Review: The fourth concert in the St. Louis Symphony digital series rides the night train

With smaller, physically distanced audiences and other health protocols, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) has returned to live concerts in Powell Hall. At the same time, they’re releasing high-quality videos of their fall 2020 concerts, recorded live in Powell Hall.

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

The sextet from "Capriccio"

Streaming on demand through April 24th, “Night Music” (the fourth concert in their digital series) takes you on a one-hour trip from a cozy sunset chat to a ghostly nocturnal vigil, to a dark night of guilt and regret transfigured by love into bright moonlight.

All this is accomplished with a pair of string sextets by Richard Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg, bracketing a work for solo violin and electronics by contemporary American composer Missy Mazzoli.

It all starts with the sextet that opens Richard Strauss's 1942 opera "Capriccio." It is, as SLSO cellist Bjorn Ranheim observes in his introduction, “a gorgeous piece of music with rich harmonies, like a gentle conversation between the different instruments.” You can hear that in the expertly played and well-balanced performance of Mr. Ranheim and his fellow musicians Hannah Ji and Erin Schreiber on violins, Leonid Plashinov-Johnson and Beth Guterman Chu on violas, and cellist Melissa Brooks.

Thanks to expert camera work, you can also see it in the way the players communicate with each other with their eyes, bodies, and of course, their instruments. The close-ups of the impassioned playing of Ms. Ji and Mr. Leonid Plashinov-Johnson in the turbulent central section were especially effective.

Up next is Ms. Mizzoli’s five-minute “Vespers” for violin and recorded sound, performed by SLSO second violinist Shawn Weil. The backing track includes recordings of Mr. Weil’s violin along with spectral voices and electronic drones that conjure up images of ancient cloisters and ghostly choirs.

Shawn Weil performs "Vespers"

In a virtually empty Powell Hall, this must have raised goosebumps. As it is, I found Mr. Weil’s masterful performance darned eerie even in my living room. A video pan of the hall’s immense ceiling and the empty upper balcony seats emphasized the sense of vast musical space that surrounds this work.

The second half of the concert is taken up with Schoenberg’s 1899 tone poem "Verklärte Nacht" (“Transfigured Night”), performed by the same sextet of players as the Strauss work that opens the concert.

Written when the young composer was still trying to find his own musical voice, “"Verklärte Nacht" is based on  the 1896 poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel about a women who confesses to her lover that she’s pregnant by another man as they walk together in the night. Instead of the condemnation and rejection she expects, he responds with affection and acceptance, declaring that their love will make the child their own:

Die wird das fremde Kind verklären,
Du wirst es mir, von mir gebären;
Du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht,
Du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht.

[Thus is transfigured the child of another man;
You will bear it for me, as my own;
You have brought your luminosity to me,
You have made me a child myself.] – translation by Scott Horton

"Verklärte Nacht"

It is, in short, a piece that covers a wide range of sentiments. In her introduction to the performance, Ms. Schreiber observes that “every imaginable emotion is expressed during the piece,” a description that’s as accurate as it is concise.

It’s music that calls for a wide expressive range from the performers along with solid technique, and it has plenty of both in this powerful interpretation, which begins with Mr. Ranheim and Ms. Brooks reading an English translation of the original poem. Every member of the ensemble seemed thoroughly invested in the music—transfiguring it, so to speak, into something intensely personal. Indeed, Ms. Schreiber suggests as much when she says that “the music is all about transformation and catharsis and for us it felt very cathartic to get together after what felt like an eternity.”

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s “Night Music” concert runs just over one hour and is available on demand through April 24th.  More information on the this and other SLSO concerts is available at the orchestra's web site.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 29, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

The Black Mirror Theatre Company presents Nuts and Bolts: Playwriting 101, an interactive, 6-week introductory class on Zoom, Thursdays from 7 to 9 pm, April 1 - May 6. "Are you interested in writing your first short play, improving your playwriting basics or simply joining a short-term writing group to give your skills a spring work out?Join local playwright Michelle Zielinski in an exploration of the elements that make a good play." For more information, send emtil to blackmirrortheatrestl [at] gmail.com

The Blue Strawberry presents Open Mic Night with Sean Skrbec and Patrick White Sundays at 7 pm. "Come on down and sing, come on down to play, or come on down to listen and enjoy." The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Stephounds

The Blue Strawberry presents The Stephounds, starring musicians and tap dancers Anthony J. Russo and Justin Myles in an evening of World-Class Tap on Thursday, April 1, at 7:30 pm. "Both Anthony and Justin are alumni of worldwide, multi-year tours of Tap Dogs, the  hugely popular ode to tap, which the New York Observer called “Positively Electrifying.” Justin toured for years - as the lead - in worldwide phenomenon and mega-hit STOMP, making hypnotic, percussive music and theater with brooms, newspapers and garbage-can lids. Anthony has performed with Cirque de Soleil, and toured Europe with Rock The Ballet." The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The show will also be available via live video stream. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Sister City Circus

