Monday, June 09, 2025

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 19th 2025

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 25. “Vanya and Sonia have spent their lives in quiet sacrifice, caring for their family’s farmhouse while their glamorous sister, Masha, basks in movie stardom. When Masha returns home with her much younger boyfriend, Spike, chaos erupts. Old wounds are reopened, futures are uncertain, and hilarity ensues, all under the ominous predictions of their quirky housekeeper, Cassandra. Throw in a surprise costume party, voodoo dolls, and a charming young actress named Nina, and you’ve got a riotous weekend of family drama and unexpected romance.” Performances take place at the St. Peters Cultural Center in St. Peters, MO. For more information: www.acttwotheatre.com.

The Alpha Players present the musical Sister Act through May 25. “A feel-good musical comedy based on the hit 1992 film! When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in a convent. Disguised as a nun she finds herself at odds with the rigid lifestyle and an uptight Mother Superior. Using her disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community, but in doing so, blows her cover. Soon the murderous gang is giving chase but they are no match for Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood. Filled with powerful gospel music and outrageous dancing, Sister Act is a reason to rejoice!” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org/season.html.

The cast of Scream, Echo. Scream

Aquarian Rising Productions presents the world premiere of St. Louis playwright Summer Baer’s Scream, Echo. Scream Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm through May 24. “SCREAM, ECHO. SCREAM. follows four nymphs who gather every century in a hidden grove—a sacred space where time stands still. They honor the fallen spirits of their kind while confronting the impact of humanity's disregard of the planet. As they mourn and celebrate, they find their voices and channel them into a powerful reckoning with time, mortality, and identity. As their numbers dwindle and their lives reflect the state of the Earth, they are forced to ask: what will be left behind?.” Performances take place at Metro Theatre Company, 3311 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: www.eventbrite.com

The Black Rep presents Radio Golf by August Wilson through June 1 “The story of a real estate entrepreneur who is determined to become Pittsburgh's first black mayor, Radio Golf is August Wilson's 10th and final play in his American Century Cycle, covering 100 years of the Black experience in America. It is also the final work before Wilson's death in 2005. Set in the Hill District in the 1990s, Harmond and his business partner Roosevelt are golf enthusiasts with big plans for the neighborhood, and their future. But at what risk?” Performances take place at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA. For more information: www.theblackrep.org.

The Fabulous Fox presents &Juliet through June 1. “Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek,” this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. & Juliet asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Die Fledermaus by Johan Strauss II opening on Saturday, May 24, at 7:30 pm and running through June 28. “Prince Orlofsky is throwing the costume party of the century, and everyone is determined to be there. Dr. Falke invites his friend Eisenstein for a gentleman’s night out on the town. Little do they know that Eisenstein’s wife, Rosalinde, and her maid, Adele, each have their own mischievous plans. What starts as a harmless prank soon escalates into an epic battle of the sexes, filled with disguises, flirtations, and comedic deceptions. No matter how the evening ends, one thing is for sure — you can blame it on the champagne!” Performances are sung in English with projected English supertitles and take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University Campus. For more information: opera-stl.org.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive May 22 through June 1. “A fast-paced, comedic play that revolves around the chaos that ensues when a clueless and bumbling president finds himself in trouble. Set in the White House, the story follows seven women—staff members, advisors, and assistants—who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to manage the president’s blunders and crises. As they juggle political fallout, personal drama, and absurd situations, these women must hold it all together to keep the president and the country from falling apart. The play is both a satire of political power and a celebration of the women who often go unnoticed in leadership roles.” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Black Box Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: tesseracttheatreco.org.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.
To get your event listed here, send an email to chukl at pobox dot com. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills.

Sunday, May 11, 2025

St. Louis Theatre Calendar for the week of May 12, 2025

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm May 15 through 25. “Vanya and Sonia have spent their lives in quiet sacrifice, caring for their family’s farmhouse while their glamorous sister, Masha, basks in movie stardom. When Masha returns home with her much younger boyfriend, Spike, chaos erupts. Old wounds are reopened, futures are uncertain, and hilarity ensues, all under the ominous predictions of their quirky housekeeper, Cassandra. Throw in a surprise costume party, voodoo dolls, and a charming young actress named Nina, and you’ve got a riotous weekend of family drama and unexpected romance.” Performances take place at the St. Peters Cultural Center in St. Peters, MO. For more information: www.acttwotheatre.com.

The Alpha Players present the musical Sister Act May 16 through 25. “A feel-good musical comedy based on the hit 1992 film! When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in a convent. Disguised as a nun she finds herself at odds with the rigid lifestyle and an uptight Mother Superior. Using her disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community, but in doing so, blows her cover. Soon the murderous gang is giving chase but they are no match for Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood. Filled with powerful gospel music and outrageous dancing, Sister Act is a reason to rejoice!” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org/season.html.

The Black Rep presents Radio Golf by August Wilson May 14 through June 1 “The story of a real estate entrepreneur who is determined to become Pittsburgh's first black mayor, Radio Golf is August Wilson's 10th and final play in his American Century Cycle, covering 100 years of the Black experience in America. It is also the final work before Wilson's death in 2005. Set in the Hill District in the 1990s, Harmond and his business partner Roosevelt are golf enthusiasts with big plans for the neighborhood, and their future. But at what risk?” Performances take place at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA. For more information: www.theblackrep.org.

Tim Schall

The Blue Strawberry presents Sunday Standard Time with singer Tim Schall, pianist Joe Dreyer, and Willem Von Hombracht on bass on Sunday May 18, at 6 pm. “Join Tim, Joe and Willem in the lounge for a casual, classy Sunday evening of jazz standards, a little sophisticated pop and a dash of classic Broadway.”  The performance takes place in at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

First Run Theatre Playwright’s Workshop presents a reading of The Dybbuk of Brooklyn by David Margolis on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 pm. “This is a comedy about a man, Morrie Goldfeld, who wakes up one morning to find a dybbuk (Jewish phantom) in the shower with him. The audience can see and hear Max, but none of the other characters in the play know he’s there. Max is a humorous but abrasive apparition, who talks with a thick Jewish accent, reminiscent of Mel Brooks in the Two Thousand Year Old Man.” The reading takes place at Square One Brewery and Distillery in Lafayette Square. For more information: firstruntheatre.org.

Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder through May 18. “This is the knock-’em-dead, uproarious hit and the most-nominated show of the 2014 season with four Tony wins including Best Musical. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight, so what’s a guy to do? Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind….” Performances take place at The Reim Theatre in the Kirkwood Community Center. For more information, ktg-onstage.org

KTK Productions presents Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, through May 18. “This jukebox musical set during Labor Day weekend in 1960, following two best friends, Lois and Marge, at Esther’s Paradise Resort in the Catskills, where Lois tries to cheer up Marge after her fiancé leaves her at the altar, leading to mistaken identities, misdirected love, and hijinks.” Performances take place at the Saint John the Baptist Gymnasium, 4200 Delor Street in south St. Louis. For more information: kurtainkall.org.

The cast of Scream, Echo. Scream

Metro Theatre Company presents the world premiere of St. Louis playwright Summer Baer’s Scream, Echo. Scream Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm through May 24. “SCREAM, ECHO. SCREAM. follows four nymphs who gather every century in a hidden grove—a sacred space where time stands still. They honor the fallen spirits of their kind while confronting the impact of humanity's disregard of the planet. As they mourn and celebrate, they find their voices and channel them into a powerful reckoning with time, mortality, and identity. As their numbers dwindle and their lives reflect the state of the Earth, they are forced to ask: what will be left behind?.” Performances take place at Metro Theatre Company, 3311 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: www.eventbrite.com

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Lanford Wilson’s comedy The Hot L Baltimore Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, through May 17. Performances take place at the Guild theatre at 517 Theatre Lane, at the corner of Newport and Summit in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webstergrovestheatreguild.com.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.
To get your event listed here, send an email to chukl at pobox dot com. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills.

Symphony Review: A Peerless "Peer Gynt" closes the SLSO season

L-R: Caleb Mayo, Marya Lowry, Robert Walsh.
Photo by Tyler Small courtesy of the SLSO.

Last Saturday and Sunday (May 3 and 4), Stéphane Denève conducted the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus along with a brace of guest performers in the Concert Theatre Works production of Henrik Ibsen’s 1876 epic play/poem Peer Gynt. It was a big, entertaining, crowd-pleaser—words one wouldn’t typically associate with Peer Gynt.

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

Although popular in Norway, Ibsen’s elaborate five-act verse play about the globetrotting adventures of the feckless and self-absorbed Peer has not traveled as well as the great dramatist's other works. The incidental music by Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), on the other hand, has become an international favorite, thanks to the composer's ability to create appealing themes and paint vivid orchestral pictures to accompany the play's action.

For writer/actor/director Bill Barclay, the music was the starting point. “This new adaptation,” writes Barclay, “tries to tame the story while going back to the wilder incidental score, mining for fresh bits of Grieg you’ve probably not heard before.” In the process, he boiled down Ibsen’s five-hour original to a fast-paced two hours or so (including intermission) that makes the story line even more absurd than it was originally but preserves nearly all Grieg’s wonderful music. That’s a win as far as I’m concerned.

Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO.
Photo by Tyler Small courtesy of the SLSO.

One rarely, if ever, gets a chance to hear too much of the score, much less with a full symphony orchestra and the chorus. Their role is limited, but for the scenes in which they appear, essential. The Mountain King’s music in the first suite is always exciting, but to see it performed in its original context, with the singers, in their role as a gang of angry trolls out for Peer Gynt’s blood—“Slagt ham” (“Slaughter him”)—well, that adds a serious dose of menace you won’t get otherwise. Erin Freeman’s chorus can generally be counted upon for fine singing, but it’s less common to hear them engage in a bit of acting as well.

Speaking of which, several members of the chorus sang the smaller roles. They weren’t credited in the program, but an alert reader informed me that soprano Joy Boland was the singing voice of Anitra. If anyone else has some names, just leave a comment.

Up on the podium, Denève led the band in an equally dramatic performance of the orchestral score, some of which was being presented here for the first time. There was the usual fine playing of the many little solo bits in the score, including Kelly Lukic and Ann Choomack on piccolos in the storm and shipwreck music; oboists Jelena Dirks and Xiomara Mass in the famous “Morning Mood” sequence (a theme anticipated during the “Woman in Green” music, another bit of the score that never made it into the suites); and the horns under Associate Principal Thomas Jöstlein in pretty much everything.

I must also tip my hat to Principal Viola Beth Guterman Chu for her convincingly rustic playing of the first of the two “Halling” folk dance sequences in the “Prelude.” The second was taken by Nordic folk musician Vidar Skrede on a traditional Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, although I would have been just as happy to see Chu do both.

Vidar Skrede (L) with the cast of
Peer Gynt.
Photo by Tyler Small courtesy of the SLSO.

That brings me to the eight-member acting cast, all of whom wore the usual wireless body mics. Balancing them against the full orchestra could have been a bit dicey, but on the whole, it seemed to work, despite a somewhat noisy sound system and some issues with Peer Gynt’s mic, forcing actor Caleb Mayo to occasionally fiddle with it. Happily, it failed to spoil his spot-on portrayal of Peer’s insight-free self-absorption.

The whole cast did exemplary work, in fact. Robert Walsh was engaging as The Button Moulder who, in this version of the script, is a kind of omniscient narrator. Marya Lowry got her share of laughs early on as Peer’s mother Åse, but her death scene with Mayo was wonderfully touching. Risher Reddick’s Dovre King (Mountain King), a Bunraku-style puppet, was broadly comic—perhaps a little too much so at times.

Kourtney Adams was a sinuously seductive Anitra and Caroline Lawton a bawdy Woman in Green (a.k.a. the Dovre King’s daughter). Both also play multiple roles in the Ensemble, along with Daniel Berger-Jones. Will Lyman was the offstage voice of The Bøyg, an all-knowing gnome-like creature Ibsen imported from the fairy tale that formed the basis of his play.

