Theatre ,
How can I resist you?
If you miss the touring version of Mamma Mia! that opened last night for a one-week run at Starlight Theatre, you can always track it down in Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland or Spain; from Newcastle to Taipei, the bubbly musical taken from those ingratiating Abba songs precludes language and geographical barriers. No nation is too big or too foreign to avoid the jingle-jangle Abba-esque revolution.
Mamma Mia! of course is only a thread of a musical; Stephen Sondheim it ain't. Abba, as every Jonas Bros. fan will know, was the Swedish pop group whose ten-year career from 1972-1982 proffered frothy single after single such as "Dancing Queen" and "SOS." The composing team of Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus, a chipmunky version of Lennon-McCartney, looked to disco and Motown, Dusty Springfield and girl groups. When they devised the musical, which premièred in London on March 23, 1999, it was not intended to be an über-rock spectacle like The Who's Tommy. The storyline, almost an afterthought as a framework for the songs, was a wisp of a fairy tale; yet, as reported on the musical's website, as of August 19, Mamma Mia! has surpassed Fiddler on the Roof to become the 13th longest-running Broadway musical. Take that, all you Rodgers and Hartses.
The musical, like last year's movie adaptation with Meryl Streep and the inept vocal stylings of Pierce Brosnan, takes place on a Greek isle where young Sophie Sheridan (Liana Hunt, in her national tour début) is to be married to her love, Sky (Adam Jacobs). Oh, there is one complication: because she does not know the identity of her father, she secretly invites the three men with whom her mother Donna (performed by Rachel Tyler this evening) once had three romances--respectively, with Bill Austin (Martin Kildare), an Australian travel writer; Sam Carmichael (John Hemphill), an architect; and Harry "Headbanger" Bright (Michael Aaron Linder), once a rock musician and now an over-40 financier. These three men and a baby-turned-woman must relive and attempt to renew their pasts together, if they had one. Donna is both the obstacle--she does and does not wish to see any of the three guys again--and also the musical's focus: does she know who the father is? Mamma Mia! is a musical The Dating Game.
Starlight's touring production directed by Phyllida Lloyd (who also directed the movie) finds the magic somehow in the meager musical; her job is to make the songs drilled into one's brain somehow sound new, and appropriate in the play's context. The book by Catherine Johnson is both more and less than her similar screenplay. It darts along more efficiently and knits together the songs more intelligently. And it is far less tied to the movie's movie stars. Monkey business developed for the three guys while they are singing shapes their characters: knowing that the plus-sized Harry was once a manic punk gives the actor something real to play off. (Indeed, Kildare, Hemphill, and Linder are the best things in the show: they create their own show.)
Yes, much of the humor is of the older-woman-seeking-herself variety, with mild double entendres and hints of what-not (which is why the one bit of casting in the movie version, of Julie Walters as one of Donna's oldest friends, made perfect sense: with its middle-age optimistic pessimism it was a Julie Walters movie, like so many she has starred in). Yet to the large audience that stayed through an off-and-on rain for two-plus hours there were evidently few discordant notes in the passing nods to feminism and finding oneself in the storyline. It was erased in the film version, and it hardly registers here, either. No matter: the audience came for the songs and they got them.
As the 22 tunes reel off, it gives one a chance to reflect on the popularity of such shows: non-musicals, in a sense. More people have seen Mamma Mia! than all of Sondheim's musicals throughout his entire career, to consider a Broadway musical virtuoso whose songs are fundamentally the shows. The story has few surprises, so it must be the music; yet the notion that other songs could be sorted and used never strays far from the mind. Unlike other rock and pop musicals--Hair, Billy Elliot, Cats--this one feels produced, rather than organic. The Elton John songs for Billy Elliot are nothing special nor especially hummable. They do their job, though, in cueing the characters for the audience. Here, at least by occasionally interrupting songs with some dialogue, the sense that the songs are part of something greater is easier to imagine. At such moments, the idea of theater is not so faraway. And then who can really prepare the guillotine for a show when all around audience members (including an older man off to my right) are singing along in the rain? Only an ogre, one supposes, but that is another musical.