Circus Harmony in St. Louis and Circus Circuli in Stuttgart, St. Louis's German sister city, present Sister City Circus, on Circus Harmony’s YouTube page.  "Through a series of online meetings, workshops, and classes the two troupes created 6 different circus acts and then filmed them at iconic architectural locations in each of their cities." This and many other Circus Harmony videos are available at the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

The Gateway Men's Chorus presents Indivisible via live video stream on Friday and Saturday, April 2 and 3, from 7-9 pm. The program will recorded and remain available on demand for the following 24 hours. "For many within the gay community, our families stood for the tenets of our country and defended its ideals in theaters of war and conflict. Many of us felt the need to follow in the footsteps of our family in the opportunity to lay down life and liberty to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, whether masked in bigotry, veiled under the premises of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” or blatantly stated in the ban of transgender troops, the U.S. Military has often left LGBT citizens at the sidelines. Join Gateway Men's Chorus as we examine Don't Ask Don't Tell through a musical lens in time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its repeal." For more information: www.gmcstl.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Fistful of Hollers through May 8. "Gun slingers, dance hall girls, cowboys, gold diggers, cowboy boots and ten-gallon-hats will abound. Rowdy cowboys will duel to the death as the crooked sheriff watches with glee. But none of these characters are as dangerous as Nasty Nate, he’s the orneriest gun in the west and word is that he’s going to be stirring up trouble at the Lemp Mansion." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Jacked!

Metro Theatre Company presents Jacked! streaming on demand through March 31. "From playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And in this Corner: Cassius Clay) comes the Jack and the Beanstalk story with a modern-day twist. And it’s not just the story that has a fresh take. This all-new virtual production fuses storytelling and poetry with a smart, moving hip hop score and hand-drawn animation based on visuals by artist Nick Kryah – exploring the imaginative boundaries of theater, film, and animation. You and the children in your family join Jack for an adventure that might start with the beanstalk, but follows Jack and his mother as they struggle to live happily ever after." For more information: metroplays.org.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Moonstone Connections, a series of in-depth interviews with arts leaders by company founder Sharon Hunter. New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

The Muny presents Attuned: Cast Me at the Muny, a nine-part podcast that "showcases audition tips and funny stories, while offering an inside look at what makes casting a Muny show so challenging." The series is available on demand at the Classic 107.3 web site. For more information: classic1073.org/podcasts

Pathway

The Performing Arts Department at Washington University presents the MFA Student Dance Concert: Pathway via on-demand video through April 11. "This dance concert takes us on a journey that combines three distinct paths. One moves us through the world of grief, the powerful rollercoaster of human emotions. The next takes us on the passage of both the power and grace of Muslim women.  In the final piece, we are immersed in the force of our neglect of Nature and her rebellious response." For more information: edison.wustl.edu

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

Adena Varner and family

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a live video stream of the WiseWrite Digital Play Festival running until the end of the Rep's 2020-2021 season. “Step into the imagination of three young playwrights as The Rep presents professional readings of their new plays.” The production is directed by Adena Varner, the Rep's Director of Learning and Community Engagement. For more information: repstl.org.

Deal Orlandersmith in
After the Flood

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and All Arts present Until the Flood, written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, via on-demand streaming. "On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an African American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting ignited weeks of social unrest, propelled the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted a controversial investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Celebrated writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith traveled to St. Louis and conducted interviews with dozens of people who were grievously shaken by Brown’s shooting and the turbulent aftermath. From these intimate conversations, Orlandersmith created eight unforgettable characters who embody a community struggling to come to terms with the personal damage caused by these events." For more information: allarts.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of Human Resources, created by Telephonic Literary Union, on demand through April 11. "Together with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Telephonic Literary Union, The Rep presents a unique and interactive audio experience. Dial the hotline to access a menu of unexpected options, in a playful twist on the all-too-familiar customer service phone maze. Featuring new works by playwrights Brittany K. Allen, Christopher Chen, Hansol Jung and Zeniba Now, Human Resources invites callers to chart their own journey. Whether you're looking for self-knowledge, witness, or deliverance, help is only a phone call away." For more information: repstl.org.