Camilla Tilling as Solveig.
Photo by Tyler Small, courtesy of the SLSO.

There’s not much to the role of Solveig, the long-suffering “gal he left behind him,” but she does have a pair of beautiful songs toward the end of the play: “Solveig’s Song” (from Ibsen’s Act IV) and “Solveig’s Cradle Song,” sung to a dying Peer Gynt as the lights dim on the last scene. Soprano Camilla Tilling’s performances of both carried profound emotional impact. Her vocal technique was remarkable, most notably on that unforgiving pianissimo high A at the end of “Solveig’s Song.” She just floated up to it, seemingly effortlessly.

The SLSO program notes say that this Peer Gynt was “a new full-length adaptation for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,” which explains why the total show time was a little over two hours (including intermission) vs. the 105 minutes (also including intermission) described at the Concert Theatre Works web site. I’m not sure what was added, but I can say that the first act (Ibsen’s Acts I and II) held together much better than the second, which crams Ibsen’s Acts III through V into around an hour or thereabouts. Even considering that a lot of plot has been jettisoned, it still felt almost telegraphic in its brevity.

The chorus and orchestra curtain call.
The chorus sang in English and Norwegian.
Photo by Tyler Small courtesy of the SLSO.

That’s really a minor gripe, though. The evening was brisk, bright, and obviously great fun for the audience. As a finale for both the season and the SLSO’s tenure at Stifel Theatre, it was an excellent choice.

The regular SLSO season resumes in September with the traditional Forest Park concert followed by the opening weekend and the newly renovated Powell Hall on September 26th and 27th. Meanwhile post-season activity continues through June 9.  Check the SLSO web site for details.

Monday, May 05, 2025

Symphony Preview, May 4, 5: Incidentally speaking

Peer Gynt
Photo:: Robert Torres

This weekend, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) Music Director Stéphane Denève returns to conduct the orchestra, chorus, and soloists in the final concert of the season. There’s only one thing on the program: a rewritten serio-comic version of Henrik Ibsen’s 1876 epic play/poem “Peer Gynt” by writer/actor/director Bill Barclay using the original music by Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). First staged for the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2017 and then taken on the road, this “Peer Gynt” shrinks Ibsen’s five-hour, 40-scene spectacle down to just over two hours (including intermission) with eight actors taking on the play’s 21 roles.

Although popular in Norway, Ibsen’s elaborate five-act tragedy about the globetrotting adventures of a feckless young man who seems afflicted with terminal immaturity has not traveled as well as the great dramatist's other works. Grieg's incidental music, on the other hand, has become an international favorite, thanks to the composer's ability to create appealing themes and paint vivid orchestral pictures of the play's action.

Edvarg Grieg

Grieg wrote around 80 minutes of music for the play, but most concertgoers have heard only the eight pieces Grieg collected in his two suites. And even those have been reworked for concert purposes.

The popularity of the suites is hardly surprising, though. The full score, consisting of 26 numbers, wasn’t published until a year after the composer’s death, in an edition by Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen (1864–1935). To confuse things even more, the score was thought to be lost until 1986 or thereabouts. It was finally published by Edition Peters in 1988.

I haven’t been able to determine how many of those 26 numbers Barclay managed to include in his concert theatre version of the play, but I was able to locate a recording by Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra of what’s billed as the “Complete Play With Complete Incidental Music,” even though it runs less than two hours. But the “complete incidental music” part does appear to be correct, so I pulled all the musical numbers (including the ones that include dialog) and used them to create a new playlist on Spotify:

Yes, there are 27 tracks instead of 26. That’s because the recording breaks score No. 12—“The Death of Åse (Prelude to Act III”)—into two separate tracks. That’s understandable since the prelude music is repeated, pianissimo, as underscore for the scene in which Peer’s mother, Åse, actually dies. Since that scene is described in detail in Yvonne Frindle’s excellent program notes, I thought you might like to hear what it sounds like in performance, even if it is in Norwegian.

Listening to Greig’s complete score this way can be a revelation if your only prior experience to the music comes from the two suites. As much as I love them, I have to admit that they leave out a lot of worthy music, including the two brief appearances by the traditional Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (played this weekend by Nordic folk musician Vidar Skrede).

It's also a treat to hear the chorus adding genuine menace as a mob of trolls in the extended “Mountain King” sequence. And the small group of women chorus members singing the roles of the rude “Herd Girls” taunting Peer in Ibsen’s Act II should be fun.

Camilla Tilling
Photo: Maria Östlin

Greig wrote two lovely songs for Solveig (who inexplicably finds something loveable in the otherwise reprehensible Peer). “Solveig’s Song” is the only one that made it into the suite, and then only as an instrumental. This weekend you’ll be able to hear both it and the touching “Solveig’s Cradle Song” from Ibsen’s Act V, sung by Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling, who has substantial credits on both opera and concert stages.

There is much more to be said about Ibsen’s play, Grieg’s music, and the uneasy partnership between the two. Fortunately that’s all covered rather well in the SLSO program notes, so there’s no need for me to repeat it all here. The official Concert Theatre Works “Peer Gynt” web site also has some video sneak peeks which I highly recommend.

