‘Swan Lake’ makes a graceful return to Kansas City with this balletic masterpiece
The swans are returning to Kansas City. It’s been four years since the Kansas City Ballet presented its first production of “Swan Lake,” and now, for those who missed it and those who want to experience this ballet masterpiece again, the Kansas City Ballet will present “Swan Lake” for nine performances, beginning Feb. 14 at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
“Swan Lake” was not critically praised when it was first performed in Moscow in 1877. One critic declared it “too noisy, too Wagnerian and too symphonic.”
But much like the “Ugly Duckling” of fairy tale fame, Tchaikovsky’s maligned ballet would eventually be seen for the beauty that it is. By the time the Kansas City Ballet performed the work in 2016, artistic director Devon Carney had built up the company to handle the ballet’s extraordinary challenges.
Carney’s production was an unqualified success and I, for one, am delighted that it’s making a return visit.
7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22 and 2 p.m. Feb. 16 and 22. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $34-$134. 816-931-8993 or www.kcballet.org.
Bach Aria Soloists — Bach Extravaganza
Combine a performance by the Bach Aria Soloists with a lecture by one of the world’s most renowned Bach scholars and you have a “Bach Extravaganza.” Violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane, keyboardist Elisa Bickers, soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson and cellist Hannah Collins will join Bach expert Michael Marissen for this enlightening presentation Feb. 22 at Westport Presbyterian Church.
The all-Bach program will include arias from the Cantata No. 51, the Cello Suite in C, the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and a harpsichord concerto, which Bickers will perform on Westport Presbyterian’s wonderful Martin Pasi organ. Marissen, professor emeritus of music at Swarthmore College and author of the recent book, “Bach and God,” will share his profound insights into the music of Bach.
“As a scholar, I have focused on Bach because it’s simply the best music ever and it never fades,” Marissen said. “People who come to this concert will experience Bach’s music as so spectacularly life affirming.”
7:30 p.m. Feb. 22. Westport Presbyterian Church, 201 Westport Road. $17-$35. www.bachariasoloists.com.
Friends of Chamber Music — Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has some Bach up its sleeve, too, along with Lully, Handel, Vivaldi and other baroque masters. The Friends of Chamber Music will present this eminent early music ensemble Feb. 21 at the Folly Theater. Besides the aforementioned composers, the highly acclaimed group will perform music by Domenico Scarlatti and C.P.E. Bach. The concert will showcase the dance-like quality of baroque music, which is so central to music of that era.
7:30 p.m. Feb. Feb. 21. Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St. $35. 816-561-9999 or www.chambermusic.org.
Musica Sacra
Musica Sacra conducted by Timothy McDonald is also going for baroque. Its concert Feb. 16 at Arrupe Auditorium at Rockhurst University will feature works by Nicola Porpora, a Neapolitan baroque composer and one of Franz Joseph Haydn’s teachers, and the 17th century Venetian composer Antonio Caldara. True to McDonald’s penchant for mixing things up, the concert will also include a work by the contemporary Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen.
“We are celebrating the 350th anniversary of Antonio Caldara’s birth, and we will be featuring several of his sacred choral and instrumental works during the coming year,” McDonald said.
Musica Sacra will perform an instrumental church sonata by Caldara, who was born in Venice in 1670 and was trained at the Basilica of St. Mark’s. In later years he worked in Mantua, Barcelona and Vienna.
Soprano Kayleigh Aytes, who recently performed in Victoria Botero’s “Cult of the Soprano” concert, will sing a Kyrie by Porpora, a composer noted for his florid style. The centerpiece of the program, however, is Arnesen’s Magnificat.
“Arnesen’s Magnificat is one of the most beautiful works I have ever performed,” McDonald said. “It was composed in 2010 for treble voices and organ, and the composer produced a version in 2015 for mixed chorus, organ and strings. This is the version we will perform. Arnesen’s style is fascinating. He combines mild expressive dissonance with glorious, expansive romantic melodies. The piece is attractive on every level — melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and the overall color and sound of the piece.”
Come early for McDonald’s “Live Program Notes” at 6:45 p.m. to learn more about these fascinating composers and their works.
7:30 p.m. Arrupe Auditorium, Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road. Free. For more information, rockhurst.edu/center-arts-letters/musica-sacra.
You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 7:00 AM.