REVIEW
Starlight Theatre
Mamma Mia!
Running September 8-13 (reviewed September 8)
4600 Swope Park Road, KCMO
For tickets (816) 363-7827 or online at www.kcstarlight.com
KC Events this week and beyond
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Dance,
Local parks, performing arts come together to celebrate dance
Dance in the Park, a collaboration between the city and community dance companies, invites residents to participate and pay tribute to dance on Saturday, September 12.
Now in its 11th year, the outdoor class and performance will take place in Roanoke Park and feature local dance companies specializing in various genres. The diverse display of dance begins at 7 p.m. and is preceded by a public master class. The half hour hip-hop lesson is open to all and will be taught by Bobby Ray of B-Ray Entertainment.
Ann Shaughnessy is this year's stage manager for Dance in the Park and is in charge of booking. She said the dance class has been offered for several years and usually varies in style. Shaughnessy said it is a good chance for audience members, especially children, to be active and join in the show.
City in Motion, directed by Andrea Skowronek, will coordinate and produce the festival this year. This well known, non-profit organization established itself in the Kansas City community almost 25 years ago, and was founded on a modern dance philosophy. The organization is known for its outstanding outreach programs.
In past years, City in Motion co-produced the event with five surrounding neighborhood park associations: Roanoke, Volker, Coleman Highlands, West Plaza and Valentine. This year, it is stepping out as the primary producer. The event is funded mainly by grants received by City in Motion in addition to financial contributions from the KCMO Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund and the Missouri Arts Council.
Four dance groups, some new and some old, will participate in the event. They are Kansas City Movement, Kansas City Youth Ballet, the Kansas City St. Andrew Highland Dance Association and Seamless Dance Theater. Shaughnessy said she contacted them because she either already knew of them or had them recommended to her.
"This will be kind of different the year," Shaugnhessy said. "There will be new groups that Dance in Park has not seen before."
Past performers include City in Motion Dance Company, City in Motion Children's Dance Theater & Apprentice Company, Kacico and Raghsidad.
Audience members can expect a wide range of dance forms and are invited to bring comfortable seating, snacks, open minds and to arrive in plenty of time to reserve the best spot.
The rain date is the following day at the same time.
City in Motion Dance Theater
Dance in the Park
Saturday, September 12
Dance class at 6:30 p.m.
Performance at 7:00 p.m.
Roanoke Park
Free admission; bring blankets, chairs, snacks and enjoy!
www.cityinmotion.org/
Photo: Mike Strong. www.kcdance.com
Classical,
2nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism concerts 1 and 2
The series of concerts presented by the 2nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism, hosted by UMKC, offered up many juicy tidbits of predominantly American minimalism without including one note from either Steve Reich and Philip Glass. The series should be praised for presenting these important "other" composers - not to mention the stellar performances and mind-altering pieces.
Mikel Rouse's film, Funding was the first concert event of the conference. A graduate of both KCAI and UMKC, Rouse credits KCAI with allowing him to be creative while studying with Stanley Brakhage and UMKC (and LeRoy Pogemiller) for providing him with technical skills and discipline. The non-narrative Funding is a series of "musical meditations on New York City" and sounds like "very popular music but not for anyone who buys popular music." The style of the cinematography was influenced by French New Wave auteurs with shots people on the street, in restaurants, in their apartments, or on Coney Island rides. 
