Tag Archives: Greenwich Village

Classical Music/Opera Listings for G Roald Smeets

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Metropolitan Opera (Lincoln Center), staircase

Metropolitan Opera (Lincoln Center), staircase (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Classical Music/Opera Listings for G Roald Smeets –  ★ ‘Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’ (Tuesday) The inventive Huang Ruo devoted his first opera to the story of the founder of modern China. The work, with a libretto by Candace Chong, is scored for both Chinese and Western instruments and is sung in Mandarin. The soprano Jiang Fang Tao and the tenor Laurence Broderick, along with the Momenta Quartet and Ensemble FIRE, present excerpts from the work, and other works by Mr. Huang. At 6:30 p.m., Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $20. (Allan Kozinn)

★ ‘The Enchanted Island’ (Saturday and Thursday) This delightful modern-day Baroque pastiche could be the sleeper hit of the Met season. The librettist Jeremy Sams has devised a wonderfully convoluted and involving story that conflates two Shakespeare plays, “The Tempest” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” His original libretto, complete with witty recitative, is set to music lifted from various Baroque operas by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and others. Phelim McDermott’s imaginative production blends old-fashioned stagecraft with sophisticated videos and animation, and the cast could not be better: David Daniels as Prospero, Danielle de Niese as Ariel, Joyce DiDonato as Sycorax, Luca Pisaroni as Caliban, Lisette Oropesa as Miranda and, in a short but crucial star turn, Plácido Domingo as Neptune. William Christie, an acclaimed exponent of Baroque opera, conducts. Saturday at 8 p.m. and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metoperafamily.org; $25 to $330. (Anthony Tommasini)

‘Faust’ (Monday) There are striking images, including video close-ups of characters, in the Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff’s new production of Gounod’s “Faust.” But this dark, oppressive staging, which intriguingly updates the setting to the period before World War II, struggles to uncover philosophical angst that is not to be found in Gounod’s melodious and popular melodrama. New singers have taken over two major roles: the popular tenor Joseph Calleja sings Faust, and the formidable bass Ferruccio Furlanetto portrays Méphistophélès. The charismatic soprano Marina Poplavskaya returns as Marguerite. The French conductor Alain Altinoglu has taken over for Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who set a high standard with his elegant, urgent performance. At 7:30 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metoperafamily.org; $25 to $430. (Tommasini)

★ ‘La Fille du Régiment’ (Friday) It’s hard to think of an opera as inconsequential as Donizetti’s 1840 comedy, but just as hard to think of one as delightful. This revival of Laurent Pelly’s brightly stylized, sometimes strenuously cute production features lower-wattage stars than in the past, but both are game. The rising soprano Nino Machaidze, as Marie, has an edge to her tone, but her voice is bright and her performance winning. As Tonio, the sweetly sincere tenor Lawrence Brownlee is as elegant and smooth as ever; he is a tad tight in the role’s infamous high C’s, but they’re there. Yves Abel keeps things burbling along, and the supporting cast, including the resonant bass-baritone Maurizio Muraro, lays the charm on thick. At 7:30 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metoperafamily.org; $25 to $415. (Zachary Woolfe)

★ ‘Hansel and Gretel’ (Saturday) Very young children could be upset by some of the more lurid elements in the director Richard Jones’s dark, fanciful 2007 staging of this luscious Engelbert Humperdinck fable. Everyone else will be enthralled and delighted by Alice Coote’s convincingly boyish Hansel, Aleksandra Kurzak’s winsome Gretel and Robert Brubaker’s frumpy, gluttonous Witch. In the pit, the English conductor Robin Ticciati lives up to the high regard surrounding his auspicious Met debut. At 1 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metoperafamily.org; $50 to $215. (Steve Smith)

‘Tosca’ (Tuesday) Even since Luc Bondy’s production of Puccini’s “Tosca” was introduced to open the 2009-10 season, audience reactions have tended to depend upon how much the cast can distract attention from this bleak, overwrought staging. The soprano Patricia Racette, a compelling Tosca, sings the title role in this revival with the usually exciting tenor Roberto Alagna as Cavaradossi. There will be keen interest this time out in the dynamic young Finnish conductor Mikko Franck, making his Met debut. At 7:30 p.m., Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, (212) 362-6000, metoperafamily.org; $25 to $430. (Tommasini)

