Tag: composer

An operatic portrait of Puccini…

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MUSIC AND DANCE NOTES
An operatic portrait of Puccini…
Posted Sunday, Aug. 07, 2005

By PAUL HORSLEY
The Kansas City Star

Even those with a casual acquaintance with opera have probably seen or heard something from Puccini’s “Tosca,” “Madama Butterfly” or “La Boheme.”

But you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone, even opera fans, who have seen the composer’s “Edgar” on the stage.

This week Kansas Citians will have a chance to see Puccini’s first completed opera, a youthful morsel with flashes of the greatness that would bloom in later verismo masterpieces.

At 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Folly Theater, the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City opens its 21st season with “Edgar.” Andy Anderson is conductor and stage director of this semi-staged production.

“It’s a love triangle. Actually it’s a love square,” Anderson said of the story. “Boy and girl are in love, but boy (Edgar) has loved another girl before that. And the girl has loved others, too.

Several others. It happens that the boy’s best friend, Frank, is in love with the girl he loved earlier.”

And on it goes. “It’s very Carmenesque,” Anderson said.

The musical language, he added, is that of the Wagner and Verdi that the young Puccini was hearing at the time.

“In a lot of ways, it’s the Puccini that we’ve come to know, with a twist.” The female lead sings in a florid bel canto style, he said, while the other characters are more in keeping with the later Puccini.

“The orchestra is thick and lush, like all his other operas,” Anderson said. This “Edgar” marks the inaugural collaboration between the Civic Opera Theater and the Civic Orchestra of Kansas City, which Anderson also directs.

The cast includes Robert Grady in the title role, Bruce Burstert as Frank, Megan King as Fidelia, Stacey Uthe-Stofferahn as Tigrana and Phil Etherton as Gualtiero, the father.

Tickets cost $18 ($15 for students and seniors, $10 for persons in groups of six or more). Call (816) 235-6222.

Civic Orchestra demonstrates passion for music

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By:Timothy McDonald, Sun Arts Writer April 15, 2004

Some people play music for a livelihood, some for a hobby. The members of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra play out of sheer passion for classical music.

The orchestra played recently in Yardley Hall, at the Carlsen Center of Johnson County Community College, in a program featuring music by Giacomo Puccini, Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms.

Founded in 1959, the Kansas City Civic Orchestra draws its membership from the entire Kansas City metropolitan area. While some performers are music teachers, most work in a variety of other fields, from insurance agent to TV weatherman.

The concert opened with the “Preludio Sinfonico” by Giacomo Puccini, a relatively unknown but lovely piece by the famous Italian opera composer. Many of Puccini’s signature traits were noticeable, especially the poignant and long-breathed romantic melodies.

Tiberius Klausner joined the orchestra for the “Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor” by German romantic composer Max Bruch. Klausner, a Johnson County resident, was the longtime concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra and professor emeritus at the UMKC Conservatory of Music.

Klausner performed with elegance and a highly attractive tone. The concerto’s central slow movement was particularly sensitive and lyrical, and the orchestra, under the direction of Andy Anderson, responded well to Klausner’s songlike approach.

The popular finale was dancelike and effervescent. Klausner managed the multiple stop passages deftly, and the orchestra, despite some tuning inconsistencies, performed admirably. The final work on the program was Johannes Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D Major.” The orchestra played the attractive opening movement with a sense of urgency and drama. Energetic playing and contrasting dynamics and tempos kept the third movement appealing.

The next concert by the Kansas City Civic Orchestra will take place at 7:30 p.m. May 16 at the Rose Theater of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City. The ensemble will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7” and Ralph Vaughn Williams “Tuba Concerto.” For more information, go to kccivic.org

©The Johnson County Sun 2004