet and a wide range of other styles.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Cosi fan tutte. Part of the beauty of this production, directed by the gifted Kristine McIntyre, is that it showed off how ideal the Muriel Kauffman Theatre can be for small-scale chamber-like operas (and not just huge spectacle). The cast was exceptional, led by Amanda Hall, Marie Lenormand, Matthew Plenk and David Won. The celebrated Metropolitan Opera star Susanne Mentzer nearly stole the show with her command of the stage in the wildly comic role of Despina.

Behzod Abduraimov, pianist, with Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. The 21-year-old Park University student, who won the London International Piano Competition, played Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody with verve, virtuosity and poetry, in one of the first Symphony concerts in glorious Helzberg Hall. This young man is headed straight for the top, and I’m grateful we got to know him here first. This spring his first CD comes out, one of Decca’s first discs by a young pianist in a very long time.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

The production of The Nutcracker that the late Todd Bolender created for the Kansas City Ballet is 30 years old this year, but at the opening performance on the afternoon of December 3rd it had a bright new look. That’s partly because it was being presented for the first time in the Kauffman Center’s state-of-the-art Muriel Kauffman Theatre, after languishing in decrepit downtown halls since 1981. But it’s also because the sets and costumes by Robert Fletcher “pop” with the aid of both a higher proscenium arch (which allows us to see more of the brightly-hued borders of Act 2) and meticulous lighting by New York-based Kirk Bookman, who has done wonderful work in recent Kimberly Cowen and Luke Luzicka

years for the Ballet’s productions. The result was not just the traditional holiday favorite, but a fresh look at some of the best dancing our company can do, in choreography that traces its roots all the way back to Mother Russia – but that also contains fresh, original elements from New York City Ballet’s George Balanchine (who danced the piece in Russia as a boy) and former Balanchine dancer Bolender.

The brilliance of this Nutcracker is that in addition to allowing the professional company a chance to strut its stuff, it also makes room for nearly 200 students from the Ballet School and elsewhere, under the sharp tutelage of artistic director William Whitener, ballet master James Jordan, ballet mistress Karen Brown, school director Peter Pawlyshyn and others. On Saturday the new theater seemed to inspire exceptional performances from nearly everyone, beginning with Kimberly Cowen, who gave an authentic and exquisitely detailed rendering of the Sugar Plum Fairy, aided by the solid support of her Cavalier, handsome Luke Luzicka. Their Grand Pas in Act 2 included a delightful tarantella (Cavalier) and coda (Cavalier and Fairy) that had been cut from the KC Ballet’s Nutcracker for nearly a decade, whose reinstatement had the effect of making the ending feel a bit less abrupt than it has in the past.

Logan Pachciarz presented the mysterious Herr Drosselmeyer as if channeling a cheerful Gandalf-like magician. The Party Scene moved along with precision as usual, and included tight performances by Nadia Iozzo and Michael Davis as the Mechanical Dolls (and a bit of disco hamming by Michael Eaton as the Grandfather). Young Oscar Miller was an especially feisty Fritz, and in the Battle Scene, Yoshiya Sakurai was the hyperactive Nutcracker. Rachel Coats was a limpid Snow Queen, supported by Gabriel Davidsson as her King. Here as elsewhere, newly vivid spotlights heightened the effect of the solos.

Standouts in Act 2 included the graceful, accomplished Emma Lane as Clara, and Wilfred Rowland as the Nephew/Prince, a forthright young man who danced with gentle poise and performed his famous Pantomime with a kind of youthful boisterousness. (Madeline Young-Brown and Sterling Jennings perform these roles in the alternate cast.) Caitlin Mack and Charles Martin were an energetic couple in the Spanish Dance, Aisling Hill-Connor was aptly sultry for the Arabian Dance (with powerful assistance by Marcus Oatis), and Yoshiya Sakurai was convincing in the Chinese Dance. Assertive Marty Davis led the Russian Dance, and Laura Wolfe sparkled in the Dance of the Reed Pipes. The Waltz of the Flowers (my favorite number) was danced with casual accuracy by Kaleena Burks, company members, and dancers from the Ballet School and UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance.