The Essentials: Music Director Stéphane Denève returns to conduct St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the regular season finale, “Peer Gynt.” Soprano Camilla Tilling sings the role of Solveig and Vidar Skrede plays the Hardanger fiddle. The production is written and directed by writer/actor/director Bill Barclay and includes most of the incidental music Greig wrote for the play. See the SLSO program notes for a complete list of credits. Performances are Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, May 2 and 3, at the Stifel Theatre.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 5th, 2025

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

The cast of Jacques Brel: The Impossible Dream
The Blue Strawberry presents Jacques Brel: The Impossible Dream, A Cabaret - Theater Show in French and English on Monday, May 5, at 7:00 pm. Designed and Directed by André Nerman, the show features André Nerman as Jacques Brel; Lucile, singer and actor; and Laurent Clergeau, piano, singer, actor. “Jacques Brel inspired an impassioned fan base in France and later around the world. He was the most popular and influential singer-songwriter in mid-century France, drawing massive crowds to his concerts. He often put down his guitar and sang unaccompanied, and sometimes acted his songs in spoken word. The theatrical nature of his concert performances inspired actor and singer André Nerman to put together this dazzling piece of cabaret theater.” The performance takes place in at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents singer Ben Jones in Temptation on Friday, May 9, at 7:30 pm. “Join award-winning vocalist Ben Jones and legendary pianist, composer and music director Ron Abel as they return to Blue Strawberry for an evening of side-splitting laughs and unbelievable music. Featuring the songs of Irving Berlin, Lesley Bricusse & Anthony Newley, Nat King Cole, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Nina Simone, Stephen Sondheim and more, Jones dazzles audiences with touching and hilarious renditions of your favorite songs of infatuation, obsession and temptation.” The performance takes place in at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The cast of the Sargent Conservatory
Senior Cabarets
The Blue Strawberry presents students from the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University performing their Senior Cabarets on Saturday, May 10, at 3:30 pm. The performances take place in at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle and is also available as a live video stream. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Contraband Theatre presents acclaimed Ozark storyteller Ursa Miles in Ozark Phantasmagoria. “The Ozarks in the 1930s is a strange and mystical place. As new dams are built and towns plunged underwater, cryptids that once hid in the woods and the rivers are forced into contact with humans. When Sarah Jane's brother is taken, it is the hills that will be her revenge. A benefit production for Contraband Theatre, tickets are pay what you wish $0 - $30 with $15 suggested.” The performance take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive in Clayton. For more information: www.contrabandtheatre.org.

i
The Fabulous Fox presents Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations May 9 through 11. “Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations is the electrifying, smash-hit Broadway musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and silky-smooth harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder May 9 through 18. “This is the knock-’em-dead, uproarious hit and the most-nominated show of the 2014 season with four Tony wins including Best Musical. When the low-born Monty Navarro finds out that he’s eighth in line for an earldom in the lofty D’Ysquith family, he figures his chances of outliving his predecessors are slight, so what’s a guy to do? Can he knock off his unsuspecting relatives without being caught and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? And what of love? Because murder isn’t the only thing on Monty’s mind….” Performances take place at The Reim Theatre in the Kirkwood Community Center. For more information, ktg-onstage.org

KTK Productions presents Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, May 9 through 18. “This jukebox musical set during Labor Day weekend in 1960, following two best friends, Lois and Marge, at Esther’s Paradise Resort in the Catskills, where Lois tries to cheer up Marge after her fiancé leaves her at the altar, leading to mistaken identities, misdirected love, and hijinks.” Performances take place at the Saint John the Baptist Gymnasium, 4200 Delor Street in south St. Louis. For more information: kurtainkall.org.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Our Songs on Saturday, May 10, at 7:30 pm. “Join Opera Theatre for a celebration of music and storytelling with this annual free concert. Our Songs features a different guest curator every year, giving artists the opportunity to honor the voices and influences most important to them. From classical music to folk songs to contemporary harmonies, this is a night where every voice has a place, and all are welcome.” The free performance takes place at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: opera-stl.org.

Stray Dog Theatre’s Stray Pups Youth Theatre presents Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, through May 11. “In a magical underwater kingdom, a young mermaid, Ariel, longs to leave her ocean home behind and live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, and convince Prince Eric that she's the girl whose enchanting voice he's been seeking.” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Lanford Wilson’s comedy The Hot L Baltimore Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, May 9 through 17.. Performances take place at the Guild theatre at 517 Theatre Lane, at the corner of Newport and Summit in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webstergrovestheatreguild.com.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.
To get your event listed here, send an email to chukl at pobox dot com. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills.

Sunday, April 13, 2025

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of April 14, 2025

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

First Run Theatre Playwright’s Workshop
presents An Evening of One-Acts on Monday, April 14, at 6:30 pm. The plays are Anna and Cody by Jason Sibert, Insight by Glenn Kerfoot, and Micha by Guy Selbert. The readings take place at Square One Brewery and Distillery in Lafayette Square. For more information: firstruntheatre.org.
Kimmie Kidd

The Midnight Company presents This Will Be: The Spirit and Soul of Natalie Cole featuring Kimmie Kidd, Christina Yancy and Dereis Lambert on Friday at 7:30 pm, 18. “Natalie Cole grew up privileged, the daughter of the former Maria Hawkins Ellington, a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Nat King Cole, the superstar singer and jazz pianist. Growing up in Beverly Hills, Cole referred to her family as “the black Kennedys.” She was only 15 when her father died, and the shock and grief over his passing stayed with her and severely impacted her life. Her story will be told by a cast of 3. Kimmie Kidd will present the public Natalie, and then be the lead voice for most of the music. Christina Yancy will represent the private Natalie. And Dereis Lambert will be Nat King Cole, a force in Natalie’s life even after he was gone. Christina and Dereis will provide additional voices for the songs in the show.” The performances take place at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

With
Photo by Patrick Huber
St. Louis Actors' Studio (STLAS) presents With by Carter W. Lewis Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through April 20. “Clifford and Minnie devolve into a world of humorous, but ultimately heartbreaking minutiae as they navigate a blizzard, a dead son, a rat in the kitchen and worse; their enduring love fuels them through an obstacle course of each day’s events. We are quite fortunate to have Carter Lewis, who until recently was the playwright-in-residence at Washington University, living here in St. Louis. Two of Carter’s plays have been previously featured in our LaBute one-act festival and now we present his heart felt, full length play.” Performance take place at the Gaslight Theatre on North Boyle. For more information: stlas.org.

The Stifel Theatre presents the musical The Addams Family on Thursday, April 17, at 7:30 pm. “On the heels of Wednesday, the 3rd most-watched show on Netflix of all time, Big League Productions, Inc. presents THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a devilishly delightful musical comedy based on the bizarre and beloved characters by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams.” The Stifel Theatre is at 1400 Market, downtown. For more information: www.stifeltheatre.com.