Classical Music

Amphion Quartet (Sunday) Formed at Yale in 2009, this quartet won first prize at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition in 2010. Its program for the Schneider Concerts, an inexpensive series presented by the New School, includes Schubert’s “Quartettsatz,” Beethoven’s “Serioso” Quartet (Op. 95), Schumann’s Quartet in A (Op. 41, No. 3) and Augusta Read Thomas’s “Sun Threads.” At 2 p.m., Mannes College the New School of Music, Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 229-5600, newschool.edu/mannes; $17.50, or $15 for 65+. (Kozinn)

★ Attacca Quartet (Saturday) This vivacious group formed at Juilliard in 2003 and has busied itself presenting impressive concerts and collecting prestigious accolades ever since. With a formal recital scheduled for Jan. 17 at Merkin Concert Hall, the quartet pops into Lincoln Center’s inviting atrium for a “Meet the Artist” event, meant to introduce young listeners to chamber music. At 11 a.m., David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center, (212) 721-6500, new.lincolncenter.org/live; free. (Smith)

★ Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk (Friday) It’s become more and more common for big classical artists to celebrate new albums with intimate recitals at off-the-beaten-track downtown spaces, and the brilliant violinist Mr. Bell and the searching pianist Mr. Denk accordingly arrive at the City Winery to introduce “French Impressions,” a disc of sonatas by Saint-Saëns, Franck and Ravel. Mr. Denk’s sustained collaboration with Mr. Bell, one of the industry’s marquee names, was a major part of his rise to prominence in the last few years. This is their first recital album together, and it’s always a pleasure to see these two fine artists perform. At 8 p.m., City Winery, 155 Varick Street, near Spring Street, South Village, (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com; sold out. (Woolfe)

★ Calder Quartet and Andrew W. K. (Sunday) The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew W. K. joins the Calder Quartet for a wide-ranging program of works by Bach, Cage, Terry Riley and Philip Glass, as well as some of Andrew W. K.’s music. At 7:30 p.m., Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $25 at the door, $20 in advance. (Kozinn)

Jefferson Campbell (Wednesday) “New Music That’s Fun to Play” is what Mr. Campbell, a bassoonist, promises during this recital with a pianist, Tracy Lipke-Perry, and two percussionists, Gene Koshinski and Tim Brocious. A slate of New York premieres includes works by Libby Larsen and Theodor Burkali. At 7:30 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street, (212) 864-5400, symphonyspace.org; free. (Smith)

Five Boroughs Music Festival (Thursday) True to its name, this vocal and chamber music series presents its diverse, engaging programs throughout New York City. For this Manhattan engagement, a CD-release celebration, the festival presents its “Five Borough Songbook,” a collection of 20 new songs about the city; among the composers represented in a suitably eclectic mix are Lisa Bielawa, Scott Wheeler, Daron Hagen, Ricky Ian Gordon, Gabriel Kahane and Christina Courtin. At 7:30 p.m., Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, at 25th Street, (646) 312-5073, baruch.cuny.edu/bpac, 5bmf.org; $25, or $15 for students. (Smith)

★ New York Guitar Festival (Friday, Tuesday and Thursday) This innovative, stylistically elastic festival opens with “The Apollo Project,” a live re-interpretation of Brian Eno’s 1983 tribute to the NASA moon landings, “Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks.” Among the performers are the guitarists Larry Campbell, Jeff Parker and, from Phish, Mike Gordon. The festival, which runs through Jan. 29, continues with the first two installments of “Silent Films/Live Guitars,” in which guitarist-composers provide soundtracks for some classic silent films. On Tuesday, Dan Zanes plays his score for “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (1928) and Gyan Riley provides music for “The Goat” (1921). The Thursday program includes scores by Lee Rinaldo, Kaki King and Buke & Gass. Friday at 8 p.m., Winter Garden, World Financial Center, West Street, south of Vesey Street, Lower Manhattan, (212) 417-7050, artsworldfinancialcenter.com; free. Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212) 501-3330, kaufman-center.org; $25, or $15 for students. (Kozinn)