Musically, Rouse was correct in his description of this as "pop music" as some of the same layering effects are used by Imogen Heap, Björk, and Death Cab for Cutie. Rouse wisely brought images, musical ideas, and dialogue back at certain points; this repetition grounded the work and drew new associations within each occurrence. Heavily anti-Wall Street while exploring issues of loneliness in a big city, Rouse created a relevant feast for the ears and eyes.
newEar's justifiably over-programmed concert with featured guest Tom Johnson presented an evening consisting mostly of early American minimalist works. The standout pieces and performances were Barbara Benary's Sun on Snow, Terry Riley's Autumn Leaves, and Tom Johnson's Narayana's Cows. Twelve for solo piano by Tom Johnson began the concert. Each of the twelve movements explored different permutations of four-note chords through mathematical processes. Though pianist Robert Pherigo played with confidence and accuracy, the performance was cold and (pun intended) calculated because of the limited material and use of only one rhythmic motive per movement. Phill Niblock's Tow by Tom for fixed media was 20-minutes of omnipresent drone accompanying a film of a Brazilian waterfront. Only slight variations to the drone were created through electronic processes and shifting overtones. Co-director of the conference, David McIntire, referred to the piece as "hard-core minimalism." It was that: unyielding, unrelenting, and unfortunately, uninteresting.
Thankfully Tow by Tom was followed by Barbara Benary's stunning Sun on Snow. Sylvia Stoner's pure soprano and pristine diction was matched by the lush timbral blend of the instrumentalists. Benary's piece allows for improvisation and because of the diatonic language, the newEar musicians were able to navigate those passages without hesitation. The fourth and fifth movements were the most satisfying. The fourth had newEar's resident flutist, Lyra Pherigo, sing soprano and create a hocket pattern with Stoner. The balance was perfect and playfully light. In the striking fifth movement, Stoner intoned a single pitch over a lovely clarinet/sax duet between Tom Aber and Jan Faidley.
Serbian composer Vladimir Tosic's Arios was a pleasant cello/piano duet though highly predictable. Larry Figg's excellent bow control yielded clear harmonics over top of Robert Pherigo's carpel tunnel-inducing tremolos. As the piece progressed into dancing sixteenths both performers' technical prowess came to the fore.
Terry Riley's Autumn Leaves was composed immediately after his iconic In C and then lost. Fortunately it was rediscovered by Robert Carl, conference attendee and author of a new book on In C. This concert marked the piece's first professional performance. It uses the same processes as In C through small cells of melodic material repeated ad libitum on top of a constant eighth-note pulse. The F-minor Autumn Leaves is like "In C After Dark"-all shadows and murky pools to In C's sunshine and rainbows. It's a great companion piece to In C and will undoubtedly see more performances now that it has resurfaced.
Jacob ter Veldhuis' The Body of Your Dreams for piano and boombox was a tour de force for pianist Robert Pherigo. Matching the prosody of an infomercial for a revolutionary piece of exercise equipment with pianistic rock riffs and Journey-style power chords, Pherigo brought the humor and panache needed to sell the piece. Redeeming himself compositionally, Tom Johnson narrated his fun, yet challenging, Narayana's Cow. The piece is a musical answer to a 14th-century Indian mathematician's word problem. Though based on mathematics, unlike Twelve, this representation was engaging and newEar's performance was infused with vigor. newEar will repeat this program, wisely minus a few pieces, for their September 12 performance at MidAmerica Nazarene University.
REVIEW:
2nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism Concerts 1 and 2
Mikel Rouse and newEar with Tom Johnson
Wednesday, September 2 and Thursday, September 3
Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, White Recital Hall, All Souls Unitarian Church, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
http://2ndminimalism.org
CONCERT:
newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
Music and Minimalism
Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
Bell Cultural Events Center (September 12)
MidAmerica Nazarene University, 2030 East College Way, Olathe, KS
For tickets call 816-235-6222.
For information visit www.newear.org (no tickets available online)
Classical,
2nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism concerts 3, 4 and 5
Pianist Sarah Cahill's recital of minimalist and post-minimalist works was impressive both in programming (again justifiable over-programmed) and in performance. Cahill took command of each of the pieces and performed with astonishing musicality and dazzling technique. With a repertoire list of ten pieces, it was actually the John Adams and Terry Riley pieces, the two "big names," that were the least successful.
