LE CONCERT D’ASTRÉE: Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day – Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles, CA – March 25th
This is the first of two concerts this week that are part of the LA Philharmonic’s The Handel Project Festival. Both programs are conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.
In this one-night only program, Haïm leads Le Concert d’Astrée in Rameau’s Suite from Dardanus. Rameau’s 1739 opera/ballet was so poorly received that the composer reworked the opera in 1744 and achieved no greater success. But this suite of music from his opera has.
The second act features Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day. This cantata from 1739 features parts for soprano and tenor. Elsa Benoit is the soprano and Eric Ferring is the tenor. The work runs approximately 49 minutes. It’s a gorgeous work that will be utterly captivating in concert.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
birthday birthday birthday – The Tank – New York, NY – March 27th – April 19th
In 2022, playwright Johnny G. Lloyd’s play Patience was part of Second Stage Theater’s Uptown Series which gives new playwrights an opportunity for exposure. The play received mixed reviews, but enough interest was shown to put Lloyd on the map for whatever he might have next.
Enter birthday, birthday, birthday which is having its world premiere at The Tank. Lloyd’s play explores the friendship between Marissa and Clark over the course of several decades. Besides being friends, they share a birthday and celebrate with a party each year – or at least they try to.
The premise strikes me as a clever variation of Same Time, Next Year but with friendship at its core. I believe Lloyd’s play could be a much more interesting examination of relationships. Will Steinberger directs.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
LE CONCERT D’ASTRÉE: The Triumph of Time and Disillusion – Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles, CA – March 27th
This week’s second concert of The Handel Project Festival features a performance of Handel’s first oratorio: The Triumph of Time and Disillusion. It had its first performances in 1707. But Handel wasn’t satisfied and reworked it over the course of 50 years.
It is a big work lasting nearly two hours and involves four singers. Once again the Le Concert d’Astrée is led by Emmanuelle Haïm. Soprano Elsa Benoit sings the role of Bellezza, countertenor Iestyn Davies sings the role of Disinganno, soprano Julia Lezhneva sings Piacere and tenor Petr Nekoranec sings Tempo.
Handel’s oratorio finds Disinganno and Tempo in a battle with Piacere for the soul of Bellezza. Let’s face it, those battles take time!
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY – The Music Box Theatre – New York, NY – March 27th – June 15th
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has been adapted by Kip Williams (who also directs) into a one-person show. Sarah Snook, best known for her role on Succession, takes on the task of bringing to life Wilde’s story of a young man who makes a deal to never age, but the portrait of himself that he so dearly loves gradually gets uglier and deteriorates with time.
Snook portrays 26 characters in this production that originated at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia. She, and the play, received rave reviews and continued to do so when the production played the West End in London. Snook won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
THE LISTENERS – Lyric Opera of Chicago – Chicago, IL – March 30th – April 11th
Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera Philadelphia co-commissioned this opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. It had its debut at Norwegian National Opera in 2022 and Philadelphia was home to the US premiere last year.
The Listeners centers on Claire, a teacher (Nicole Heaston), who is so disturbed by a hum she hears that her life falls apart. She feels like this is only happening to her. When she finds others who also hear the hum, she joins what can only be described as a cult that leads to a violent conclusion, but a newfound realization for Claire
Alex Ross, writing in The New Yorker called the composer’s score, “perhaps her most original work to date” with “sinuously songful vocal lines.”
I’ve long been a fan of Mazzoli and Vavrek and so wish I could be in Chicago to see this opera.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
That’s all for Best Bets: March 24th – March 30th. Enjoy your week and go see a show!
Main Photo: Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Photo ©Marc Brenner)