R-S Theatrics presents While the Ghostlight Burns, a virtual discussion series featuring R-S Artistic Director Sarah Lynne Holt in conversation with St. Louis theatre artists, Mondays at 7 pm.  Conversations will be archived at the R-S Theatrics YouTube channel. For more information: r-stheatrics.com/while-the-ghostlight-burns.html

Come Together

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like Joe Hanrahan's Come Together, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/STLShakesFest/videos

SATE, in collaboration with COCA and Prison Performing Arts, presents Project Verse: Creativity in the Time of Quarantine. Project Verse presents two new plays: Quatrains in Quarantine by e.k. doolin and Dream On, Black Girl: Reflections in Quarantine by Maxine du Maine. The performances are streamed free of charge on SATE’s website and Facebook page. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

Classic Mystery Game

SATE also offers streaming performances of the shows originally scheduled for live 2020 productions: The Mary Shelley Monster Show, As You Like It (produced for SHAKE20, Project Verse, and Classic Mystery Game. The shows are available on their YouTube channel.

Stray Dog Theatre presents The New Works Laboratory: Song Series streaming on demand through March 31. "After receiving submissions from around the world, we selected 7 new musical theatre songs to bring right to you! Following your viewing, we invite you to leave comments and thoughts on our web form which will be available on the event page." For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org.
 
Union Avenue Opera offers Sneak Peeks of its 2021 season operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and The Cradle Will Rock on its YouTube channel.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

Symphony Preview: Shadows of the night

This weekend (March 26-28) the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) returns to live concerts at Powell Hall in a format very similar to the one they employed last fall. Details are available at the SLSO web site, but essentially it means a smaller, physically distanced audience and shorter programs with an emphasis on smaller ensembles.

Under the direction of Music Director Stéphane Denève, this weekend’s program takes you on a musical journey from Bach’s energetic Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043, to the contemplative “Vesper” by contemporary Estonian composer Ester Mägi and the carefully calibrated silences of the “Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten” by her fellow Estonian Aarvo Pärt, to Shostakovich’s dark night of the soul, his “Chamber Symphony.”

Stéphane Denève conducting the SLSO

“At this time,” observes Maestro Denève in the program notes, “we need to have space to think, to meditate on loss, on life.” That means there will be some sad songs sung. But that doesn’t mean the music this week is all about lamentation. Far from it, in fact.

The Bach concerto that opens the concert, for example, is anything but sad, despite being in a minor key. Its first and third movements deliver what Richmond Symphony violinist Richard Judd calls a “high octane contrapuntal conversation” between the soloists in the former and “a snarling and playful game of musical ‘tag’” in the latter that “explodes with ferocious, unrestrained energy.” The Largo ma non tanto second movement slows things down, but the ambience is romantic rather than elegiac, as though the soloists were singing a love duet.

Those solo roles this weekend will be filled by two of the SLSO’s own: Associate Principal Second Violin Kristin Ahlstrom and the orchestra’s new Assistant Conductor, Stephanie Childress, who began her professional life as a violinist before moving to the other side of the podium. They’ll have their work cut out for them, as you can tell by watching one of the many videos of Bach’s concerto available at YouTube. Personally, I rather like this one by the Netherlands Bach Society.

Kristin Ahlstrom

Mägi’s “Vesper” isn’t particularly sad either. Scored for string orchestra, the piece is an ecstatic evocation of the sacred choral music of the Renaissance on the order of Vaughn Williams’s “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis,” complete with an elaborate violin solo that soars like an individual voice above the choir. “I miss our Symphony Chorus,” Maestro Denève reflects, “and our performance of ‘Vesper’ highlights the missing voices in our hall.”

The feeling of loss begins to appear in Pärt’s “Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten” for string orchestra and tubular bells. As the composer writes in his notes for the music, he had just begun to discover Britten’s work when the English master died in December 1976:

Just before his death I began to appreciate the unusual purity of his music I had had the impression of the same kind of purity in the ballads of Guillaume de Machaut. And besides, for a long time I had wanted to meet Britten personally and now it would not come to that.

The ”Cantus” is a brief (around 6 minutes) but intense outpouring of emotion that begins with the soft tolling of a bell and gradually builds to a massive final chord that is cut off abruptly, allowing the work to end with the last toll of the bell decaying into silence. Like much of Pärt’s music, it suggests something ancient, timeless, and not fully explicable in words. You’re better off just watching the 2010 London Proms performance by the BBC Symphony under Edward Garner.

Lamentation reaches its apotheosis in Shostakovich’s “Chamber Symphony,” Op. 110a. The work is an orchestration by violist Rudolf Barhsai of Shostakovich’s 1960 String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110, done with the composer’s full approval. Written in Dresden, when the city had yet to fully recover from the devastation of World War II, the quartet carries a dedication “to the memory of the victims of fascism and war,” but as Phillip Huscher relates in notes for the Chicago Symphony the composer told a different story in a letter to his lifelong friend, the Leningrad literary critic Isaak Glikman:

I've been thinking that when I die, it's hardly likely that anybody will ever write a work dedicated to my memory. So I have decided to write one myself. The dedication could be printed on the cover: "Dedicated to the memory of the composer of this quartet."

