:: Philadelphia Events, Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs :: Philadelphia City Paper
Bookmark and Share
ARCHIVES . Articles

February 16-22, 2006

artpicks

Nightingale Calling

As with Le sacre du printemps, Igor Stravinsky's entrancing Solovei (The Nightingale) is usually called by its French title, Le rossignol, by which it first saw performance in Paris in 1914, under the auspices of impresario extraordinaire Sergei Diaghilev. The aesthetically revolutionary (if anti-Bolshevik) Russian composer co-crafted with Stepan Mitusov a winning libretto for this China-set "musical fairy tale" derived from Hans Christian Andersen's Danish-language original. (Talk about a multicultural text.) Led by conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the fine Curtis Symphony Orchestra traverses Stravinsky's fascinating little opera alongside selections from Sergei Prokofiev's stunning ballet suites Romeo and Juliet, first performed in 1938. In the high-flying title role, Stravinsky created one of the last great vehicles for coloratura sopranos; here the highly promising Israeli soprano Rinnat Moriah takes the acrobatically soaring part of the bird whose unaffected song brings happiness to all, from a simple fisherman in her native woods (tenor Dominic Armstrong) and an enterprising cook (Lishir Inbar) to the emperor of China (baritone Jonathan Beyer)—until she is threatened with replacement by a Japanese-made mechanical rival. (A striking recent DVD production starring Natalie Dessay ingeniously transformed Stravinsky's work into a protest against the dangers of dehumanizing globalization.) Given the Curtis Institute's high musical standards, these two 20th-century Russian masterpieces should guarantee a dazzling concert.

Le rossignol, Tue., Feb. 21, 8 p.m., $30 ($5 for students with ID), Curtis Opera Theatre at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-7902.

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there
Recent Comments
Web Exclusives
Daedelus
Mon., Feb. 22, 8 p.m., $10, with Nosaj Thing and Jogger, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com.
Fever Pitch
One Philly dance troupe lets imagination carry it to the farthest corners of reality.


search restaurants by name
search by neighborhood
Search
search by cuisine
title
theater

Search
search for:
within:   of  
more jobs
(use zip or city, state)
Search
"Great vision without great people is irrelevant."
—Jim Collins, Author,
"Good to Great"
In Partnership with JobCircle
start date / /  select date
end date / /  select date
category
keyword
Search Buy Concert Tickets
Category:
Keywords: Search

Search Real Estate

ALL | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN

or

LOCATION:

ADVERTISEMENT
Melissa Kosmicki on
CONCERT REVIEW: Janelle Monáe @ Johnny Brendas, 3/19
`She really is a star, and it was a privilege to see her in an intimate venue.` »
Mariette Berkshire on
MUSIC MADNESS: Win The Runaways soundtrack
`1. Jodie Foster and Scott Baio; Bugsy Malone 2. Floria Sigismondi 3. Welcome to the Rileys and Remember Me` »
Sirahaha on
The Fall Guy
`Thanks for writing this story. I hadn't heard anything about this violence until today. This is sad story for so many reasons. 1. The Asian American ` »
Frank on
4,671
`great story` »
charon rothmiller on
Night of the Animals: Part Three
`i feel the same way the lady feels, we have many cat feeders in my area and now that we are over run by raccoons they refuse to stop feeding the stray ` »
GODMAN ENZO ferrari, WE SAY JEWS ARE FRIENDS OF MUSLIMSBECAUSE HASRATH ALI WORKED WITH JEWS the holy quran with out rasool a khuda and his family, the book is only worth a car magzine on
SURPRISE!: Urban artists love Obama
`MY JIHAD IS FOR HUMANITY, ITS A JIHAD ON THE FAKE JIHADIS WHO HAVE NO RELIGION, HUMANITY IS THE FIRST RELIGION BECAUSE ADAM WAS EQUAL TO ANY PROPHET SO ` »