Rock of Ages
Photo: John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical Rock of Ages Thursdays through Saturdays at 8, through April 26, with an additional performances at 2 pm on Sunday April 13. “Big bands, big egos, big guitar solos…and even bigger hair! Rock of Ages tells the story of a small-town girl, a city boy, and a rock ‘n’ roll romance on the Sunset Strip. But when the bar where rock reigns supreme is set to be demolished, it’s up to these wannabe stars and their band of friends to save the day. Get ready to rock all night to hits from the famous glam metal bands of the '80s. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Europe, and more.” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

Joan Lipkin and That Uppity Theatre Company in collaboration with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment and the Arts & Climate Initiative present Plays for the Planet, a free one hour program of staged readings of short plays addressing environmental issues on April 17. The first performance will be at noon at the High Low, 3301 Washington Ave, and the program will be repeated that evening at 7:30 PM at Metro Theatre, in their rehearsal space at 3311 Washington Ave. For more information: moenvironment.org.

Meet Me at Dawn
Upstream Theater presents Meet Me at Dawn by Zinnie Harris, April 13 through 27. “Two women wash up on a distant shore following a boating accident. Dazed by their experience, they look for a path home. But they discover that this unfamiliar land is not what it seems — and that, though they may be together, they have never been further apart. A deeply moving, lyrical meditation inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.” Performances take place at The Marcelle in Grand Center. For more information: www.upstreamtheater.org.

The Washington University Theatre Department presents the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, April 17 through 20. “It's time for the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and six contestants are poised to out-spell the rest. These six adolescents are the brightest and best, and the only thing they fear is the "ding" of the bell...and maybe some other things too. With four audience participant spots to fill, you might even get the chance to prove yourself as Putnam County's champion speller. ” Performances take place in the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu/events.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.
To get your event listed here, send an email to chukl at pobox dot com. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Symphony Preview: Big Time

This weekend, April 11–13, popular guest conductor John Storgårds leads the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and violinist Francesca Dego in a pair of big works by big names in the world of late 19th/early 20th century music.

Lemminkäinen and the Fiery Eagle by Robert Wilhelm Ekman,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The concerts open with the Violin Concerto, Op. 77, by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). The first performance was on New Year’s Day 1879 with the composer conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, but the humble acorn that would grow into this imposing symphonic oak was planted way back in 1853, when the Hungarian violinist Eduard (Ede) Reményi  found himself in need of a substitute for his ailing accompanist. Auguste Böhm, whose music shop was across the street from Reményi’s Hamburg hotel, recommended Brahms, whom he described as “a worthy young man, a good musician, and very devoted to his family.”

Reményi was immediately impressed with Brahms. “He had scarcely touched the piano,” Reményi recalled, “before I found that he was a far better musician than my previous accompanist.” He asked Brahms to play one of his own sonatas and was “electrified and sat in mute amazement. I could not help making the involuntary remark, ‘My dear Brahms, you are a genius!’”

During a concert tour later that year, Reményi introduced Brahms to the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim, who was equally impressed. “My only companion here,” he wrote to his brother Heinrich, “is now a young Hamburger [sic] named Brahms, a 20-year-old powerful talent in composition and piano playing, the good fortune of wresting which from the darkness is mine.” Thus began a friendship that would last until the composer’s death in 1897.

Eduard (Ede) Reményi 

A hop into the TARDIS takes us to 1877 and we see a Brahms who has not only retained the creativity that so impressed Reményi and Joachim but also added to it a substantial toolbox of compositional techniques. The struggling young musician was now an established figure on the music scene, and with his critically praised (and long overdue) Symphony No. 1 behind him, he was ready to tackle his first violin concerto.

Naturally, he turned to his old friend Joachim for assistance. Brahms was, first and foremost, a pianist and was not especially comfortable writing for the violin. Joachim, on the other hand, was one of the most celebrated violinists of his time. Carried on entirely by mail, the collaboration was fraught with difficulty, as Jan Swafford wrote in program notes for the Boston Symphony:

As they worked, what usually happened was that Brahms would give Joachim a passage, the violinist would revise it, Brahms would throw out the revisions and come up with a third version, which might or might not work to Joachim’s satisfaction, and negotiations would begin again. When Joachim seemed to be slacking, Brahms threatened to find a more “severe” critic, then blithely continued to discard suggestions. Both men kept at it with dogged determination, both determined that this was going to be a great concerto.

Which it is. Although superficially in the standard concert format of the time—dramatic first and third movements separated by a lyrical second—the harmonic and emotional scope of the concerto gives it a truly symphonic feel. Yes, it’s technically demanding—violinist and conductor Joshua Weilerstein describes it as “one of the Mount Everests for violinists”—but not in the showy way that calls attention to the soloist.

Brahms, c. 1872

In fact, some of the most demanding sections (like the beginning of the third movement) sound less difficult than they actually are—pretty much the opposite of what some of the more famous virtuosi of the time would have preferred. “I don’t deny that it’s fairly good music,” complained the Spanish violinist/composer Pablo de Sarasate, “but does anyone imagine […] that I’m going to stand on the rostrum, violin in hand, and listen to the oboe playing the only tune in the adagio?”

So why do violinists keep performing and recording it? Probably for the same reason that mountaineers keep returning to the real Mt. Everest—because the exhilaration is worth the effort. There are so many ways a performer can put their own stamp on this complex and many-layered work while still staying true to the composer’s intentions. “When I program the Brahms Violin Concerto,” says Weilerstein, “I know I’m not in for just a simple accompanying job—it is a piece that requires thought, understanding, and total commitment from every person on the stage. It deserves absolutely nothing less than that!”

What will this weekend’s soloist bring to the table? Fortunately, Dego recorded the work just last year for the Chandos label, and that’s the version the SLSO has on their Spotify playlist this week. Think of it as a sneak preview:

Dego, by the way, is a substitute (although not a last-minute one, happily) for the originally scheduled Christian Tetzlaff. The story behind that change is an interesting one but as its relevance is a bit tangential, I’ll refer you to my commentary on St. Louis Arts Scene.