Dmitri Shostakovich

Indeed, the composer want so far as to return from Dresden with a bottle of sleeping pills, talked openly of suicide, and referred to the Eighth Quartet as his last work. Fortunately for both the composer and posterity, the depression passed, and Shostakovich would continue to write until his actual death in 1975.

To anyone familiar with Shostakovich’s music, the autobiographical intent is hard to miss, as there are multiple quotations from earlier works (most notably the First Cello Concerto) and frequent appearances by the composer’s four-note “signature”: D, S (E-flat in German notation), C, H (B natural). The sequence spells the first four letters of the composer’s name in German: D. SCHostakowitsch. It’s music of anger, despair, sarcasm, and finally, a kind of resignation. And it packs a big emotional punch, as you can hear in a livestreamed performance by the New England Conservatory Philharmonia last fall.

“People wonder why we play sad music,” says Maestro Denève. “As humans we have the power for compassion—music can be like a river of tears that carries painful feelings away.” Given the way compassion has been devalued and even despised by some in our nation today, I’d say that a dip in that river is long overdue.

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in music by Bach, Mägi, Pärt, and Shostakovich Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, March 26-28. The concerts take place in Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. Only 300 tickets will be sold for each concert. For more information, visit the SLSO web site.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 22, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

The Blue Strawberry presents Open Mic Night with Sean Skrbec and Patrick White Sundays at 7 pm. "Come on down and sing, come on down to play, or come on down to listen and enjoy." The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins

The Cabaret Project presents Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins in Frank and Ella via on-demand video stream Saturday from 7:30 pm to midnight, March 27. "Tony DeSare is the swinging crooner/pianist who has been a celebrated mainstay on concert and orchestra stages throughout the country. Capathia Jenkins is the powerhouse actress/singer known for her Broadway credits and concert work. The two join forces to salute the special musical connection between two timeless legends - Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Filmed in a private studio in Atlanta, Frank and Ella features DeSare’s mastery at the keyboard, along with timeless solos and duets by two dynamic singers." For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

Sister City Circus

Circus Harmony in St. Louis and Circus Circuli in Stuttgart, St. Louis's German sister city, present Sister City Circus, on Circus Harmony’s YouTube page.  "Through a series of online meetings, workshops, and classes the two troupes created 6 different circus acts and then filmed them at iconic architectural locations in each of their cities." This and many other Circus Harmony videos are available at the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

The Gateway Men's Chorus presents Indivisible via live video stream on Saturday, March 27th, from 7-9 pm. The program will recorded and remain available on demand for the following 24 hours. "For many within the gay community, our families stood for the tenets of our country and defended its ideals in theaters of war and conflict. Many of us felt the need to follow in the footsteps of our family in the opportunity to lay down life and liberty to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, whether masked in bigotry, veiled under the premises of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” or blatantly stated in the ban of transgender troops, the U.S. Military has often left LGBT citizens at the sidelines. Join Gateway Men's Chorus as we examine Don't Ask Don't Tell through a musical lens in time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its repeal." For more information: www.gmcstl.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Fistful of Hollers through May 8. "Gun slingers, dance hall girls, cowboys, gold diggers, cowboy boots and ten-gallon-hats will abound. Rowdy cowboys will duel to the death as the crooked sheriff watches with glee. But none of these characters are as dangerous as Nasty Nate, he’s the orneriest gun in the west and word is that he’s going to be stirring up trouble at the Lemp Mansion." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Jacked!

Metro Theatre Company presents Jacked! streaming on demand through March 31. "From playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And in this Corner: Cassius Clay) comes the Jack and the Beanstalk story with a modern-day twist. And it’s not just the story that has a fresh take. This all-new virtual production fuses storytelling and poetry with a smart, moving hip hop score and hand-drawn animation based on visuals by artist Nick Kryah – exploring the imaginative boundaries of theater, film, and animation. You and the children in your family join Jack for an adventure that might start with the beanstalk, but follows Jack and his mother as they struggle to live happily ever after." For more information: metroplays.org.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Moonstone Connections, a series of in-depth interviews with arts leaders by company founder Sharon Hunter. New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

The Muny presents Attuned: Cast Me at the Muny, a nine-part podcast that "showcases audition tips and funny stories, while offering an inside look at what makes casting a Muny show so challenging." The series is available on demand at the Classic 107.3 web site. For more information: classic1073.org/podcasts

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

Adena Varner and family

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a live video stream of the WiseWrite Digital Play Festival running until the end of the Rep's 2020-2021 season. “Step into the imagination of three young playwrights as The Rep presents professional readings of their new plays.” The production is directed by Adena Varner, the Rep's Director of Learning and Community Engagement. For more information: repstl.org.

