From Duke Ellington to the Duke of Mantua, 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:
Following a season-opening Golden Jubilee last month, The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players kick off their opera portion of their 50th anniversary season with a revival of Ruddigore, playing November 23 and 24 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College. Parodying the popular Gothic fiction of the early 19th century, Ruddigore follows members of the Murgatroyd family, the "Bad Baronets of Ruddigore," who have been cursed to be compelled to commit a crime every day or perish in inconceivable agonies.
Dorrance Dance brings The Nutcracker Suite to New York City Center November 22-24. Tap stars Michelle Dorrance and Josette Wiggan, along with Hannah Heller, have created a tap ballet set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s jazzy arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, combined with other assorted holiday favorites.
The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble will perform at Carnegie Hall November 18, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading an all-Czech and all-strings program featuring Janáček’s String Quartet No. 1, Martinů’s Nonet, and Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings. Carnegie Hall will also host performances this week from pianist Filippo Gorini (November 21); the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Lisa Batiashvilli (November 22); and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra without Lisa Batiashvili (November 23).
Cantori New York presents the world premiere of Dear Mountains, by Lembit Beecher and Karen Ouzounian, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea. The Cantori NY commission, composed for choir, solo cello, oud, and percussion, “combines a 100-year-old story from Ouzounian’s Armenian family’s history with Armenian folk songs and liturgy and contemporary, imagined dances of a lost and distant Anatolian homeland.” Dear Mountains will be presented on a program alongside Jocelyn Morlock’s Exaudi and Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning. The performance will feature cellist Karen Ouzounian, oud player Ara Dinkjian, percussionist Philip Mayer, and mezzo-soprano Gabrielle Barkidjija, with Mark Shapiro conducting.
New York Festival of Songs presents My Brother’s Keeper November 19 at the Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall. Conceived by baritone Justin Austin, the work “tells a story of brotherly love, caretaking, and community among Black men in America through art song, soul, gospel, and opera.” The performance features tenors Joshua Blue and Chaz’men Williams-Ali, baritones Will Liverman and Jorell Williams, bass-baritones Joseph Parrish and Alan Williams, and pianist Steven Blier.
Verdi’s Il Trovatore continues this week at the Met, with soprano Angela Meade and mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova joining the cast as Leonora and Azucena respectively. Meade and Petrova are having a Verdian reunion after starring in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met last season. Tenor Michael Fabiano and baritone Igor Golovatenko continue in their roles as Manrico and the Count di Luna. Performances also continue at the Met this week of Puccini’s La bohéme and Tosca. The Saturday matinee performance of Tosca will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.
Pianist Yefim Bronfman joins the New York Philharmonic November 20-23 to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Paavo Järvi conducts the program, which will conclude with Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5.
Violinist Vilde Frang substitutes for Hilary Hahn with the Berliner Philharmoniker at Carnegie Hall for a performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony. Kirill Petrenko will lead the orchestra in another concert on November 18, this program comprising just one single piece: Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony.
Pianist Sir Stephen Hough makes his Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center debut November 24 at David Geffen Hall, performing solo piano works by Chopin, Chaminade, and Liszt. Hough will also be joined by Viano Quartet for the world premiere of a piano quintet by Hough himself.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet celebrates its 30th anniversary with performances with a two-week season at the Joyce Theater, beginning November 19. The season will include revivals of several works by the company’s co-founding choreographer Dwight Rhoden, including Ave Maria, Growth, Naked Perfume, Mercy, Higher Ground, and Star Dust. New works will also be featured, including a piece set to Ravel’s Bolero, Quintet, with an original score by David Rozenblatt, and But Not Broken, a new solo to music by Phillip Glass.
The Catalyst Quartet presents Intersections, a program exploring the intersection of classical, Latin jazz, and tango, November 22 at the 92nd Street Y. The program includes works by Paquito D’Rivera, Astor Piazzolla, George Gershwin, and, to conclude, Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major.
Death of Classical presents violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Jeremy Denk in a performance of the violin sonatas of Charles Ives, in celebration of the composer’s 150th birthday. There will be two performances November 19, at 6 and 7:30PM, at the Church of the Intercession in Harlem.
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