The second half of the concerts is dedicated entirely to the Lemminkäinen Suite (Four Legends from the Kalevala), Op. 22 by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The composer’s original plan was for an epic operatic cycle based on Finnish mythology—something along the lines of Wagner’s “Ring.” Titled The Building of the Boat (Veneen luominen), the opera was abandoned after just over a year (July 1893 to August 1894) and the musical ideas repurposed for subsequent compositions, including the Op. 15 symphonic poem The Wood Nymph and the Lemminkäinen Suite. That’s probably just as well; given that Sibelius never tried to write another opera, The Building of the Boat would probably have sunk without a trace.

The suite went missing for a while as it was. After performances in 1896 and 1897, Sibelius withdrew the first and third sections from performance, despite good reviews and a positive public response. The suite didn’t appear in its final form until 1939 and wasn’t published until 1954, which explains in part why it’s still far from being one of his more popular compositions. This weekend will mark the first time the SLSO has ever played the entire suite.

So, who is this Lemminkäinen, anyway? The short answer is that he’s a heroic but flawed mythical character—an amalgam of Siegfried and Don Juan born of Lempi, the goddess of love and fertility. His story, among many others, is related in the Kalevala, a compilation of ancient Finnish ballads collected by folklorist Elias Lönnrot (1802–1884) and published by him in 1834 and 1850. At a time when Finland was struggling to free itself from Russian occupation (the country gained independence in 1919), the Kalevala served as a source of nationalist inspiration.

The Lemminkäinen Suite is based very freely on three runes from the full collection of fifty. Rune 29 is the source of the first movement, “Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island” (“Lemminkäinen ja Saaren neidot”). For many years it was (and still is in some circles) called “Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari,” presumably because the Breitkopf and Härtel score treats “saari” as a proper name rather than the Finnish common noun for “island.” Translation is a tricky business.

Sibelius in 1890
Photo: Paul Hacksher

Either way, the story describes how our hero beats a hasty retreat via boat from the island of Pohjola, where he has made himself persona non grata by decapitating his host in battle (beer and weapons being a bad combination). He fetches up on the Isle of Refuge, where his magical singing and good looks charm the local maidens. Eventually he becomes homesick and sails away, but not until he has done his share of carousing and wooing.

There’s more to it than that, but Sibelius isn’t trying to tell a story à la Richard Strauss but rather to convey the main emotional themes of the original poem. The movement opens with horn calls and quivering passages in the violins suggesting the ocean and a misty beach. Soon a drone in the lower strings leads to a rustic dance and cheerful tunes in the woodwinds. It all builds to a romantic climax dominated by the horns and brasses (a reminder that Sibelius had a touch of Wagner Fever at the time), then fades back to the misty ocean music as Lemminkäinen takes his leave.

If this were a movie the camera would focus on the water, which would then gradually change from sparkling ocean waves to a dark, glassy river. It’s the river that separates the world of the living from Tuonela, the land of the dead. Floating on it (yet seemingly immune to the river’s current) is an immortal swan depicted in the second movement, “The Swan of Tuonela” (“Tuonelan Joutsen”). The English horn, in one of the instrument’s more famous solos, sings the swan’s lament over strings divisi (eight violin lines, two each for violas and cellos, and one for the basses), conjuring up visions of the dark, ominous waters. This would have been the prelude for Sibelius’s opera and is still the most frequently heard of the suite’s four sections.

In the third movement, “Lemminkäinen in Tuonela” (“Lemminkäinen Tuonelasaa”), we’ve gone back in time to runes 14 and 15 wherein Lemminkäinen must, as a condition for marrying the daughter of Louhi, mistress of Pohjola, complete three tasks. One of them is to kill the swan of Tuonela with a single crossbow bolt. Alas, the swan has a protector (“Nasshut, blind and crippled shepherd”) who “sends a serpent, / Like an arrow from a crossbow, / To the heart of Lemminkainen, / Through the vitals of the hero” (translation by John Martin Crawford). Lemminkäinen’s body is tossed into the river and chopped up into five pieces. But his story is far from over, as his mother uses a mystic rake to collect the pieces and magically reassemble them.

This is as close as Sibelius gets to literal tone painting, beginning with ominous and threatening tremolos in the strings and slowly building to a massive outburst of musical violence as Lemminkäinen and killed. In a theme that rapidly descends through the entire orchestra, his body is tossed into the river, and the mood turns into one of mourning as the hero’s mother removes the body parts for some magical surgery.

You might think the final movement, “Lemminkäinen's Return” (“Lemminkäinen palaa kotitienoille”) is about his return from Tuonela, but according to a preface in the score, it’s a depiction of his heroic return to his homeland at the end of his many adventures. Certainly the music is thrilling as it gallops along, gradually gaining more and more strength until finally bursting into a bright E-flat major finale with exultant horns, brasses, and percussion.

The character’s final scene in rune 30 of the Kalevala is much more subdued—more on the order of Gandalf’s departure to the Grey Havens—but Sibelius clearly wanted something more triumphant as a finale. The sense of celebration and victory in the face of overwhelming odds makes for a rousing conclusion.