Douglas Harvey (Saturday) The principal cellist of the Austin Symphony Orchestra makes his New York recital debut with a wide-ranging program of Bach (transcribed by Busoni), Beethoven, Debussy, Lowell Liebermann, Kathryn Mishell, Kevin Puts, Virgil Thomson and Dan Welcher. At 2 p.m., Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, (212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org; $20. (Woolfe)

★ Juilliard String Quartet (Thursday) This eminent ensemble’s foray downtown juxtaposes two works separated by more than 200 years: Haydn’s Quartet in G (Op. 54, No. 1), which they performed to praise in November at Alice Tully Hall, and Elliott Carter’s Quartet No. 5. At 7:30 p.m., Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $20. (Woolfe)

★ The Knights (Sunday) Hosted by Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, this reliably energizing indie orchestra performs two Schubert songs as orchestrated by Lev Zhurbin (known as Ljova) and Colin Jacobsen. Completing the program are “Furia” by Mohammed Fairouz, featuring the baritone Mischa Bouvier, and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. At 3 p.m., Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, Montague Street at Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, (718) 855-3053, brooklynfriendsofchambermusic.org; $20, or $10 for students. (Smith)

★ New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (Friday and Sunday) “Fire” is the title of the winter festival being put on by this excellent orchestra and its creative music director, Jacques Lacombe. The first program, “The Hero’s Fire,” has the festival’s theme thrillingly in mind: “Wotan’s Farewell” and the “Magic Fire Music” from Wagner’s “Walküre,” Scriabin’s Fifth Symphony (“Prometheus: The Poem of Fire,” with the pianist Yevgeny Sudbin as soloist) and Stravinsky’s “Firebird.” Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark, (888) 466-5722, njpac.org, njsymphony.org; $20 to $85. (Woolfe)

★ New York Philharmonic (Friday, Saturday and Tuesday) For an enticing, and challenging, program with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, the music director, has paired Thomas Adès’s bracing orchestra piece “Polaris,” which had its premiere last January in Miami Beach at the inauguration of the New World Center, with Mahler’s mighty Ninth Symphony. There are two remaining performances at Avery Fisher Hall and a special Friday night performance at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, on Long Island. Talk about mighty orchestral works: on Thursday, Zubin Mehta returns to the Philharmonic to conduct Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8. Friday at 8 p.m., Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, N.Y., (516) 299-2752, tillescenter.org; $52 to $112. Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, (212) 875-5030, nyphil.org; $33 to $83. (Tommasini)

Orion Quartet and Windscape (Sunday) Some scholars have argued that Bach intended his “Art of Fugue” for the keyboard; others insist that it is a study of counterpoint, composed with no particular instrumentation in mind. Whatever the truth, the non-specificity of Bach’s score makes it possible for ensembles of all kinds to take up the work. Here, the Orion Quartet and Windscape join forces in a chamber version of several of the fugues, arranged for strings and winds, as part of a program on which Windscape also performs Barber’s “Summer Music” and the Orion Quartet plays the Brahms C minor Quartet (Op. 51, No. 1). At 2 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 586-4680, pscny.org; $13 to $16. (Kozinn)

★ Pacifica Quartet (Saturday) Having surveyed the Shostakovich string quartets last season in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s intimate Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, the excellent Pacifica Quartet, the museum’s quartet in residence, is surveying the complete 16 Beethoven quartets this season in six programs. The next concert, on Saturday night, offers Quartets No. 1 and No. 7, both in F but very different in scope and character: the First is like beefed-up Haydn while the Seventh is the first of the three impetuous and path-breaking “Razumovsky” Quartets. At 7 p.m., Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (212) 535-7710, metmuseum.org/tickets; $45. (Tommasini)

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