The opening piece, Harold Budd's short version of Children on the Hill from 1981 veered dangerously close, but never crossed, into New Age territory with its the chorused piano effect. Hans Otte's No. 10 from Das Buch der Klänge was an astounding display of sixteenths in moto perpetuo fashion. Cahill's flutter pedal technique deserves lavish praise; her foot was moving nearly as fast as her fingers for the duration of the piece. The shifting chords reminded me of Stephen Montague's Paramell series and left me wanting to hear the other members of the set. The world premiere of Eve Beglarian's Night Psalm was enthralling. It was a simple construct of descending and ever-expanding arpeggios performed with an increase in tempo at each repeat. By the end of the piece, Cahill's fingers were blazing over the keys. The piece is an ecstatic display of virtuosity and deserving of a place in the modern repertoire.
Meredith Monk's St. Petersburg Waltz was suitably dark, brooding, and modal. It was as if Tori Amos or Fiona Apple had a musical love child with Shostakovich. Cahill demonstrated some amazing right-hand single-note tremolos. Julia by Bunita Marcus was a post-minimalist take on the John Lennon song reminiscent of Liszt's operatic piano transcriptions. The performance of John Adams' China Gates was a serviceable rendition even with a slight mistake by Cahill. Harold Budd's long version of Children on the Hill from 1982 followed the Adams. In contrast to the short version, the additional sixteen minutes seemed to drag. The long version's middle section consisted of glorious trill, runs, and arpeggios reminiscent of Debussy's Sunken Cathedral. Unfortunately, they were too prominent and their beauty became banal.
Elodie Lauten's short Adamantine Sonata was like an effervescent sorbet for the ears after the overwrought Budd. Cahill's performance of the Mamoru Fujieda's "The Begonia in My Life" from Pattern of Plants marked its first performance outside of Japan. It was an inconsequential piece, performed delicately-lyrical, non-abrasive and instantly forgettable. Cahill's wonderful recital concluded with a slightly lackluster piece by Terry Riley. Be Kind to One Another is a fair piece; it was just out of place after all the previous brilliance. Beginning with Riley typical optimistic minimalist sound it devolved into rag rhythms and left me wanting more Riley and less rag. It was humorous though and left audience members with smiles on their faces, although I'm sure most were still smiling from the overall effect of the entire performance.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral probably did not know what it was in store for when Charlemagne Palestine was slated to perform there. 
The first performance of Schlingen-Blängen in America in forty years was a spectacular music experience complete with Palestine's altar of stuffed animals and brandy sniffer. Beginning with one single pitch, Palestine keep pushing the organ's limits, slowing adding pitches and holding down keys with wooden slats. With the availability of Grace and Holy Trinity's four manuals and variety of stops, Palestine was able to gloriously shape the sound. The mass of overtones was head-spinning. As the audience was encouraged to walk through the space and up into the organ loft, the listening experience was different throughout the space. By the time Palestine added the pedals into the mix, the sound was already massive and became chest-rattling and mind-altering. There was a brute physicality to the sound that I've rarely experienced. After flooding the spectrum with sound, the piece ends with the organ being turned off and back on again. To hear the mechanics stop and roar back to life was astounding. This performance was transformative and I will remember it for the rest of my life.
The final concert of the conference was Dennis Johnson's legendary November. Reconstructed from a less-than-ideal recording and score fragments by Kyle Gann, this was the first performance of the piece since 1962. Lasting nearly 5 hours Kyle Gann and Sarah Cahill switched off performing duties. The ambient piece had its glorious moments especially before the recapitulation of the beginning materials at about four hours in. It certainly was an endurance marathon for the performers and audience and only the stalwart few were in attendance.
REVIEW:
2nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism Concerts 3, 4, and 5
Sarah Cahill, Charlemagne Palestine, Kyle Gann
Friday, September 4 - Sunday, September 6
All Souls Unitarian Church, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
http://2ndminimalism.org
theSTEADY, the STEADY,
Giggin' on theSTEADY
Music lovers should have plenty to enjoy this weekend with all that the Crossroads Music Festival has to offer. Barclay Martin Ensemble, Shay Estes, Trio ALL and Quixotic are all making appearances. Quixotic will also be partnering with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to debut "Surface" in a performance at the Sculpture Park on Saturday night.
