A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mike Ross (Director), Bridget Lee-Calfas (Advertising and Publicity Director), and Tammey Kikta (Assistant Director for Artistic Services) to talk about the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ 2013–14 season. I swear, a few times I actually clapped with glee. Next year’s Krannert season is going be — what else is new? — amazing. This article presents to you the entire lineup for next season (sans the Ellnora Guitar Festival). I’ve chosen a selection of events for which I offer some detail. If I could list and discuss everything without overwhelming you with information (or collapsing from the effort), I would. But, it’s always nice to have something to anticipate, right?
This preview is sorely lacking in details concerning the upcoming drama, opera, and ballet performances. Every show is listed here, however, and Smile Politely will publish articles on all things drama, opera, and dance within the coming months, never fear.
Also, the lineup for the Ellnora Guitar Festival will not be announced until June 11; so, alas, that information will have to wait (and will most likely come to you through our Music Editor, Patrick). For updates, check out Krannert Center’s website devoted to all things Ellnora Guitar Festival.
You don’t need me to tell you how valuable the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is to our community (and if you do, you can read my love letter to them here). So let’s just get started. Here we go.
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I can’t think of another community, certainly not a community of this size — a micro-urban community such as ours — that has so much to be proud of ~~Mike Ross, Krannert Center Director, April 6, 2013
September
12 Th 7:30 p.m. | Jupiter String Quartet with the Jasper String Quartet
This is Jupiter String Quartet’s second season as the quartet-in-residence at the U of I School of Music and Krannert Center. The Jasper String Quartet was the 2012 winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award. They will be performing the Mendelssohn Octet in the Foellinger Great Hall.
14 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Dr. Lonnie Smith’s In the Beginning Octet
Dr. Smith (pictured right) is an elder statesman of jazz, and performs on a Hammond B-3 organ. If you like jazz, this is a must. His concert will take place in the Tryon Festival Theatre.
19–20 Th–Fr 7:30 p.m. | Not What Happened
This is the latest play by Ain Gordon, who was last here in 2007. In Not What Happened, Gordon “delves into the preindustrial Northeast United States, transporting audiences to a deteriorating rural historic site, where a theatrical duet plays out between two women who could never meet: a historical reenactor in period costume and the actual historic figure whom she reenacts.”
21 Sa 7:30 p.m. | An Evening with Audra McDonald
Ms. McDonald is an award-winning singer and actress in theatre and television. She’s won five Tony Awards, most recently for Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Here she is singing “Stars and Moon” and being awesome:
24 Tu 7:30 p.m. | Armitage Gone! Dance: Fables on Global Warming
This is one of many shows that is a part of Krannert Center’s Youth Series. Dancers and live musicians will bring this series of fables to life on stage.
26 Th 7:30 p.m. | Pygmalion Music Festival
Krannert will host Pygmalion’s opening act this year: Damien Jurado, Daughter, The Head and the Heart (pictured above). This performance will take place in the Tryon Festival Theatre.
28 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® with Roberto Fonseca
October
3–5 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 9 Parts of Desire
4 Fr 7 p.m. | MU: One World, One Ocean
MU was inspired by the fictional continent of Mu and the Zen concept of Mu, which is “all thing being connected as a whole.” The issues of environmentalism and sustainability will be explored through dance and different world cultures.
9–12 We–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 9 Parts of Desire
12 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Normally, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs in the Great Hall every other season, but this year, they’re breaking their usual routine by appearing two seasons in a row. This year’s program includes:
- Mozart’s Divertimento in D major, K. 136
- Hindemith’s Violin Concerto
- Prokofiev’s Suite from the ballet Romeo and Juliet
13 Su 3 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 9 Parts of Desire
23 We 7 p.m. | Hungarian State Folk Ensemble: Gypsy Romance
They don’t just dance; they sing too:
24–26 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
26 Sa 6:30 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
30 We 7:30 p.m. | Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra
Conductor, Jeannette Sorrell thinks of music “as a form of communication,” and considers it her job to pass this down to her audience. Apollo’s Fire will perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos 2–6, and this concert will take place in the Great Hall.