Deal Orlandersmith in
After the Flood

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and All Arts present Until the Flood, written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, via on-demand streaming. "On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an African American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting ignited weeks of social unrest, propelled the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted a controversial investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Celebrated writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith traveled to St. Louis and conducted interviews with dozens of people who were grievously shaken by Brown’s shooting and the turbulent aftermath. From these intimate conversations, Orlandersmith created eight unforgettable characters who embody a community struggling to come to terms with the personal damage caused by these events." For more information: allarts.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of Human Resources, created by Telephonic Literary Union, on demand through April 11. "Together with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Telephonic Literary Union, The Rep presents a unique and interactive audio experience. Dial the hotline to access a menu of unexpected options, in a playful twist on the all-too-familiar customer service phone maze. Featuring new works by playwrights Brittany K. Allen, Christopher Chen, Hansol Jung and Zeniba Now, Human Resources invites callers to chart their own journey. Whether you're looking for self-knowledge, witness, or deliverance, help is only a phone call away." For more information: repstl.org.

R-S Theatrics presents While the Ghostlight Burns, a virtual discussion series featuring R-S Artistic Director Sarah Lynne Holt in conversation with St. Louis theatre artists, Mondays at 7 pm.  Conversations will be archived at the R-S Theatrics YouTube channel. For more information: r-stheatrics.com/while-the-ghostlight-burns.html

Come Together

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like Joe Hanrahan's Come Together, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/STLShakesFest/videos

SATE, in collaboration with COCA and Prison Performing Arts, presents Project Verse: Creativity in the Time of Quarantine. Project Verse presents two new plays: Quatrains in Quarantine by e.k. doolin and Dream On, Black Girl: Reflections in Quarantine by Maxine du Maine. The performances are streamed free of charge on SATE’s website and Facebook page. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

Classic Mystery Game

SATE also offers streaming performances of the shows originally scheduled for live 2020 productions: The Mary Shelley Monster Show, As You Like It (produced for SHAKE20, Project Verse, and Classic Mystery Game. The shows are available on their YouTube channel.

Stray Dog Theatre presents The New Works Laboratory: Song Series streaming on demand through March 31. "After receiving submissions from around the world, we selected 7 new musical theatre songs to bring right to you! Following your viewing, we invite you to leave comments and thoughts on our web form which will be available on the event page." For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org.
 
Union Avenue Opera offers Sneak Peeks of its 2021 season operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and The Cradle Will Rock on its YouTube channel.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

Review: Live from Powell Hall, it's Sunday Afternoon!

When the pandemic shut the doors at Powell Symphony Hall a year ago, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) was quick to enhance its presence on the Internet, not only with informational and educational videos, but also with projects like its “Songs of America” music video series. The orchestra has also created a digital video concert series, which will run parallel with its new series of live concerts this spring.

The live and digital worlds came together on Sunday, March 14th, when the SLSO presented an hour of music by Prokofiev, Mozart, and Richard Strauss as reimagined by violinist/composer Franz Hasenöhrl performed in and live-streamed from an audience-free Powell Hall. It was a program in which wit and good cheer were the order of the afternoon, along with some fine musicianship.

Mozart Divertimento

That was most apparent in the two small-group pieces that opened the concert, beginning with Richard Strauss’s “Till Eulenspiegels lustige streiche” (“Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”) retooled and retitled “Till Eulenspigel, einmal anders!) (“Till Eulenspiegel Another Way!)”. Cut to half its original length and reorchestrated for five players, Hasenöhrl’s work is rather like viewing Strauss’s big, splashy original through the wrong end of a telescope. Still, all the snarky, rambunctious fun of the original survives intact, even if it does create a real workout for the five musicians.

The players were up for it, though. Associate Principal Second Violin Kristin Ahlstrom and bassist Sarah Hogan Kaiser impressively represented the entire string section while clarinetist Ryan Toher, horn player Victoria Knudtson, and Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo carried the flag for the winds. Ms. Knudtson knocked the infamously difficult opening solo right out of the park, while Mr. Toher and Mr. Cuneo turned in equally praiseworthy performances of their many solo passages.

Up next was Prokofiev’s Quintet in G minor, op. 39. Written in Paris in 1924, this music was originally intended as the score for “Trapeze,” a circus-themed ballet that was to be performed by a dance troupe of fellow Russian émigrés. The ballet never happened, but you can hear more than a hint of the Big Top in what Second Associate Concertmaster Celeste Golden Boyer, in her spoken introduction with Principal Clarinet Scott Andrews, called the “technical acrobatics” of the score.