See you at the show...
Sons of Brasil
Thursday, September 10 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.stantonkessler.com
Mark Lowrey Solo Piano
Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 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.marklowreymusic.com
Lonnie McFadden, Donovan Bailey & Mark Lowrey
Friday, September 11 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.marklowreymusic.com
Mark Lowrey with Drums
Friday, September 11 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
Quixotic
Saturday, September 12 at 9:00 p.m.
The Kansas City Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-751-1278 or online at www.nelson-atkins.org or www.quixoticfusion.com
CROSSROADS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Saturday, September 12
Kansas City Youth Jazz Combo
Saturday, September 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Crosstown Station
1522 McGee St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-1522 or online at www.crosstownstation.com or www.kcyouthjazz.org
Shay Estes & Trio All
Saturday, September 12 at 8:00 p.m.
Czar Bar
1531 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-221-2244 or online at www.czarbar.com or www.marklowreymusic.com
Barclay Martin Ensemble
Saturday, September 12 at 9:45 p.m.
Czar Bar
1531 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-221-2244 or online at www.czarbar.com or www.barclaymartin.com
Hearts of Darkness
Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 p.m.
Crosstown Station
1522 McGee St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-1522 or online at www.crosstownstation.com or www.myspace.com/theheartsofdarknesskc
The Grand Marquis
Saturday, September 12 at 11:45 p.m.
Czar Bar
1531 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-221-2244 or online at www.czarbar.com or www.grandmarquis.net
Quixotic
Saturday, September 12 at Midnight
Crosstown Station
1522 McGee St., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-1522 or online at www.crosstownstation.com or www.quixoticfusion.com
Mark Lowrey Solo Piano
Sunday, September 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Sullivan's Steakhouse & Saloon
4501 W 119th St., Leawood, KS
For information call 913-345-0800 or online at www.sullivansteakhouse.com or www.marklowreymusic.com
Mark Lowrey Solo Piano
Monday, September 14 at 6:00 p.m.
Sullivan's Steakhouse & Saloon
4501 W 119th St., Leawood, KS
For information call 913-345-0800 or online at www.sullivansteakhouse.com or www.marklowreymusic.com
Barclay Martin Ensemble
Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00 p.m. & 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
Alacartoona
Thursday, September 17 at 5:30 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.alacartoona.com
Sons of Brasil
Friday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m. @ 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.stantonkessler.com
Angela Hagenbach
Saturday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m. & 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.amazonrecords.com
Jeff Harshbarger presents an
Alternative Jazz Series
Sunday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Record Bar
1020 Westport Rd., Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-753-5207 or online at www.therecordbar.com or www.jeffharshbarger.com
Shay Estes & Trio ALL
Wednesday, September 23 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.marklowreymusic.com
City Classics,
Music and Dance for September 2-16
Kansas City Symphony
Pops in the Park Concert
Saturday, September 5 at 7 p.m.
Shawnee Mission Park (Theatre in the Park)
I-435 and Renner Road, Shawnee, KS
Every year over the Labor Day weekend, our most venerable classical music institution, the Kansas City Symphony, performs a Pops in the Park concert at the Theatre in the Park at Shawnee Mission Park, I-435 and Renner Road in Shawnee, Kansas. It's always a time for the Symphony's assistant conductor to showcase his talents, and this year the talented and charismatic Steven Jarvi should put on a fine performance.
The concert will feature favorites from Broadway scores and film music as well as a few classical specials. So grab your lawn chairs, food and friends and head out to Shawnee Mission Park for this free introduction to the Symphony season. The gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the concert itself starting at 7:00 p.m.
