As the holiday season kicks into gear, the classic arts scene in New York is never quiet. Here is just a sampling of some of the classic arts events happening this week:
New York City Ballet’s annual production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker starts performances November 24. Featuring 90 dancers, 62 musicians, 40 stagehands, and more than 125 children in two alternating casts from the School of American Ballet, Balanchine’s take on Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet is a holiday staple for the company, and runs through December 31. This concludes New York City Ballet's all-Balanchine fall season, celebrating the company's 75th anniversary. NYCB will return in January with a tribute to its other co-founding choreographer, Jerome Robbins, followed by a winter and spring season of works both old and new from across the company's history.
Distinguished Concerts International New York will also ring in the holiday season this week with a November 26 performance of selections from Handel’s Messiah, as arranged by Mozart, at Carnegie Hall. DCINY Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith will conduct, with soprano Penelope Shumate, mezzo-soprano Holly Sorenson, tenor Chad Kranak, and bass-baritone Christopher Job as soloists.
Conductor Dima Slobodeniouk leads the New York Philharmonic this week in performances of Ligeti’s Atmosphères, Holst’s The Planets, and Perry’s Stabat Mater with mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges.
Performances continue at the Metropolitan Opera of Puccini’s La Bohème, Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, and Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, the latter of which opened last week.
Violinist and violist Amadi Azikiwe comes to Bargemusic November 24 with pianist Mikael Darmanie for a program including works by Bach, Paganini, Schubert, and James Lee III. November 25-26, Bargemusic will host violinist Mark Peskanov, violist Colin Jacobsen, cellist Edward Arron, and pianist Jeewon Park for a concert of Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, and Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E flat Major.
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