Of course a central element of The Nutcracker is Tchaikovsky’s peerless score, and the Kansas City Symphony Ballet Orchestra, led by music director Ramona Pansegrau, performed with energy and, for the most part, accuracy. One had the impression that there were too few stringed instruments in the pit, with the result that the winds and brass often dominated the texture. This may well be the same-sized string complement used in previous years, but the oddities of the acoustics of the Music Hall and the Midland Theatre, where The Nutcracker used to be held, did not always permit a reasonable assessment of the results. This new theater, whose acoustics are problematic but undoubtedly vivid, amplifies – exacerbates – any imperfections of sound coming from the pit, as we have already learned from several performances in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre. (It also amplified, rather dramatically, the more-than-a-stage-whisper conversations that were going on all over the theater throughout the performance.) It will take some time for all of us to adjust to the Kauffman Center and its quirks and vicissitudes.

A footnote: Following a trend that other performing-arts groups have tracked this season, 2011 is a record-breaking year for the Ballet’s Nutcracker. As of this writing, the company had sold $1.31 million in tickets, an all-time high and a dramatic jump from the previous record of $1 million in 2001.

The Nutcracker runs through December 24^th. For tickets call 816-931-2232 or go to www.kcballet.org.

PARK PIANO STUDENT HAS EYE ON INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Behzod Abduraimov almost didn’t become a pianist. At age 6 he failed his very first piano examination, getting stuck in the middle of Schumann’s The Wild Horseman several times before his teacher finally told him to stop. “After that my teacher said I would never be able to play a piece on piano from beginning to end without making mistakes, ever,” says the 21-year-old Park University student with a laugh. “She said, quit music.” But the young Uzbek native didn’t quit: In fact, whenever an obstacle came between him and the piano, it made him upset and anxious, and inspired him to work harder. “I wouldn’t feel happy that, Oh, now I can go play with my friends outside. Instead I would feel bad, because I couldn’t imagine life without music.” In recent years that very determination has led Behzod to the top of the piano world, his rapid ascent capped by a relatively easy victory at the 2009 London International Piano Competition. That immediately led to management, a recording contract with Decca, and worldwide concert engagements: His 35 or so bookings this season include concerts in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Canada and the UK.

This November 18^th through the 20^th at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall, Behzod makes his Kansas City Symphony debut, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Michael Stern on the podium. Kansas Citians have known of Behzod’s artistry since the time he arrived here at age 16 to study with Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch: His frequent recitals and other concert appearances at Park’s International Center for Music quickly made him into something of a local celebrity. But it was not until the London victory – which was attended by a wide array of influential managers, conductors and others – that the rest of the world began to get a glimpse of his magic. The London Daily Telegraph described his final performance in the competition as “the most enthralling roller-coaster ride of a Prokofiev Third Concerto imaginable. Recalling it, my knuckles still go white.” (You can see excerpts of this on youtube.com, by searching Behzod’s name.)

Suddenly the music world was abuzz about this cherubic powerhouse, and in subsequent months conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy took him under their wing. Three powerful management firms fought over him: He finally settled on London-based Harrison Parrott, which represents Maurizio Pollini, Nikolai Lugansky, Gil Shaham, Leila Josefowicz, Christian Tetzlaff and Truls Mork. Later he would play an acclaimed Wigmore Hall recital and make his debut with the London Philharmonic. His Decca recording of music by Liszt, Prokofiev and Saint-Saëns is due out in the spring. “We are very pleased to welcome Behzod to our roster of artists, particularly so as he is the first young pianist we have signed in a very long time,” says Decca managing director Paul Moseley.  “I have seen his rare ability to electrify an audience while always remaining faithful to the intentions of the composer.”

Born in Tashkent, Behzod studied first with his mother, Gulsun, a significant pianist in her own right, who also taught his siblings. Mom quickly recognized the boy’s gifts. “She had the dream that one of her children would become a musician and pianist, because she loved music so much.” Later Behzod studied with legendary Tashkent teacher Tamara Popovich, who helped to lay the foundation for his prodigious technique, and at age 15 he went to Italy’s International Piano Academy Lake Como for his first lessons with Stanislav, a fellow Uzbek who was known to him through his Cliburn victory in 2001. “He has supported me and believed in me from the beginning,” Behzod says of Stanislav. “For me it’s always about the discovery of music, and from the first lesson when we met in Italy, he showed me many different things.” Stanislav recalls those first lessons too, and likened the young Behzod to a newborn Arabian colt, “awkward and with its legs too long – with this huge potential but not really developed.” He remembers Behzod playing Liszt’s demanding Mephisto Waltz, “and the tendency was to play faster and faster and faster. It’s normal, I was the same way. … But then we started talking about the composer’s intentions, and the musical text, and it was complicated for him at first.”

