From Threepenny operas to three-hour ones, 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 American Symphony Orchestra will give a free performance in Bryant Park September 6, debuting its season there for the third year in a row. Leon Botstein will conduct the program, titled Beyond the Hall, exploring music from outside the traditional concert setting. Audiences will hear Leonard Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, Kurt Weill’s Little Threepenny Music, Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho Suite, Florence Price’s Suite of Dances, and the overture to Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha.
The newly-launched Manhattan People’s Opera Company will give its inaugural production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Grace & St. Paul’s Church September 7. Baritone Henry Horstmann stars as the titular character, with sopranos Amy Guarino, Rebecca Rutkovsky, and Alyssa Mener respectively as Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina, the three women who band together in vengeance against him.
If one Mozart opera isn’t enough for you, head downtown to Little Island, where performances of Anthony Roth Costanzo’s “90-minute remix” of The Marriage of Figaro continue, running through September 22, with an official opening September 5. The adaptation of Mozart’s opera, with arrangements by Dan Schlosberg, stars Costanzo in all the leading roles.
The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival concludes September 2 with a free screening of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Lincoln Center Plaza. Broadcast earlier this year as part of the Met’s Live in HD series, the performance of Anthony Minghella’s production stars soprano Asmik Grigorian and tenor Jonathan Tetelman.
September 8, Pianist Jeffrey Swann continues his series performing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas at BargeMusic with commentary. This week’s program is titled “Plumbing the Depths” and will feature the famous “Moonlight” and “Hammerklavier” sonatas, as well as the Sonata in D major, Op 10 No. 3.
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