There are times, especially in the second and fourth movements of this six-movement work, when the music turns wistful, grim, and even a bit creepy, but on the whole the Quintet is all bright lights, greasepaint, and reckless abandon. It was fun to hear, and fascinating to watch as the performers did, indeed, execute some musical high-wire acts. At one point the camera zoomed in on Ms. Boyer’s fingers rapidly dashing up and down the strings; at another you could see Principal Bass Erik Harris working at the extremes of his instrument’s range. Mr. Andrews, Cally Banham (on oboe rather than her usual English horn), and violist Shannon Farrell Williams provided copious amounts of dazzling moments as well.

Violist Jonathan Chu

The most thoroughly jolly work was saved for the end. Mozart wrote his Divertimento in D major, K.136, when he was only 16—“probably,” as SLSO Communications Manager suggests in her program notes, as “party music for the nobility of Salzburg, where he was concertmaster of the court orchestra.” If so, it surely served its purpose well.

With just three short, eminently danceable movements and a running time of around 11 minutes, the Divertimento would be easy to shrug off as high-end background music (which, for its original audience, it probably was) but, as John Mangum writes in program notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, its thoroughgoing craftmanship actually makes it “a fine example of Mozart's ambitious work in a genre traditionally designated as ‘light’ music.”

It certainly got a polished and highly animated reading by the ensemble of 19 members of the symphony strings. As would have been the case back in Mozart’s day, there was no conductor. Instead, the members of the ensemble took their cues from (if memory serves) first violinist Jessica Cheng, with admirable results.

I don’t know whether or not the SLSO’s digital livestream concert was a “one off” event or a trial balloon for future real-time concert streams. It was, in any case, well up to the high technical and artistic standards that have been set by the rest of the orchestra’s online projects. More information on these as well as on the spring live Powell Hall concert series is available at the SLSO web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Review: The St. Louis Symphony digital series continues with musical light in the darkness

The pandemic forced the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) to halt its 2020 season last spring. Last fall they were able to resume concerts in Powell Hall by enforcing small houses and strict health measures. A local rise in COVID-19 cases forced them to cancel public performances of the last two concerts, but the SLSO performed them as scheduled to a house empty of everyone except the audio and video techs.

Stéphane Denève conducts Stravinsky

The resulting digital concerts are being offered on demand at the SLSO web site. The program from last November 13th and 14th went live on March 11th, and it’s a winner on all counts, with SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève leading the band in superb renditions of music by Russian composers Igor Stravinsky and Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Pulitzer Prize-winning African-American composer George Walker, who died at the age of 96 in 2018.

The concert opens with the "Dumbarton Oaks" concerto by Stravinsky. Written on commission for Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss and first performed at a private concert at their Dumbarton Oaks estate, this chamber concerto is a sprightly and cheerful homage to the Brandenburg Concertos of Bach in general and the third concerto in particular.

The lighthearted tone of the piece hides a sad truth, though. The year before its 1938 premiere, Stravinsky’s wife and eldest daughter died of tuberculosis—the same disease that would put the composer in the hospital for five months and prevent him from conducting that first performance. It’s a reminder of how little correlation there can be between a composer’s life and their work.

Because the piece is scored for only 16 musicians, it demands prodigious playing from all concerned, and the that’s exactly what Stravinsky’s music gets in this exemplary performance. Even the most rhythmically tricky passages are crystal clear and Maestro Denève’s interpretation bubbles with piquant energy.

The concerto asks a lot of the solo wind players—flute, clarinet, and bassoon—if only because they are solo parts and therefore more visible. They’re done with real elan here by Jennifer Nichtman, Scott Andrews, and Andrew Cuneo, respectively. The multi-camera videography lets the viewer get close enough see their expertise as well as hear it.

Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO strings

Up next is Walker’s "Lyric for Strings". Inspired by the death of the composer’s grandmother, the piece is both elegiac and uplifting. The ethereal beauty of the strings combines with Maestro Denève’s conducting to produce an intensely moving experience.

The orchestra also has an impressive version of Walker’s “Lyric” for a chamber ensemble of nine players on their YouTube channel as part of the “Songs of America” series. Former SLSO resident conductor Gemma New conducts that one, which was recorded at the Soldier’s Memorial downtown.

The concert concludes with Tchaikovsky’s popular Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48. Inspired by the composer’s love of Mozart, the Serenade mixes elegance, melodic beauty, and more than a touch of melancholy, especially in third movement Élégie.

