From Arvo Pärt to the Abbé Prévost, 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.
New York City Ballet will premiere the latest new work by Alexei Ratmansky February 4, with five additional performances February 6, 7, 8, 24, and 25. The new piece is Ratmansky's third ballet created for the company as artist in residence. Titled The Naked King, it is based on Jean Françaix’s fairy-tale ballet Le roi nu, which tells the story of Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes. The Naked King will be performed as part of an all-contemporary ballet program, alongside Christopher Wheeldon's This Bitter Earth; and Dig the Say and Everywhere We Go, both by Justin Peck.
The Budapest Festival Orchestra will give two concerts at Carnegie Hall this week. On February 6, violinist Maxim Vengerov will join the orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, in a program also featuring Brahms' Symphony No. 2, and Arvo Pärt's Summa, as part of a celebration of the composer's 90th birthday. On February 7, the orchestra will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 3, with mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger, the Trebles of Westminster Symphonic Choir, and the Young People's Chorus of New York City. Both concerts will be conducted by the Budapest Festival Orchestra's Music Director Iván Fischer.
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra will perform an all-American program at Carnegie Hall February 4, including a performance of Leonard Bernstein's ballet Fancy Free, the composer's first collaboration with choreographer Jerome Robbins, and the precursor to their 1944 musical On The Town. Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard will also join the orchestra to perform Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
Tenor Freddie Ballentine will give a recital at the 92nd Street Y February 3 with pianist Kunal Lahiry. The recital, titled Our People, will explore Black and LGBTQ experiences in a program featuring traditional spirituals, classical arias and art songs, and modern popular songs.
The Wendy Osserman Dance Company presents Echo Glass at St. Mark's Church February 5-7. Based on a series of compositions for vocal quartet by Concetta Abbate, Echo Glass is choreographed by Wendy Osserman in collaboration with dancers Cori Kresge and Huiwang Zhang. The score will be sung by Abbate, in collaboration with vocalists Jimmy Kraft, Judette Elliston, and Damon Hankoff.
Heartbeat Opera's new English adaptation of Jules Massenet's Manon, titled Manon!, continues at The Space at Irondale, now extended through February 15. Written by Jacob Ashworth and Rory Pelsue, the musical theatre-infused adaptation includes new musical arrangements by Dan Schlosberg, and features a cast of Broadway and opera crossover artists, including Emma Grimsley as Manon, Matt Dengler as the Chevalier de Grieux, Jamari Darling as Lescaut, and Justin Lee Miller as the Comte de Grieux.
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