When it came time to go to college, Behzod could have enrolled at the Juilliard School or the Curtis Institute, but he knew he’d already found his teacher, and his teacher was at Park. “The whole reason is Stanislav Ioudenitch. … If I were to have chosen to go to Juilliard at that time, I would be the biggest fool. Coming to study with Stanislav was the most ‘right’ decision I ever made.” As Behzod’s pianism has matured, so has his working relationship with Stanislav: Now he brings more of his own ideas to the lessons, he says, and discussions ensue. “The process is much faster than it was two or three years ago,” Behzod says. Stanislav adds: “And of course it is not just the teaching but the mentoring. I’m trying to give him all that I know, not just the piano but the career, the planning for the future, the logistics, trying to record a better CD, a lot of things. It’s really like a family. I am always with my students, we are always in my home, we like to gather and talk about all kinds of different things, not just the piano.” When asked about Behzod’s potential for the future, Stanislav doesn’t hold back: “Somewhere between Horowitz and Cortot. … He makes a very big impression with an audience – when this incredible energy, this unbelievable force he has, comes out from the stage.”

The Kansas City Symphony presents Behzod Abduraimov playing Rachmaninoff, in a program that also includes Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Prokofiev’s Love for Three Oranges Suite and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis. For tickets call 816-471-0400 or go to www.kcsymphony.org.

Così fan tutte is a bit of a conundrum. Its plot is as ridiculous as that of any opera in the repertoire, but its music is so magnificent that we can’t not take it seriously. The Lyric Opera’s production of Mozart’s final opera buffa, which opened on November 5^th at the Kauffman Center, makes for a satisfying evening because the company has lavished great care on the musical aspect – even while its setting and scenic design are a bit on the ho-hum side. The production is a worthy follow-up to the company’s Kauffman Center opener of Turandot, and it demonstrated that the Muriel Kauffman Theatre is as adaptable to intimate, small-scale opera as to lavish display (maybe even more so). Photos by Karen Almond

The simple rented set by Riccardo Hernandez more or less forced the company to buy into an updated version: To evoke a beachside resort ca. 1930, there is a boardwalk running the length of the stage and stairs leading from it downstage to the “beach.” Period beach and casual wear – some of it a bit on the cliché side – complete the Great Gatsby atmosphere, and a simple scrim descends to create indoor scenes. Because Cosi is utterly absurd from the get-go, the 1930s setting does relatively little harm – boyfriends disguised as Albanians are no less likely in the Hamptons as in 18^th-century Europe – but it doesn’t add much to the spirit of the opera either. One jarring aspect was the men’s elaborate disguises, which were so exaggeratedly “exotic” as to clash with the clean lines of the production.

In recent years the Lyric has shown an increasing capacity to field excellent young singers for its productions, and this one was no exception. Amanda Hall as Fiordiligi sang with gutsy power but plenty of inviting warmth: Her “Come scoglio” showed she had the chops for the rapid passagework and the enormous range required, even if the voice lacked strength in its lowest range; her pitch wavered slightly only when she was lying on the floor for her Act 2 “Per pieta ben mio.” Marie Lenormand demonstrated a delicious tone and lilting bel canto, and her comic antics kept your eyes on her much of the time. The women’s duets (“E la fede delle femmine” and “Prenderò quell brunettino”) were among the highlights of the evening. Matthew Plenk (Ferrando) has a nicely solid and sweet-toned tenor, and his heroic bearing brought depth to arias like his “Un’ aura amorosa.” David Won as Guglielmo sang with a rich, burnished baritone that occasionally had problems carrying over the orchestra. John Stephens showed comedic experience as Alfonso and Susanne Mentzer, hilarious but always meting out Despina’s antics with taste, sang like the consummate vocalist she is – nailing the top notes of “Una donna a quindici anni” and nearly stealing the show with her command of the stage.