Stéphane Denève’s nuanced interpretation, with the wide dynamic and expressive range I have come to expect from him, does full justice to Tchaikovsky’s many moods. The famous Valse second movement was delightfully graceful and romantic, and the crackling energy of the final movement would surely have guaranteed a standing ovation, had there been an audience present.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s irresistible mix of Stravinsky, George Walker, and Tchaikovsky runs just over one hour and is available on demand through April 10th. For information on the rest of the SLSO’s digital series as well as the new spring series of live concerts: slso.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 15, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

The Blue Strawberry presents Open Mic Night with Sean Skrbec and Patrick White Sundays at 7 pm. "Come on down and sing, come on down to play, or come on down to listen and enjoy." The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins

The Cabaret Project presents Tony DeSare and Capathia Jenkins in Frank and Ella via on-demand video stream Saturdays from 7:30 pm to midnight, March 20 and 27. "Tony DeSare is the swinging crooner/pianist who has been a celebrated mainstay on concert and orchestra stages throughout the country. Capathia Jenkins is the powerhouse actress/singer known for her Broadway credits and concert work. The two join forces to salute the special musical connection between two timeless legends - Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Filmed in a private studio in Atlanta, Frank and Ella features DeSare’s mastery at the keyboard, along with timeless solos and duets by two dynamic singers." For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

Sister City Circus

Circus Harmony in St. Louis and Circus Circuli in Stuttgart, St. Louis's German sister city, present Sister City Circus, on Circus Harmony’s YouTube page.  "Through a series of online meetings, workshops, and classes the two troupes created 6 different circus acts and then filmed them at iconic architectural locations in each of their cities." This and many other Circus Harmony videos are available at the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Fistful of Hollers through May 8. "Gun slingers, dance hall girls, cowboys, gold diggers, cowboy boots and ten-gallon-hats will abound. Rowdy cowboys will duel to the death as the crooked sheriff watches with glee. But none of these characters are as dangerous as Nasty Nate, he’s the orneriest gun in the west and word is that he’s going to be stirring up trouble at the Lemp Mansion." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Jacked!

Metro Theatre Company presents Jacked! streaming on demand through March 31. "From playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And in this Corner: Cassius Clay) comes the Jack and the Beanstalk story with a modern-day twist. And it’s not just the story that has a fresh take. This all-new virtual production fuses storytelling and poetry with a smart, moving hip hop score and hand-drawn animation based on visuals by artist Nick Kryah – exploring the imaginative boundaries of theater, film, and animation. You and the children in your family join Jack for an adventure that might start with the beanstalk, but follows Jack and his mother as they struggle to live happily ever after." For more information: metroplays.org.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Moonstone Connections, a series of in-depth interviews with arts leaders by company founder Sharon Hunter. New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

The Muny presents Attuned: Cast Me at the Muny, a nine-part podcast that "showcases audition tips and funny stories, while offering an inside look at what makes casting a Muny show so challenging." The series is available on demand at the Classic 107.3 web site. For more information: classic1073.org/podcasts

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

Adena Varner and family

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a live video stream of the WiseWrite Digital Play Festival running until the end of the Rep's 2020-2021 season. “Step into the imagination of three young playwrights as The Rep presents professional readings of their new plays.” The production is directed by Adena Varner, the Rep's Director of Learning and Community Engagement. For more information: repstl.org.

Deal Orlandersmith in
After the Flood

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and All Arts present Until the Flood, written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, via on-demand streaming. "On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an African American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting ignited weeks of social unrest, propelled the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted a controversial investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Celebrated writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith traveled to St. Louis and conducted interviews with dozens of people who were grievously shaken by Brown’s shooting and the turbulent aftermath. From these intimate conversations, Orlandersmith created eight unforgettable characters who embody a community struggling to come to terms with the personal damage caused by these events." For more information: allarts.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of Human Resources, created by Telephonic Literary Union, on demand through April 11. "Together with the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Telephonic Literary Union, The Rep presents a unique and interactive audio experience. Dial the hotline to access a menu of unexpected options, in a playful twist on the all-too-familiar customer service phone maze. Featuring new works by playwrights Brittany K. Allen, Christopher Chen, Hansol Jung and Zeniba Now, Human Resources invites callers to chart their own journey. Whether you're looking for self-knowledge, witness, or deliverance, help is only a phone call away." For more information: repstl.org.