The Essentials: John Storgårds conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’s Violin Concerto, Op. 77, with soloist Francesca Dego. Also on the program: the complete Lemminkäinen Suite (Four Legends from the Kalevala), Op. 22 by Jean Sibelius. Performances take place Friday at 10:30 am, Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm, April 11–13 at the Touhill Center. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of April 7, 2025

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

Meghan Kirk

The Blue Strawberry
presents Once Upon a Song with singer Meghan Kirk and pianist/music director Ron McGowan on Sunday April 13 at 6 pm. “Step into a world of melody and memory as Meghan Kirk revisits the songs that have been part of her life for the last 20 years. Once Upon a Song is a musical time capsule, unearthing treasured tunes from the Great American Songbook to the timeless hits of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.” The performance takes place in lounge at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

First Run Theatre presents its 22nd Annual Staged Reading Festival Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13. “Help us to choose our season of Mainstage productions. First Run will present four free staged readings of scripts under consideration for our July/August and November productions at the Kranzberg Black Box. Please join us for these readings and give us your feedback on them. Your opinions count for a lot in our decisions of what plays to produce.” The readings take place at The Chapel Sanctuary for the Arts, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: firstruntheatre.org

The Midnight Company presents This Will Be: The Spirit and Soul of Natalie Cole featuring Kimmie Kidd, Christina Yancy and Dereis Lambert on Friday at 7:30 pm, April 11 and 18. “Natalie Cole grew up privileged, the daughter of the former Maria Hawkins Ellington, a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Nat King Cole, the superstar singer and jazz pianist. Growing up in Beverly Hills, Cole referred to her family as “the black Kennedys.” She was only 15 when her father died, and the shock and grief over his passing stayed with her and severely impacted her life. Her story will be told by a cast of 3. Kimmie Kidd will present the public Natalie, and then be the lead voice for most of the music. Christina Yancy will represent the private Natalie. And Dereis Lambert will be Nat King Cole, a force in Natalie’s life even after he was gone. Christina and Dereis will provide additional voices for the songs in the show.” The performances take place at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

Cabaret
Photo: Jon Gitchoff

New Jewish Theatre
presents the musical Cabaret Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 4 and 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through April 13. “In a Berlin nightclub, as the 1920s draw to a close, an intriguing Master of Ceremonies welcomes the audience and assures them they will forget all their troubles at the Cabaret. Cliff, a young American writer newly arrived in Berlin, is immediately taken with English singer Sally Bowles. Meanwhile, Fräulein Schneider, proprietor of Cliff and Sally’s boarding house, tentatively begins a romance with Herr Schultz, a mild-mannered fruit seller who happens to be Jewish. Daring, provocative and exuberantly entertaining, Cabaret explores the dark and heady life of Bohemian Berlin as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich.  Winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Composer/Lyricist.” Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com

Sherwood
Photo: Jon Gitchoff

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
presents Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood through April 13. “Join the Merry Rebellion! Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood is a riotous romp through the enchanted forest, where Robin and his lively band of outlaws plot to outwit a greedy prince. Filled with daring escapades, mischievous humor, and a dash of romance, this timeless tale of justice and camaraderie is a swashbuckling adventure the whole family will cheer for!” Performances take on the main stage of the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.org.

St. Louis Actors' Studio (STLAS) presents With by Carter W. Lewis Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through April 20. “Clifford and Minnie devolve into a world of humorous, but ultimately heartbreaking minutiae as they navigate a blizzard, a dead son, a rat in the kitchen and worse; their enduring love fuels them through an obstacle course of each day’s events. We are quite fortunate to have Carter Lewis, who until recently was the playwright-in-residence at Washington University, living here in St. Louis. Two of Carter’s plays have been previously featured in our LaBute one-act festival and now we present his heart felt, full length play.” Performance take place at the Gaslight Theatre on North Boyle. For more information: stlas.org.

Rock of Ages
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre
presents the musical Rock of Ages Thursdays through Saturdays at 8, through April 26, with an additional performances at 2 pm on Sunday April 13. “Big bands, big egos, big guitar solos…and even bigger hair! Rock of Ages tells the story of a small-town girl, a city boy, and a rock ‘n’ roll romance on the Sunset Strip. But when the bar where rock reigns supreme is set to be demolished, it’s up to these wannabe stars and their band of friends to save the day. Get ready to rock all night to hits from the famous glam metal bands of the '80s. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Europe, and more.” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

Take Two Productions presents the rock musical Rent throgh April 12. “Based loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, Jonathan Larson's Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.” Performances take place in Johnson Hall at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.taketwoproductions.org.

Meet Me at Dawn

Upstream Theater
presents Meet Me at Dawn by Zinnie Harris, April 13 through 27. “Two women wash up on a distant shore following a boating accident. Dazed by their experience, they look for a path home. But they discover that this unfamiliar land is not what it seems — and that, though they may be together, they have never been further apart. A deeply moving, lyrical meditation inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.” Performances take place at The Marcelle in Grand Center. For more information: www.upstreamtheater.org.

West End Players Guild presents At the Wedding by Bryna Turner through April 13. “You are cordially invited to the best day of someone else’s life…But what if it’s also the worst day of yours?” Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union in the Central West End. For more information: westendplayers.org.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.
To get your event listed here, send an email to chukl at pobox dot com. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills.

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Symphony Preview: Preludes and Illuminations

 This Friday and Sunday (March 28 and 30), Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) in “lyrical daydreams,” a program of music with poetic roots (most of them French), including two major song cycles.

Léon Bask’s original set for L’après-midi d’un faune

The concerts open and close with works that have the word “prelude” in their titles but not much in common otherwise: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune ("Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun") by Claude Debussy (1862–1918) and Les Préludes by Franz Liszt (1811–1886). Debussy’s is the curtain raiser, so let’s start there, with a somewhat revised version of notes I originally wrote over a decade ago.

First performed in 1894, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was inspired by an elliptically erotic 1876 poem by Stephane Mallarmé, whom Debussy greatly admired. "The poem's languorous sensuality is subtly shaded," wrote Boston Symphony music librarian Marshall Burlingame for Leonard Slatkin’s 1982 recording with the SLSO, "as the faun's conscious observation of two nymphs in the sunlight drifts into erotic fantasy." Mallarmé apparently agreed. "I have just come out of the concert deeply moved," he wrote to the composer. "I press your hand admiringly, Debussy."

In Debussy's music, the faun is personified by the flute. Indeed, the opening flute solo is probably one of the best-known moments in the classical repertoire. It's haunting and dreamy, and it expertly conjures up the voluptuous, summery world of the poem. Former SLSO Principal Flute Mark Sparks called the work “revolutionary," noting that Debussy “owns the idea of what happens harmonically: ambiguity, consciously taking the traditional Germanic sense, Wagner especially, and throwing it out the window."