Kristine McIntyre staged a sustained, poised production in which comedic flow seemed at times a bit muted (granted, Così doesn’t lend itself well to slapstick, even though it is often given plenty), and Ward Holmquist led a capital performance from the Kansas City Symphony, bright and bubbly even if some tempos seemed a tad slow. The Lyric Chorus – just the right size at 12 singers – sang competently.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

But on the whole this Harriman-Jewell Series recital, the violinist’s fourth appearance on the series, was a somewhat problematic affair. Mozart’s E-flat major Sonata, K. 380 was given so much tender loving care that it bordered on the precious. Schumann’s A-minor Sonata, Op 105 was approached with integrity of intent, but the piano part often lacked clarity and at times drowned the violin, especially when the latter was in its lower register. Schubert’s Fantasie in C major, D. 934 was given a sort of impressionistic soft-focus, and though this resulted in some beautiful sonorities there were again issues of balance, and at times the flavor was more that of Debussy than of Schubert.

KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY

The star of the Kansas City Symphony’s performances of Brahms’ German Requiem, which I attended on October 28^th at the Kauffman Center, was the Symphony Chorus, which sang with warmth, depth of feeling and surprising crispness for such a large choir (some 150 voices). I was also quite taken with the rich, resonant voice of Christopher Feigum, who demonstrated a good sense of pathos and made his solo numbers almost operatic. At times I could have gone for more incisive attacks from the orchestra, especially in the magisterial “Denn alles Fleisch” movement. Layla Claire sang her “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” with conviction but I wished for a bit more of a bel canto line. Michael Stern conducted with sweep and solemnity. It was the first time we’d heard a large-scale work for chorus and orchestra in the new Helzberg Hall, and one was aware more than anything just how high the choir loft is placed: It’s as if choral and orchestral sound are coming from very different places.

The concert had opened with Beethoven’s brief Eligischer Gesang, in which the reduced orchestra was virtually drowned out by the oversized chorus. Then Charles Bruffy, who prepares the Symphony Chorus, took to the podium to conduct the a cappella This Moment by Mark Hayes, a haunting, low-key piece that had already formed part of the Opening Night Concert in Helzberg Hall. With Stern back on the podium we were served Messiaen’s early work Les offrandes oubliées, whose brilliant colors and lush textures were beautifully displayed by the Helzberg acoustics. The final “The Eucarist,” was so delicately quiet that one was aware of another characteristic of the Helzberg Hall acoustic: You can hear every single cough, cell phone, paper-rustle or even throat-clearing with dazzling clarity.

UNICORN THEATRE

Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage is like an 85-minute downhill train ride to hell. This coproduction of the Unicorn Theatre with the KC Actors Theatre is an engaging and funny tour de force and a brilliant vehicle for four of Kansas City’s most beloved actors. “Michael, this is going to end badly,” says Veronica Novak (Cinnamon Schultz) to her husband (Brian Paulette) at one point, and we know she’s talking not just about the situation at hand but the play itself. The situation: Two couples gather in a fashionable New York living room (the scenic design by Jordan Jonata is perfect, complete with oh-so white tulips and ostentatiously “modern” paintings) to discuss a fight their 11-year-old sons have had, in which one has knocked out two teeth of the other with a stick. What begins as a civil, adult discussion descends into barely controlled chaos. Alan Raleigh (John Rensenhouse) is a hoity-toity lawyer who flails about the room talking incessantly on his cell phone, driving everyone else nuts. His wife, Annette (Melinda McCrary) ultimately admits that this behavior has poisoned their marriage, and things just keep getting worse and worse. All four players were stalwart, with McCrary the standout, as her droll, snooty character gradually descends into the maelstrom. Mark Robbins’ direction is full of stealth: Reza’s play is like time bomb ticking, and after a couple of hilarious surprises along the way, we expect some gigantic explosion at the end. Oddly, it doesn’t come. Instead the action just sort of peters out – making us wonder whether we have really traveled anywhere at all. Perhaps that’s the point, really.

God of Carnage runs through November 13^th. For tickets go to www.unicorntheatre.org or call 816-531-7529.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

The New York Times’ prickly dance critic Alistair Macaulay seemed to have liked the Kansas City Ballet’s Tom Sawyer almost as much as I did – though at times for different reasons. See my review here, and his here. Much was hanging on the new full-length ballet because it was the company’s first world premiere in the new Kauffman Center, and (as the company reminded us every time we turned around) the first full-length ballet on an American subject. I thought Tom Sawyer overcame admirably most of the obstacles of the very idea of putting such a story onto the stage, despite my reservations about the gee-whizzy tone of Act 1 and sentimental Hollywood score. Quite simply, it made for a lovely evening in the theater. Photo by Steve Wilson