R-S Theatrics presents While the Ghostlight Burns, a virtual discussion series featuring R-S Artistic Director Sarah Lynne Holt in conversation with St. Louis theatre artists, Mondays at 7 pm.  Conversations will be archived at the R-S Theatrics YouTube channel. For more information: r-stheatrics.com/while-the-ghostlight-burns.html

Come Together

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like Joe Hanrahan's Come Together, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/STLShakesFest/videos

The St. Louis Writers Group presents an evening of readings of New One-Act Plays by local playwrights on Monday, March 15 at 6:30 pm via Zoom. The plays include Wish you weren't here by Lewis Shilane,  Simulacrum by Nathan Skaggs, Ms. Nancy’s Playhouse by Mario Farwell, and Mosaic by Peg Flach. For more information: visit their Facebook page or YouTube channel.

SATE, in collaboration with COCA and Prison Performing Arts, presents Project Verse: Creativity in the Time of Quarantine. Project Verse presents two new plays: Quatrains in Quarantine by e.k. doolin and Dream On, Black Girl: Reflections in Quarantine by Maxine du Maine. The performances are streamed free of charge on SATE’s website and Facebook page. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

Classic Mystery Game

SATE also offers streaming performances of the shows originally scheduled for live 2020 productions: The Mary Shelley Monster Show, As You Like It (produced for SHAKE20, Project Verse, and Classic Mystery Game. The shows are available on their YouTube channel.

Stray Dog Theatre presents The New Works Laboratory: Song Series streaming on demand through March 31. "After receiving submissions from around the world, we selected 7 new musical theatre songs to bring right to you! Following your viewing, we invite you to leave comments and thoughts on our web form which will be available on the event page." For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org.
 
Union Avenue Opera offers Sneak Peeks of its 2021 season operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and The Cradle Will Rock on its YouTube channel.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

Variety is the spice of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's live spring season

Powell Symphony Hall went dark almost exactly one year ago due to the rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) quickly found multiple ways to stay in touch with its audience during the hiatus via its web site, its YouTube channel, rebroadcasts of previous SLSO concerts at St. Louis Public Radio, the monthly “Night at the Symphony” series of concert highlights on Nine Network television, and the “SLSO Soundbites” podcast at Classic 107.3.

Last October, when COVID-19 infections seemed to be decreasing locally, the orchestra returned to live concerts at Powell. Working with a team of infectious disease specialists from Washington University, the SLSO developed a plan to insure the safety of both audiences and SLSO staff. That included a strict limit on audience size: originally 100, which gradually increased to 150.

Stéphane Denève conducts

All went well until case counts began to climb in early November, and the SLSO was obliged to cancel the last concert in the series. It was recorded on the Powell Hall stage, though, and is available through April 10th as part of the orchestra’s spring digital series.

There’s good news today, however, as the SLSO announced a return to live concerts in a format very similar to the one from last fall. Indeed, aside from an increase in the maximum house size to 300 (the maximum deemed safe by local public health experts), the experience should be identical to what it was last October and November.

What was the experience like? Having attended nearly all of those concerts, I can attest to the fact that it could be disconcerting at times. The nearest audience members were rows away, the orchestra was smaller (especially for the two-week chamber music series), and the house was much quieter.

The programs were shorter as well, running around an hour with no intermission.  There were no concessions and no mingling in the lobby before the concert. Audience members entered through separate doors, depending on where they were sitting, and parties were kept at least six feet apart both entering and leaving.

But any oddness was overwhelmed by the pleasure of once again experiencing live music among real people.

The new series, which runs from March 26th through May 15th, will feature an intriguing assortment of works old and new. The repertoire includes “greatest hits” like Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with our own Celeste Golden Boyer in the solo spot. But there are also newer works like “Vesper” by contemporary Estonian composer Ester Mägi, “The Day Dawn” by Britain’s Sally Beamish, and “Death of the Poet” by the young (b. 1993) Philadelphia-based composer TJ Cole.

Stephanie Childress

SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève will conduct the majority of the concerts, but the ever-popular Leonard Slatkin will put in a guest appearance with a program of works by Britten, Ravel, and Ginastera. SLSO Assistant Conductor Stephanie Childress will make her debut in a pair of concerts that will include the Beamish piece along with music by Britten, Dvorak, and Mozart.

As was the case last fall, masks are mandatory, along with physical distancing and good hand hygiene. There will also be plenty of hand sanitizer stations, should you forget to bring your own.

So if you have been missing the sound of great music live at Powell, mask up and head on over to Grand Center. Spring is here, and while it will still be a while before we can return to something like pre-pandemic normal, every little bit helps.

The Essentials: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s 2021 live concert season kicks off on March 26th as Stéphane Denève conducts the orchestra and violin soloists Kristin Ahlstrom and Stephanie Childress in a program of works by Bach, Ester Mägi, Arvo Pärt, and Shostakovich. Performances are at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday and 3 pm Sunday, March 26-28, at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. Ticket information is available at the SLSO web site and at the box office at 314-534-1700.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.