Gilbert and Sullivan Squared: What's Happening in Classic Arts This Week

From the English seaside to the Lower East Side, 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.

The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players will produce Utopia, Limited, Gilbert and Sullivan's rarely-seen penultimate opera, at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse April 18-19. One of Gilbert's most scathingly satirical libretti, Utopia, Limited takes on the topics of capitalism and imperialism, as the fictional island nation of Utopia invites six representatives from England to both Anglicize and incorporate them, with the result that the country, and every individual within it, becomes a Limited Liability Company. The opera, which premiered in 1893, was Gilbert and Sullivan's first collaboration in four years after they'd had a much-publicized falling out in 1889 during the production of The Gondoliers. Their highly anticipated reunion was greeted warmly upon its premiere, but is now rarely performed, as its large principal cast, technical demands, and complex plot make it a challenging feat for most companies. This will be NYGASP's first production of the work since 2010.

A little further uptown, the Blue Hill Troupe will produce Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore at El Museo del Barrio April 15-19. Following an inverse trajectory to Utopia, Limited, Ruddigore was considered something of a disappointment upon its premiere, and was never revived within the authors' lifetime. The opera gained in popularity throughout the 20th century, eventually earning its place as a repertory staple. Parodying the popular melodramas of the day, Ruddigore set in a seaside village in early 19th-century England, where a corps of professional bridesmaids are hurting for business, as all the eligible bachelors in town want to marry Rose Maybud. Rose is in love with the farmer Robin Oakapple, who is too shy to ask for her hand, so all are at a standstill. Complications ensue when it transpires that Robin is actually Sir Ruthvyn Murgatroyd, one of the cursed baronets of Ruddigore, who are compelled to commit one crime per day, or else perish in inconceivable agonies.

Queens College's Copland School of Music will present Kurt Weill's Street Scene April 16-19, at the college's Goldstein Theatre. Based on the play by Elmer Rice, and featuring a libretto by Rice and poet Langston Hughes, the opera takes place over the course of two days on the street in front of a New York City tenement, and depicts a slice of the lives of the people who live there. The opera premiered on Broadway in 1947, for which Weill won the first-ever Tony award for best original score.

On April 16 at Carnegie Hall, the American Symphony Orchestra will perform Carl Maria von Weber's landmark opera Der Freischütz in the version prepared by Hector Berlioz for the Paris Opera in 1841. The French version — appropriately titled Le Freischütz — replaces the opera's original spoken dialogue with recitatives, and, in accordance with the Paris Opera practice at the time, incorporates a ballet scene, which Berlioz arranged from Weber's "Invitation to the Dance." Leon Botstein will conduct the performance, which will feature soprano Nichole Chevalier as Agathe, tenor Freddie Ballentine as Max, bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Garpard, and soprano Cadie Bryan as Annette.

Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to New York City Center April 16-19 with John Taras' production of Stravinsky's Firebird. The revival of the 1982 ballet features sets and costumes by Geoffrey Holder, with Jeri Lynne Johnson and Tania León conducting the Gateways Festival Orchestra. The program will also feature works by William Forsythe, Jodie Gates, and DTH artistic director Robert Garland.

Franco Zeffirelli's classic production of Puccini's La Bohéme returns to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera April 13. Roberto Kalb and Karel Mark Chichon share conducting duties, leading two alternating casts including sopranos Angel Blue and Aleksandra Kurzak as Mimi, Heidi Stober and Amina Edris as Musetta, tenors Adam Smith and Long Long as Rodolfo, and baritones Davide Luciano and Anthony Clark Evans as Marcello. Meanwhile, Kaija Saariaho's Innocence also continues performances at the Met, following the opera's house premiere last week.

Violinist Karen Gomyo will join the New York Philharmonic April 15-18, performing Jean Sibelius' violin concerto in her NY Phil debut. Domingo Hindoyan will conduct the program, which also includes Dvořák's Symphony No. 7, and the New York premiere of Allison Loggins-Hull's Can You See?

Vocal ensemble Roomfull of Teeth will perform at the 92nd Street Y on April 19, joined by singer-songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahane, to present the New York premiere of Kahane's Elevator Songs. The 92nd Street Y will also host present this week Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing the second book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (April 15); and cellist Steven Isserlist and pianist Connie Shih performing works by Beethoven, Schumman, Kabalevsky, and Kapralova (April 18).

Violinist Johnny Gandelsman joins forces with choreographers John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, and Melissa Toogood to present Johnny Loves Johann at the Joyce Theater April 14-19. The choreographers will perform their own choreography to Gandelsman's folk-inspired interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's complete cello suites. Each choreographer has tackled one of the six suites, with the other two being collaborative efforts.

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