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Yardley Hall was bursting with energy Sunday afternoon for Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery, the first Family Concert of the Kansas City Symphony 2010 –11 season.  Enthusiastic children lined up before the performance to squeak clarinets, blurt brass instruments and shake, rattle and roll the percussion section for the traditional instrument petting zoo.  Docents with the patience of saints smiled calmly as one eager child after the other pressed, pulled, and plucked instruments from the four orchestral families. 

Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery is kid-friendly program produced by Classical Kids Music Education which takes the young audience on a fantastic adventure toward self-discovery.  Senorina Katarina, an orphan whose parents died at sea is the protagonist.  Raised in a convent in Pomona, Italy, she learns to sing and play the violin.  The nuns think it is time for her to develop her musical gifts and she is sent to Venice to play for Don Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest and composer working at the all-girls orphanage.  Her only possessions are a special ring with the picture of a nightingale on it and her best friend, her violin. 

Dressed in a blue velvet top and toile printed silk skirt the actress, Natalie Berg, plays the little orphan girl to perfection.  Her youthful voice and petite frame belie her 24 years, 14 of which have been spent performing professionally.  Her singing voice was sweet and authentic but not well supported and she occasionally dipped in pitch.  This might have been a characterization choice to affect the sound of a ten year old as Vivaldi wrote songs for his young students that are still popular in the training repertoire, today.  Nonetheless, she was charming in the role and had the audience rooting for her every step of her journey.

Katarina meets the dashing gondolier, Giovanni, who introduces her to Venice and the Carnival. He bestows upon her a sparkling silver bird mask and the two friends pantomime rowing through the canals of Venice.  Actor, Joe Lehman sang with gusto and reminded me of a young Alan Cumming.  He also portrayed Vivaldi and the mysterious “man in black.”   When I asked my young companion if he was surprised to find out the same actor played all three roles, he said he wasn’t.   He identified his voice and didn’t bother him a bit.

The main plot pivots around the identity of the Duke of Pomona’s granddaughter who was lost at sea.  The Duke has a jewel-encrusted Stradivarius violin he had made in her memory with a nightingale emblazoned on the case.  Although the “mystery” wasn’t hard for an adult to piece together, my young friend was amazed to find (spoiler alert!) Katarina was the Duke’s granddaughter and that Vivaldi knew it all along.

The production was simple, elegant, and effective. Two banners with Venetian scenes, like windows, graced the sides of the stage.  The lighting was glorious and defined time and place beautifully. The symphony represented Vivaldi’s orchestra and played a major role. Consistent blocking, colorful props, and expert pantomime allowed the young audience to suspend reality and enjoy the show.

Assistant concertmaster, Sunho Kim, performed the many violin solos from the various concertos gloriously.  Guest guitarist Beau Bledsoe was also on hand to play portions of the beloved guitar concerto. The flutes and trumpets figured prominently and always delivered. 

Toward the climax of the play, when Katarina thinks all is lost, the flute plays a melancholy theme that brought tears to some of the young eyes.  “It’s so sad” whispered a little voice behind me.  Sniffles and sobs were audible from an audience that was physically moved by the music.  Tiny fingers conducted patterns whenever the young heroine did the same on stage.  Interactive expressions of engagement and interest all attest to the power of the music to break through the wall that separates the performer from the audience.  There is no purer form of appreciation than sincere emotional expression.

The story, written by Douglas Cowling, did a great job of interspersing factual information about Venice and Vivaldi with his music. One amusing moment finds Vivaldi unable to come up with a creative idea for a new concerto.  Critics like to discredit Vivaldi, complaining that so much of his work sounds the same.  Although Vivaldi’s music isn’t as much of a challenge as the Firebird, by Stravinsky coming up this week, the members of the orchestra know that they are providing a crucial entryway into the exciting world of classical music with an accessible composer and a story that enchants.

REVIEW
The Kansas City Symphony Family Series
Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery
Sunday September 26, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
JCCC Carlsen Center
Yardley Hall
Overland Park, KS
for more information call 913-469-4445 or online at www.jccc.edu/performing-arts-series

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.