31 Th 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
November
1–2 Fr–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
3 Su 2 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
3 Su 3 p.m. | Concert Artists Guild First Prize Winner: Jay Campbell, cello
This performance is part of this season’s Salon Series. Jay Campbell will be performing both classics and new music:
- Debussy’s Sonata in D minor
- Dave Fulmer’s Star of the North, written especially for Mr. Campbell
- Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne
- Thomas Adès [I’m sorry, I didn’t catch the name of this composition, but it was written in 2009, and I think it might be The Tempest]
- Brahms’ Violin Sonata in G minor
3 Su 3 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Tempest
7 Th 7:30 p.m. | Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway with the Irish Chamber Orchestra
7–9 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Clybourne Park
13–16 We–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Clybourne Park
14–16 ThvSa 7:30 p.m. | School of Music Opera Program: Falstaff
14–16 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Dance at Illinois: November Dance: Big Tiny Little Dance
15 Fr 6:30 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Dance at Illinois: November Dance
15 Fr 7:30 p.m. | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra will perform in the Great Hall. Program:
- Beethoven’s Leonore Overture “No. 3”
- Copland’s Symphonic Ode
- Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major
- Mackey’s Eating Greens
16 Sa 6:30 p.m. | Libretto: School of Music Opera Program: Falstaff
17 Su 2 p.m. | Libretto: School of Music Opera Program: Falstaff
17 Su 3 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Clybourne Park
17 Su 3 p.m. | School of Music Opera Program: Falstaff
20–21 We–Th 7:30 p.m. | Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way
This performance is a corroborative presentation between Krannert Center, Native American House, and the American Indian Studies Program. First Nations playwright, Monique Mojica’s story is about “reclamation of indigenous language, healing art, and ways of being.” It will be performed in the Studio Theatre.
21 Th 7:30 p.m. | Joshua Redman Quartet
Contemporary jazz saxophonist, Joshua Redman, fuses jazz, funk, soul, and hip hop, and world music. Many will remember with gratitude Redman’s poignant and stirring performance on September 12, 2001. He returns to the Tryon Festival Theatre to blow our minds.
December
5 Th 7:30 p.m. | Takács Quartet
Originally from Hungary, this quartet is currently in residence in the University of Colorado, Boulder. A staple in the Chamber Music world, they are the only string quartet to be inducted in Gramophone’s Hall of Fame. They will perform Beethoven, Bartók, and Smentana.
5–6 Th–Fr 7:30 p.m. | The Nutcracker
7 Sa 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. | The Nutcracker
8 Su 2 p.m. & 6 p.m. | The Nutcracker
January
21 Tu 7 p.m. | Moscow Festival Ballet: Swan Lake
22 We 7 p.m. | Moscow Festival Ballet: Giselle
23 Th 7 p.m. | Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella
30 Th 7:30 p.m. | Jupiter String Quartet
For this performance, the Jupiter String Quartet will be doing Schubert’s Death of the Maiden. This will take place in the Foellinger Great Hall.
February
1 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Labyrinth
Labyrinth, created and composed by Paola Prestini, will have its world premiere at the Krannert Center. Labyrinth is an interdisciplinary work that “moves between music, film, and installation art.” Conjoining concertos for violin and cello, it incorporates “sound, lighting, and projected visuals,” which are affected by a K-bow and an LED cello.
5–7 We–Fr 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Sullivan Project
6–8 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Dance at Illinois: February Dance: Hybridity
7 Fr 6:30 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Dance at Illinois: February Dance
8 Sa 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Sullivan Project
9 Su 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: The Sullivan Project
9 Su 3 p.m. | Young Concert Artists Winner: Julia Bullock, soprano
Julia Bullock is an award-winning native of St. Louis, and performs modern and classic chamber music. Here she is sounding beautiful while singing “The Fourth of October, 1963”:
20–22 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Vijay Iyer Trio
22 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Haifa Symphony Orchestra of Israel
28 Fr 7:30 p.m. | The Demo
This is also a new work — a world premier — composed and performed by Michael Rouse and Ben Neill. Rouse is eDream’s first visiting artist. This production is a “musical journey tracing the emergence of the computer mouse, hypertext, and file linking through use of the original Douglas Engelbart footage.”