Free event. For more information visit www.kcsymphony.org
newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble
Music and Minimalism
Thursday, September 3 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
White Recital Hall, UMKC (September 3)
4949 Cherry, Performing Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
Bell Cultural Events Center (September 12)
MidAmerica Nazarene University, 2030 East College Way, Olathe, KS
newEar, which keeps Kansas City on the map in terms of contemporary orchestral music, is opening its 17th season early this year with a concert focusing on minimalist music as part of the Second International Conference on Minimalist Music at UMKC. The program will include works by such well known contemporary minimalist composers as Terry Riley, Phill Niblock, Vladimir Tosic and Barbara Benary.
For tickets call 816-235-6222. For information visit www.newear.org (no tickets available online)
Great Spaces Music and Art Series
Nigel Potts, Organist
Friday, September 4 at 8 p.m.
Grace Episcopal Cathedral
701 S.W. 8th Avenue, Topeka, Kansas
This concert features organist Nigel Potts, who is a native of New Zealand with degrees from Yale University as well as the Conservatorium of Music in Wellington, New Zealand and Trinity College of Music, London. He presently serves as organist and choirmaster of Christ & St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, New York City, and teaches at Dowling College in New York. His program will include the music of Purcell, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Elgar, Howells and others.
For tickets call (785) 235-3457, and for information visit www.GraceCathedralTopeka.org.
Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company
Fall 2009 Concert
Thursday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
White Recital Hall at UMKC
4949 Cherry, Performing Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
For the ballet fans among us, the first classical dance performance of the new season will be by the Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company with a performances September 10 - 12. The choreographers are Canadian Josh Beamish, DeeAnna Hiett and Jose Limon. The Hiett piece, Shadows of Fate, is a world premiere, and the Beamish entry, Trap Door Party, is an American premiere. The Limon piece is a classic rendition of Orfeo.
Mary Pat Williams of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, for whom the company is co-named, always presents ingenious programs, and this should be a real treat for fans of dance.
For tickets call 816-235-6222.
Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Tosca
Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 13 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 19 at 8:00 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
11th and Central Streets, Kansas City, MO
The Lyric Opera opens its season on September 11 with Puccini's melodramatic Tosca, a story of intrigue, seduction, torture and ritual murder which takes place against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. What more could you want from opera?! Puccini's masterpiece contains one of the greatest soprano arias ever written ("Vissi d'arte") and not one but two of the favorite arias from the tenor repertory. It also features one of the most dastardly operatic villains ever encountered, in the scheming Scarpia.
The Lyric Opera's artistic director, Ward Holmquist, has put together an outstanding cast. The title role will be sung by soprano Lisa Daltirus, who has performed this same role to great acclaim in New York, Boston, Seattle and other venues. The tenor role, that of Cavaradossi, is sung by newcomer Rafael Dávila, who has sung leading roles with the companies of Sarasota, Puerto Rico, Tampa and Austin, along with opera houses in Naples, Salzburg and the Czech Republic. The villainous Scarpia will be portrayed by baritone Greer Grimsley, who is famed for this role as the Metropolitan Opera and other companies. He also sings leading baritone roles with the opera companies of Seattle (where he just completed a Ring cycle), San Diego, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and others. Overseas he has appeared in Venice, Berlin, Copenhagen, Prague, Buenos Aires, among others.
Special note for Lyric Opera veterans: The Opera has eliminated its Monday night performances this season, so the schedule has changed from what you may be familiar with. The opening night of this production is Friday, not Saturday, so check your tickets to be sure you are certain of the night you are attending.
For tickets call 816-471-7344 or online at www.kcopera.org
City in Motion Dance Theatre
Dance in the Park
September 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Roanoke Park, just north of 39th and Roanoke Road
Kansas City, MO
City in Motion Dance Theatre, which always brings an eclectic mix of dance styles to the stage, will present a free public dance recital as part of the 11th annual Dance in the Park. The performance will feature local dance companies in the genres of modern, ballet, swing, hip-hop, Middle Eastern and flamenco.
