From George Balanchine鈥檚 The Nutcracker to Isaac Mizrahi鈥檚 Peter and the Wolf, the New York classic arts scene has its fair share of holiday traditions running through December. Here is just a sampling of some of the classic arts events happening this week:
Keri-Lynn Wilson leads the New York Philharmonic December 5-7 in an all-Soviet program, beginning with Shostakovich鈥檚 Festive Overture, composed in 1954 to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. Violinist Frank Huang will join the Philharmonic as the soloist in Prokofiev鈥檚 Violin Concerto No. 2, and the program will conclude with Shostakovich鈥檚 10th Symphony, performed alongside a screening of William Kentridge鈥檚 stop-motion film Oh To Believe in Another World.
As part of Carnegie Hall鈥檚 Year of Czech Music celebration, the Czech Philharmonic will give three concerts this week, conducted by Semyon Bychkov. On December 3, Yo-Yo Ma will join the orchestra for a performance of Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Cello Concerto, along with selections from Smetana鈥檚 M谩 Vlast. December 4, violinist Gil Shaham will give a performance of Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Violin Concerto, which will accompany a brief foray into German music with Mahler鈥檚 Fifth Symphony. December will round out the trio of Dvo艡谩k concertos, as Daniil Trifonov performs Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Piano Concerto, which will precede Jan谩膷ek鈥檚 Glagolitic Mass, with soprano Lyubov Petrova, mezzo-soprano Lucie Hilscherov谩, tenor Ale拧 Briscein, bass David Leigh, and the Prague Philharmonic Choir. The Prague Philharmonic Choir will then give its own concert December 6, with members of the Czech Philharmonic, performing works by Eben, Jana虂c虒ek, Dvor虒a虂k, Martinu虋, and Jan Nova虂k.
Carnegie Hall will also host performances this week from Viol ensemble Fretwork with countertenor Iestyn Davies (December 3); Trio Medi忙val (December 6); pianist Kirill Gerstein; cellist Joshua Roman; and the Pavel Haas Quartet (December 7).
Death of Classical will inaugurate a new holiday tradition this year, reviving David Lang鈥檚 Little Match Girl Passion, which they first performed last year. Performed December 4-6 in the Crypt Chapel under the Church of the Intercession in Harlem. Vocal ensemble Ekmeles performs Lang鈥檚 fusion of Hans Christian Andersen鈥檚 fairy tale with Bach鈥檚 St. Matthew Passion.
The Opera Next Door presents La Carmencita at Lincoln Center鈥檚 David Rubenstein Atrium Friday December 6. Conceived and translated by soprano Sasha Guti茅rrez, La Carmencita is a Latin American tango adaptation of Bizet鈥檚 Carmen, set in a Buenos Aires caf茅. Directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer, La Carmencita stars Melisa Bonetti as Carmen, Juan Hern谩ndez as Jos茅, Guti茅rrez as Micaela, and Jos茅 Luis Maldonado as Escamillo, with tango dancers Mariana Parma and Leonardo Sardella.
The Metropolitan Opera will present the season鈥檚 final performances of Verdi鈥檚 Il Trovatore December 3 and 6, with tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones taking over the role of Manrico from Michael Fabiano. Soprano Angela Meade, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, and baritone Igor Golovatenko continue with the production. Performances also continue of Richard Strauss鈥� Die Frau ohne Schatten, starring sopranos Elza van den Heever, Nina Stemme, and Lise Lindstrom, alongside tenor Russell Thomas and baritone Michael Volle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green appears in both productions.
The Israeli Chamber Project celebrates the sesquicentenary of Arnold Schoenberg with Two Clowns鈥揚ierrot Meets Petrushka, presented December 6 at the Kaufman Music Center鈥檚 Merkin Hall. The program will include a semi-staged performance of Schoenberg鈥檚 Pierrot Lunaire featuring soprano Hila Baggio, as well as Stravinsky鈥檚 Petrushka, and Ravel鈥檚 La Valse.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center kicks off a December Baroque Festival on December 6 with a concert of a half-dozen concertos by J.S. Bach. The festival will continue December 8 and 10 with two performances featuring Alice Tully Hall鈥檚 4,200-pipe organ, playing works by Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Telemann, and more.
Isaac Mizrahi鈥檚 production of Peter and the Wolf, which has been produced by Works & Process since 2007, will return to the Guggenheim December 6-8, with Mizrahi once again narrating Prokofiev's symphonic tale for children, performed by Ensemble Connect and with choreography by John Heginbotham.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre kicks off a one-month residency at New York City Center this week, starting with an opening night gala December 4. Over the course of December, the company will present four world premieres and three new productions alongside revivals from the company鈥檚 stories repertoire.
Lydia Johnson Dance presents performances December 5, 6, and 8 at the Graham Studio Theatre. The company will present the world premiere of Legacy, set to music by Terry Riley; Chapters, featuring music by William Duckworth and Christopher Dennis Coleman; a revival of Summer House, set to music by Philip Glass; and excerpts from Time鈥� and again, set to musical standards performed by Oscar Peterson, and performed by guest artist Craig Hall.
Early Music ensemble Akademie f眉r Alte Musik Berlin comes to the 92nd Street Y December 3 to perform a program of German Baroque music by Bach and Telemann. The program will include two Bach oboe concertos featuring soloist Xenia L枚ffler, and Bach鈥檚 Orchestral Suite No.1 in G Minor for solo violin, strings and continuo, featuring concertmaster Georg Kallweit as the soloist. The concert will also include Telemann鈥檚 Quintet for two violins, two violas and continuo in E Minor, and the overture from Burlesque de Quixotte.
Urban Bush Women will give two performances at the 92nd Street Y, December 6 and 7. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Brooklyn-based dance company will present Solo Meditations, an evening of solos and duets from the company鈥檚 repertoire.
The Orchestra Now presents Siena, Wagner & Parsifal at the Metropolitan Museum of Art December 8. The first of three concerts in the orchestra鈥檚 Sight & Sound series, the program will juxtapose music from Richard Wagner鈥檚 Parsifal with paintings by Italian Renaissance painters including Duccio, Lorenzetti, and Martini, which are part of the museum鈥檚 currently ongoing exhibition Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350. Tickets to the concert include same-day museum admission.
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