March
1 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Venice Baroque Orchestra
This year, the Venice Baroque Orchestra is bringing a countertenor with them: Philippe Jaroussky, whose beautiful, agile voice is “out of this world” and not to be missed. He proves that here, singing a Vivaldi aria:
6 Th 7:30 p.m. | Meredith Monk: On Behalf of Nature
Meredith Monk was Musical America’s 2012 composer of the year. She is truly a renaissance woman: vocalist, musician, composer, choreographer, dancer — simply all things artistic. On Behalf of Nature makes music a “new kind of almost spoken language,” with sounds “conveying meaning and emotions.”
6–8 Th–Sa 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. | Dance at Illinois: Studiodance I: Nico Johanna Niall
6–8 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | School of Music Opera Program: Orpheus in the Underworld
8 Sa 6:30 p.m. | Libretto: School of Music Opera Program: Orpheus in the Underworld
9 Su 2 p.m. | Libretto: School of Music Opera Program: Orpheus in the Underworld
9 Su 3 p.m. | School of Music Opera Program: Orpheus in the Underworld
14–15 Fr–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Mark Morris Dance Group
The beloved Mark Morris Dance Group will be performing three of their newer works (all to live music):
- Rite of Spring
- A Wooden Tree
- Crosswalk
15 Sa 10 a.m. | Jupiter String Quartet: Bagels and Beethoven
19 We 7:30 p.m. | Kronos Quartet
We’re all familiar with the amazing Kronos Quartet. On March 19, 2014, they will be performing a new piece by Philip Glass in Tryon Festival Theatre.
April
3 Th 7:30 p.m. | Pinchas Zukerman, violin and viola, and Yefim Bronfman, piano
Zukerman and Bronfman are on the A-List of classical music artists. Their repertoire will consist of Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms.
3–5 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 0 Beautiful
6 Su 3 p.m. | Van Cliburn Competition Winner
9–12 We–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 0 Beautiful
10–12 Th–Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
12 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Peter Nero
Peter Nero is a living legend who really needs no introduction. A part of this year’s program will be dedicated to his good friend, Marvin Hamlisch (June 2, 1944–August 6, 2012).
13 Su 2 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
13 Su 3 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
13 Su 3 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: 0 Beautiful
15 Tu 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
17-19 Th-Sa 7:30 p.m. | Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
19 Sa 6:30 p.m. | Dessert and Conversation: Illinois Theatre: Much Ado About Nothing
24–26 Th–Sa 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. | Dance at Illinois: Studiodance II
25 Fr 7 p.m. | Compagnia T.P.O.: Bleu! The Mediterranean Sea
26 Sa 11am & 3 p.m. | Compagnia T.P.O.: Bleu! The Mediterranean Sea
Compagnia T.P.O. is a type of interactive theatre — a “theatre conceived as paintings.” They combine digital aspects with theater and art using a high integration of technology. They highlight the Mediterranean, from the Greek Islands to seaports to the deep blue.
30 We 7 p.m. | Diavolo: Transit Space
Diavolo is an “internationally renowned” dance theatre made up of dancers, actors, and athletes. Transit Space is a new piece inspired by the movement of skateboard culture. This performance will take place in the Tryon Festival Theatre.
May
1 Th 7:30 p.m. | Nathan and Julie Gunn and Friends
Nathan and Julie Gunn return with a guest this year: Isobel Leonard, mezzo-soprano.
3 Sa 7:30 p.m. | David Roussève/REALITY: Stardust
Krannert Center hosted Roussève last August as a resident in its intensive development lab. This moving piece tells the story of a gay African American teen, and the “life that he’s experiencing [which is] expressed through Tweets that are projected above the stage.” Dancers interpret these experiences to both hip hop music and Nat King Cole.
3 Sa 7:30 p.m. | Sinfonia da Camera: Three’s a Charm
4 Su 3 p.m. | Krannert Center Debut Artist
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Finally, the Krannert Center offers over 100 free events every season. Be sure and take advantage of them:
- Krannert Uncorked
- Traffic Jam
- Afterglow Series
- Interval
- Dance for People with Parkinson’s
- Outside at the Research Park
Season books and online event descriptions for the 2013–14 season will be available on Thursday, July 18. Tickets go on sale to the general public on August 10 at 10:00 a.m. Order online here. Please call the Krannert ticket office at (217) 333-6280 or email if you have any questions. Ticket office hours are 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. seven days a week.
All photos courtesy of Krannert Center of the Performing Arts.
Much thanks to Bridget Lee-Calfas for her assistance with this article.