From Romeo and Juliet as an opera to Romeo and Juliet as a ballet, 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:
Bartlett Sher’s production of Roméo et Juliette returns to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera March 7. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Gounod’s operatic adaptation of the Shakespeare play, with soprano Nadine Sierra as Juliette and tenor Benjamin Bernheim making his Met debut as Roméo. They are joined by mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as Stéphano, baritone Will Liverman as Mercutio, tenor Frederick Ballentine as Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti as Gertrude, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent. This marks a full-circle moment for Walker, who made his Met debut in 1998 in the same opera, playing the role of Grégorio.
Gounod is far from the only composer to have been inspired by Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet is a staple of both ballet companies and concert orchestras, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra will perform selections from it at Carnegie Hall March 9. The concert will also include Arvo Pärt’s Swansong, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, with soloist Daniil Trifonov. Lahav Shani will conduct.
Carnegie Hall will also host performances this week from baritone Justin Austin and pianist Howard Watkins (March 5), the Camerata Ireland with soprano Celine Byrne and flautist Eimear McGeown (March 5), the Hagen Quartet (March 6), and pianist Igor Levit (March 7).
Yannick Nézet-Séguin will pull double duty this week, as he will lead the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, one of three institutions, along with the Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra, of which he is the Music Director, in a concert at Carnegie Hall March 6. The concert will include Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Tony Siqi Yun, and the New York premiere of Cris Derksen’s Controlled Burn, with the composer on the cello.
More cello can be heard this week at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, as cellist Sol Gabetta joins conductor Elim Chan and the New York Philharmonic for Martinů’s Cello Concerto No. 1, March 7-9. The concert will also include a brand-new orchestral arrangement of Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s Pisachi (originally for string quartet), and Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic suite Scheherezade.
The Flamenco Festival is returning to New York City Center, beginning with the National Ballet of Spain. The company will perform Rubén Olmo’s Invocacion March 8-10.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s “Quartet Panorama” Winter Festival continues with performances by the Quartetto di Cremona and the Escher String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall. March 8, the Quartetto di Cremona will perform Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 8, Golijov’s Tenebrae for String Quartet, and Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Quartet. March 10, the Escher String Quartet will perform the complete cycle of six string quartets by Béla Bartók.
Make it a trio of quartets with the Castalian String Quartet performing at the 92nd Street Y March 8, with pianist Stephen Hough. The group will perform Hough’s own String Quartet No. 1, Haydn’s String Quartet No. 6, and Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor.
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