The piece fared less well in the Kansas City Star, which said it “lacks inventiveness.” One thing occurred to me while trying to understand the disparity of views here. Tom Sawyer, whether choreographer William Whitener or the Ballet wish to acknowledge it, is a children’s ballet – and it functions with abandon within that context. (One might argue, in fact, that we need more children’s ballets, created by reputable creative teams.) That doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed by adults, or that it lacks substance or indeed some of the darker elements of Twain’s book. But it does explain why the piece does not have the emotional heft of other American ballets on adult topics: It is not privy to the adult situations that allow a ballet to dig deep into more complex relationships. Let’s face it, Tom and Becky are 12.

As such, the piece is entertainment, set to classical ballet, its populist origins made plain by Maury Yeston’s score. Ballet as entertainment? So sue me. For decades, choreographers such as Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse (and more recently, Ann Reinking and Whitener’s former colleague Twyla Tharp) have functioned on the edges of ballet-meets-Broadway, and many of their experiments are now venerated as path-forging. Think of how jarring it must have been for the first audiences of Robbins’ West Side Story to watch New York street gangs dance what was essentially ballet fused with contemporary dance styles. So we might as well go with open minds into the whole idea of theater productions and ballets based on children’s sensibilities, as they could very easily become the Nutcrackers of our future.

IN BRIEF:

* Get ready for a European invasion in November, as two local presenters bring major orchestras to the area for concerts that look intriguing for a variety of reasons. On November 6^th at 7 p.m. at Johnson County Community College, the Performing Arts Series presents the Munich Symphony Orchestra and the choir Gloriae Dei Cantores, in a program led by Philippe Entremont consisting of Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night and Mozart’s mighty Requiem. Then on November 9^th at 7 p.m. at the Kauffman Center the Harriman-Jewell Series presents the Vienna Symphony with the Eroica Trio and one of hottest conductors in the world today, the Italian-born Fabio Luisi. It is the first opportunity we’ll have to hear a guest orchestra in Helzberg Hall, and it should be quite a moment in Our Town’s history. In September, Luisi was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, after James Levine had to withdraw from several performances; many believe he is favored to succeed the longtime Met leader, and for a decade he has been climbing the ranks of directorships of major orchestras (Graz Symphony, Tonkuenstlerorchester Wien, MDR Symphony, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Staatskapelle Dresden) and opera companies (Semperoper, Zurich Opera). The Eroica Trio is no stranger to Our Town, and they will perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. The concert also includes Brahms’ Second Symphony. For tickets call 816-415-5025 or go to www.hjseries.org.

* One of the most adventurous presenting organizations to start up in recent years is Venue Visitation, a varied series based in the gorgeous renovated Visitation Catholic Church on Main. They have a particularly wide-ranging series this season, including Octarium, Kevin Vogt, Elisabeth Von Trapp, the Sugita Glise Duo, the KC Symphony Players, and the St. Louis Jesuits. On November 12^th at 7 p.m., the Venue presents the Esterhazy String Quartet, named for Joseph Haydn’s employers long ago but based at the University of Missouri, where it is a Faculty Ensemble in Residence. Its members are violinists Eva Szekely and Susan Jensen, violist Leslie Perna and cellist Darry Dolezal. The quartet has been in existence for more than 30 years, and it has an active touring presence in this country and in Europe. It has appeared several times on NPR broadcasts, including the Hear America First and Quartessence series. For tickets call 816-235-6222, for information go to www.venuevisitation.net.

* Speaking of American ballet, one of the most promising companies today is the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, founded by one of the late George Balanchine’s most important dancers. One of the most exquisite dancers to grace the ballet stage, Suzanne Farrell has used her company, based at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to help preserve the legacy of the great Russian-born American choreographer. On November 12^th at 7:30 p.m. the Lied Center of Kansas presents Farrell’s company in a program that includes four Balanchine classics: Haieff Divertimento (1947), Diamonds Pas de Deux from Jewels (1967), Meditation (1963) and the revolutionary Agon with music by Stravinsky (1957). The program will also include a pre-performance discussion with Farrell at 6:30 p.m. and a post-concert discussion with the artists. For tickets and information go to lied.ku.edu or call 785-864-2787.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

AN AMERICAN BALLET: KCB PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE OF AMBITIOUS NEW PIECE

At first glance Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer might not seem an obvious choice for a novel on which to base a full-length ballet, and I confess that I approached William Whitener’s and Maury Yeston’s Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in Three Acts with some skepticism. But, wow. On October 14^th the ambitious piece opened the Kansas City Ballet’s season in its world premiere at the Kauffman Center, and it is an unequivocal delight – bold and varied and bursting with youthful energy, and featuring the widest array of choreography by Whitener and a musical score of great ingenuity by the Tony Award-winning Yeston.

