RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 4, 2012, Cover Stories, Classical
Spring 2012 preview: Opera
Whether straight out of history or far more fantastical imaginations, the offerings that Kansas City’s opera presenters have lined up for spring should delight discerning fans of modern tours de force and traditional favorites.
The Lyric Opera of Kansas City has two main productions and one equally exciting educational offering. On January 14, Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal-winning novel The Giver will be given its operatic public premiere at Rockhurst High School. More information on this new Susan Kander opera can be found here. The company’s main stage performances at the Kauffman Center include John Adams’s Nixon in China (March 10, 14, 16, and 18) and Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville (April 21, 25, 27, and 29). The two shows couldn’t be more different, but the casts for both are amazing. Make sure to catch William Jewell-alum David Belcher in Nixon and my mezzo crush Sandra Piques Eddy in Barber.
UMKC Conservatory presents the “other Carmen” March 15–18. Peter Brook’s reimaging of La tragédie de Carmen won the Tony in 1984. As if Carmen wasn’t dark enough, Brook, with collaborators Marius Constant and Jean-Claude Carrière, stripped it down to its bare-bones Mérimée-ity. Fear not; there are musical snippets of Bizet sprinkled throughout. In an amazing get, the father of modern American opera, Carlisle Floyd, will be in attendance on April 6 for an evening celebrating his contributions to the medium. Floyd is in his late 80s, so this event should be mandatory for every opera fan. Their opera scenes will be held April 20 and 21.
University of Kansas School of Music will have their opera production January 27–30. Sadly they haven’t publically announced what the production will be, but judging from their ingenious Beggar’s Opera this fall, these are a talented bunch of young singers.
University of Central Missouri’s opera scenes will be April 28 for those interested in the drive out to Warrensburg.
Top Photo: Nixon in China (Photo by Tim Mathenson for Vancouver Opera)
Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor
Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.
In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).
His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com
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