From Goethe to Pushkin, 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.
The Metropolitan Opera changes out Pharaohs for Faro as Tchaikovsky’s Gothic thriller The Queen of Spades returns to the stage this week. Tenor Brandon Jovanovich stars as Hermann, a gambler who becomes captivated by the story of a mysterious countess (mezzo-soprano Violeta Urmana) who had a secret which allowed her to win a fortune through cards. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva plays Lisa, the Countess� granddaughter whom Hermann woos in an attempt to get close to the Countess and her secret. Baritone Igor Golovatenko returns to the role of Lisa’s fiance Prince Yeletsky. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova as Pauline and baritone Alexey Markov as Tomsky complete the principal cast.
Performances also continue at the Met this week of John Adams� Antony and Cleopatra, which opened last week; Claus Guth’s new production of Salome, which premiered earlier this year; and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia with a cast of rising stars including mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, tenor Jack Swanson, and baritone Andrey Zhilikhovsky.
Heartbeat Opera’s production of Gounod’s Faust, adapted by Jacob Ashworth and Sara Holdren, and arranged for a seven-piece band by Francisco Ladrón de Guevara, continues through May 25 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Sung in French, with new English dialogue by Holdren, the 100-minute adaptation of the French Grand Opera stars tenor Orson Van Gay II as Faust, soprano Rachel Kobernick as Marguerite, and bass-baritone John Taylor Ward as Mephistopheles.
New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Andrew Veyette will conclude his 25-year tenure with the company with a special farewell performance May 25. The one-night-only performance will include an excerpt from Jerome Robbins� Glass Pieces, as well as Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Chiaroscuro and Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes.
NYCB also continues performances this week of an all-Ravel program, showcasing five ballets set to the music of Maurice Ravel, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the company’s 1975 Ravel Festival. The program includes four works that had their world premieres at the 1975 festival: Jerome Robbins� In G Major, set to the Piano Concerto in that key; and three short works by Balanchine: Sonatine, Pavane, and Errante. The program concludes with Balanchine’s La Valse, set to Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.
Incoming Music Director Gustavo Dudamel joins the New York Philharmonic this week to lead the world premiere of Kate Soper’s Orpheus Orchestra Opus Onus, an NY Philharmonic commission. Soper will also sing in the world premiere. The program will be bookended by performances of Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, and Philip Glass� Symphony No. 11.
The Long Island Concert Orchestra presents Rossini Perduto at the Theater at St. Jean’s May 22. The world premiere opera by composer David Winkler and librettist Luigi Ballerini is an exploration of the “lost� music by Gioacchino Rossini. Stefanos Koroneos directs the production, with Enrico Fagone conducting.
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