The structure of the piece is tidy and clear: Act 1 introduces us to the main characters and includes the fence-painting, Tom Photos by Steve Wilson

and Becky in class and the storm, bringing the action to a wittily satisfying close when Tom and Huck attend their own funeral. Act 2, which takes place mostly in the graveyard, is an enormously inventive set of “variations” a la classical ballet: While Tom and Huck watch from stage right, all manner of Fireflies, Goblins, Ghosts and Sprites dance spooky-fun ensembles, culminating in a complex and sophisticated solo by Aisling Hill-Connor as a Stone Angel. The Third Act includes the trial, Tom’s testimony, Joe’s comeuppance, getting lost in the cave, and a final celebration of the river.

This Tom Sawyer is, fundamentally, a ballet, and thus classical dance stands at the heart of the piece: For this reason Alexander Peters excelled in the title role, as he has a clean, strong foundation in ballet. But there’s plenty more in the mix, from folk-like round dances to quirky Appalachian Spring hops and leaps, with suggestions of hyperactive, Tharp-like looseness. The “variations” in Act 2 featured an unfolding of the most appealing array of dance, accompanied by waltzes, marches, rags and even the occasional Latin beat. At one point there was a pas de trois of dancing gravestones, in a beautiful melding of musical edginess and comically angular dance. A dulcet, invisible youth chorus (courtesy of Liberty High School) lent a sort of haunting, Nutcracker moment to the proceedings.

Peters and his companion, the florid Laura Wolfe as Becky, danced two substantial pas de deux, the tentative, getting-to-know-you dance of Act 1 and a more discursive and affectionate Dance of True Love in Act 3. Wolfe proved a worthy partner to Peters, shy at first but becoming more confident as Tom himself began to mature and leave childhood behind; their emotional chemistry was palpable, and it helped form a sort of dramatic core to the story. Charles Martin was a gently lackadaisical Huck Finn, and Michael Eaton – with hair looking like Milli Vanilli – lent athletic malevolence to the role of Injun Joe. The entire company played townspeople, preachers, teachers, sheriffs and so on, and a number of children from the KC Ballet School performed admirably. Arielle Espie was aptly saucy as the bold Amy, trying to woo Tom away from Becky. Karen P. Brown, the company’s ballet mistress, was choice as a domineering, dotty Aunt Polly. Whitener’s choreography has been worked out in fascinating detail and enormous density, with plenty to keep the eye busy at all times. If at times the child-like gestures became a tad gee-whizzy, the only real oddity in the show, for me, was the unison of Macarena-like arm gestures in the courtroom scene.

Yeston’s musical style is deeply rooted in the classic Broadway tradition, with strikingly singable themes for each character, mood or emotion – soaring melodies for the love couple, bouncy ditties for the comic moments of Act 1, sinister themes for the bad guys. The orchestration (by Hollywood veteran Brad Dechter) is uncommonly rich and colorful, using the full complement of the orchestra. If at some places the music strays into treacle, it features several quite memorable tunes that I feel will help ensure this piece a long life on the stage. I especially liked the music for the Stone Angel sequence, and the Coplandesque opening of Act 3, whose expansive sound suggested the wide-open American West.

Walt Spangler’s spare set designs featured schematic building-frames that would lower from the rafters to suggest houses, the church, the school, the courthouse – as well as an angled fence for Act 1 that could be picked up and carried by the dancers. (The billowy waves for Act 3 meant to look like the Mississippi appeared more like the sea to me, though.) Holly Hynes’ simple costumes seemed spot-on to me, authentic to the setting but not too cornball-countrified. Kirk Bookman’s masterful lighting kept things cheerful in Act 1 and muted in Act 2, and lent warmth to the final scenes on the river.