On stage, the faun would be personified by the famous dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky who, in 1912, turned Debussy’s work into a ballet for the Ballets Russes. Nijinsky cast himself as the faun in the piece, now titled simply L’après-midi d’un faune, and raised some eyebrows with his sexually suggestive performance.

A year later he would raise more than eyebrows with the Ballets Russes premiere of Stravinsky’s Les Sacre du Printemps the following year. But that’s another story.

Up next the 1939 song cycle Les Illuminations, Op. 18, by Benjamin Britten (1913–1976).  Begun in Suffolk but completed during a brief period of self-imposed exile in the USA, Les Illuminations consists of ten brief settings (the longest runs around four minutes) of wildly imaginative poems by the eccentric French writer Arthur Rimbaud, a remarkable character who lived fast, died young (age 37), and produced his entire literary output before the age of 20. Possibly written under the mind-altering influences of absinthe and hashish, the poems present a succession of surrealistic pictures, culminating in a somewhat nightmarish parade. 

Like Mallarmé, Rimbaud was part of the Symbolist movement, which maintained that truth should be suggested rather than shown. Rimbaud, in particular, advocated for a “systematic derangement of the senses” which anticipates the psychedelic 1960s by a century.

To pick just one example, here’s the opening sentence of No. 7, “Being Beauteous”: “Devant une neige un Être de Beauté de haute taille. Des sifflements de mort et des cercles de musique sourde font monter, s’élargir et trembler comme un spectre ce corps adoré: des blessures écarlates et noires éclatent dans les chairs superbes.” (“Against snow, a Being of Beauty of heightened size. The hissing of death and circles of muted music make this adored body rise, enlarge and tremble like a specter: wounds of scarlet and black burst in the superb flesh.” Translation by singer Julia Bullock). Other movements tell of chalets of crystal and wood moving on invisible pullies and rails or master jugglers who use “magnetic comedy.”

In program notes for the last SLSO performance of Les Illuminations in 2014, Yvonne Frindle suggested that Rimbaud’s bizarre visions “might seem an unlikely source of interest for a British composer,” especially one who loved British folk songs as much as Britten. But the composer’s fascination with French poetry goes all the way back to his adolescence. His Quatre Chansons Françaises, composed at the age of 14, included a poem by Paul Verlaine, and it’s not particularly surprising that a young gay man growing up in the repressive atmosphere of rural England would have identified with Verlaine and his relationship with Rimbaud (for whom Verlaine abandoned his wife and child). As Neil Powell writes in his 2013 biography of Britten, that relationship “would have acquired a special resonance for him,” given the composer’s own involvement with Karl Hermann “Wulff” Scherchen, his first romantic interest.

Although originally written for soprano (specifically for Britten’s friend Sophie Wyss), Les Illuminations is often performed by a tenor. In fact, Britten's life partner (the great English tenor Peter Pears), made what might be the definitive recording of it with the composer conducting the English Chamber Orchestra. And, in fact, this weekend’s soloist will be Michael Spyres who is that rare vocal bird, a baritenor: a singer who can work comfortably in both the tenor and baritone rangers. Those of you fortunate enough to have seen him in the SLSOs Damnation of Faust in 2023 will no doubt recall the power and authority of his voice.

After intermission, it’s another song cycle that has been embraced by both male and female singers: Lieder eines fahrender Gesellen (usually translated as “Songs of a Wayfarer,” although I think “Songs of a Wanderer” might be better) by Gustav Mahler (1860–1911). Written from the POV of a young man grieving for his lost love, the four songs have texts credited to the composer. It was only after his death that scholars discovered that the first one—"Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht" ("When My Sweetheart is Married")—is actually a setting of the first two stanzas of the folk poem “Wenn mein Schatz” from Das Knaben Wunderhorn (“Youth’s Magic Horn”). Mahler would later set many other poems from that collection to music.

In any case, the biographical context of Lieder eines fahrender Gesellen is well documented. In letters to his friend, the archeologist Friederich Lohr, Mahler confided that the inspiration for the Gesellen songs was the disintegration of his affair with singer Johanna Richter when the composer was the Königligher Musikdirektor (Royal Musical Director) in the small central German town of Kassel. “Like all those he had already succumbed to,” writes Henry-Louis de La Grange, “it was stormy affair, and one which was overshadowed by the fear of scandal which, in a provincial theatre, would have no doubt been detrimental to both.” The songs also reflect the composer’s love of nature and the outdoors, most notably in the second song, “Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld” (“I went out this morning into the fields”).

Lieder eines fahrender Gesellen is written for “medium voice,” which usually means either a mezzo-soprano or a baritone. It was a signature work for the noted baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, for example, and the recording in the SLSO’s Spotify playlist features the legendary American mezzo Frederica von Stade.

Parts of the vocal line push the high end of the baritone voice, which should make it an excellent match for Spyres. It will be interesting to see what he does with this music. And if some of that music sounds familiar, by the way, it would be because Mahler re-used a few of the work’s themes in both his First and Fourth symphonies. Waste not, want not.

Finally, we have Liszt’s Les Préludes, perhaps the most famous of his thirteen symphonic poems. Originally intended to be the overture for Les quatre elements (“The Four Elements”), a work for male chorus and piano based on poems by Joseph Autran, Les Préludes wound up taking on a life of its own and a different source of poetic inspiration: an ode of the same title from Nouvelles méditations poétiques by Alphonse de Lamartine. As Liszt wrote in a preface to the score: “Notre vie est-elle autre chose qu'une série de Préludes à ce chant inconnu dont la mort entonne la première et solennelle note?” (“What else is our life but a series of preludes to that unknown Hymn, the first and solemn note—of which is intoned by Death?”).

Les Préludes is, in any case, a work that takes us through the mortal storm of love, conflict, and final triumph. Which seems only appropriate for this moment in history. 

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloist Michael Spyres in music by Debussy, Britten, Mahler, and Liszt Friday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, March 28 and 30. Performances take place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. A recording of the Friday evening performance will be broadcast Saturday at 7:30 pm on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3 and will be available for streaming late the following week at the SLSO web site.