This event is a collaboration of neighborhoods, businesses and local dance companies and is a family-friendly event. It is billed as "a unique opportunity to sample a wide variety of regional professional dance companies in the tranquil setting of Roanoke Park." Volunteers from five neighborhoods contribute their time and talents to produce the event. Picnic baskets are welcome, and you might think about arriving early to participate in the Hip Hop class at 6:30 p.m. and to get a good seat.
Free event. No tickets required.
Community of Christ Dome and Spires Series
New York Polyphony
Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
Community of Christ Temple
201 South River Street, Independence, MO
New York Polyphony is a four-voice mail a capella vocal ensemble that delivers classical music favorites in a variety of styles. Publicity material for the group says that "from the simplicity of plainchant to the dense chromaticism of contemporary works, the New York Polyphony sound is strong, unified and distinctive." Critics have compared the group to the similar all-female ensemble, Anonymous 4.
No program for this concert has been released.
This concert is co-sponsored with Music Arts Institute, whose children's choir, The Young MAIstersingers, will participate in this performance.
Free event. No tickets required. For information, visit www.cofchrist.org/dome_spire/calendar.asp#polyphony
Harriman Jewell Series
Lang Lang, pianist
Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Folly Theater
12th and Central, Kansas City, MO
Lang Lang, the 27-year-old Chinese pianist who made his first international splash at the age of 17 with the Chicago Symphony, has become one of the most popular Generation X classical musicians of today. He is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and top American orchestras, and routinely sells out recitals and performances with symphony orchestras throughout the world. His compact discs are among classical music best sellers. He played for the Olympiad opening ceremony in Beijing in August 2008, and was seen on television around the world.
The Harriman Jewell Series brings him to Kansas City in a recital program, where he will play works by Beethoven (including the Appassionata sonata), Albéniz, and Prokofiev. The Folly Theater should be crowded for this one.
For tickets call (816) 415-5025 or online at http://www.harriman-jewell.org/
KCM News,
KCMetropolis.org goes interactive
KCMetropolis.org is based upon a combination of expert critical thought-and action-provoking commentary. We fill an essential need in the community for definitive performing arts coverage and act as a record, a historical marker for the robust achievements in this community. Derived from new technologies and driven from a grassroots movement, KCMetropolis.org invites you to participate in ongoing discussions with our contributors about the performing arts in the metropolis.
Our mission is to make all of the performing arts accessible in our community... and an important part of accessibility is participation.
With the launch of the new KCMetropolis in late April, we have continued to add and upgrade this website over the summer (including the launch of the interactive KC Events calendar that allows organizations and musicians to add and edit their own events), and now KCMetropolis.org invites you to sign up as a member and have a voice in the arts community.
Social medias like Facebook and Twitter are revolutionizing the way we think, feel and view the world. They offer an innovative opportunity to be heard and to participate at a deeper level with our fellow humans. We now invite you to do this on KCMetropolis.org.
Speak up - be heard. Post your comments, thoughts and views on the performing arts. Agree with our contributors - disagree (One cautionary comment however - profanity and malicious disrespect will not be tolerated and will get you banned quickly from this website.) Tell us and the community about your experience at a performance... what moved you, what didn't. Share and participate.
And talk about the performing arts. Tell your friends about performances and experiences. Let's revolutionize the way the performing arts are viewed in our city. Talk about classical music, dance, about jazz and new music. Let's break down all the old barriers that have kept people from attending events...all the old misconceptions of not wearing the right clothing or clapping at the wrong time. Good music, dance, art is after all "good" and we do understand and appreciate that at our deepest levels.
Go to LOGIN on KCMetropolis.org's front page - top right side - create a unique user name and password and start talking about the performing arts in the metropolis.
Enjoy!
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~ Formerly an arts columnist and arts reporter with the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Weekly. Doug writes on
the arts for a number of publications (in his abundant free time)
and is currently acting director of the National Arts Journalism
Program while it reinvents itself ~
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