The orchestra of Kansas City Symphony musicians performed in the pit under Ramona Pansegrau’s direction, giving me the chance to hear, once again, the acoustical fluke of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre that I’d already noticed at the Lyric Opera’s Turandot: From the Orchestra level, at least, the outer edges of the orchestra pit send sound up into different parts of the hall, which means they often reach your ears at different times. It’s disconcerting. Whether anything can be done about it at this point remains unclear, but it made me wonder whether the Kauffman Center should have lavished some of the same acoustic science on the opera/ballet theater that it did on Helzberg Hall next door.

Tom Sawyer runs through October 23rd. For tickets and information call 816-931-2232 or go to www.kcballet.org.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.

ICE, ICE BABY: LYRIC’S AMBITIONS TAKE COMPANY INTO NEW TERRITORY

Amidst the bevy of high-profile soloists, the huge chorus and complement of supernumeraries, the children’s choir and the over-the-top scenic and costume designs, one thing was abundantly clear about the October 1st opening of Turandot at the Kauffman Center: With this production the Lyric Opera is entering a new epoch in its history, and future productions will doubtless be measured by the ambitions of this show. The cast and crew have put about as much effort into this season opener as they have into any opera in the company’s 55-year history, with one main goal in mind: “to show you everything that this theater can do,” as general director Evan Luskin said from the stage of the new state-of-the-art Muriel Kauffman Theatre at the outset of the performance. Directed with meticulous detail and “crowd control” by Garnett Bruce and conducted with loving care by artistic director Ward Holmquist – who led a sizeable portion of the Kansas City Symphony in the pit – the production made a strong case for Puccini’s problematic final opera, partly with big-budget physical attributes but also through vocal splendors and some of the best acting I’ve seen on a Kansas City operatic stage.

At the center of the production were the several excellent vocal performances, beginning with that of tall, imperious Lise Lindstrom in the title role: She is a powerful presence onstage, exuding iciness and singing with a focused fullness of sound that seemed ideally suited to the role – even if it is not the most naturally pleasing voice on earth. Arnold Rawls sang Calaf with command and sympathy, with a voice that is somewhat ordinary at the bottom but has a shining, genuine, clarion top that drew a big ovation for “Nessun dorma.” Photo by Cory Weaver | Lyric Opera

Despite the built-in abruptness of Act 3’s reversal of sentiments, the couple managed to melt the thaw quickly and fall in love as convincingly as possible. Samuel Ramey was a towering figure as Timur, Calaf’s father, and his voice still carries oaken strength and great pathos despite being a tad diminished. Michael Chioldi was unusually riveting as the quirky Ping, and his often comic antics with Pang and Pong were admirably restrained. Stephen Fish sang the small part of the Mandarin with vigor. But vocally the evening belonged to Elizabeth Caballero as Liù. Her thrilling voice is capable of tenderness and passion but also razor-sharp accuracy, with a breathtaking pianissimo that made her brief Act 1 aria a highlight. Still, it was her death scene in Act 3 that I will remember for many years, sung and acted with warmth, conviction and nobility of gesture.

R. Keith Brumley’s set designs were grand and elaborate, with only Act 1 looking a tad crowded (especially with all the choristers and supers jammed in) but featuring an angled palace entrance stage left that emitted strong light but left you in suspense as to what was happening inside (at least, from my seat). Muted background colors helped highlight the color-splashed hues of Mary Traylor’s authentic-looking costumes. Act 2’s first scene was set, ingeniously I thought, in a sparely furnished library. Four enormously tall “bookshelves” vanished into the rafters when the scene was over, revealing a complex, multi-level plaza upstage on which the three famous riddles are asked; meanwhile huge statues of (past?) emperors descended to grace the plaza. Act 3’s set design was sleek and simple, with a huge moon and stage smoke. James Sale’s lighting design in the “riddle scene” of Act 2 was notable here, as the colors turned glowing-orange when each riddle was posed, then bright and clear when Calaf came up with the answer. Director Garnett and his cast played this beautifully, with the action feeling initially restrained but becoming more and more agitated with each riddle.

The chorus was uncommonly powerful, as was the expertly trained children’s choir that paraded about like a chain of urchins. The orchestra played with warmth and sophistication, only occasionally threatening to drown the voices. The Muriel Kauffman Theatre is not the most resonant of halls, but its tiered design has resulted in great intimacy. The jury is still out on the brilliantine color scheme of the hall’s interior, but the Figaro title system mounted on each seat-back worked perfectly.

Turandot runs through October 9^th. For tickets and information go to www.kcopera.org or call 816-471-7344.

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.