Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Composer Unsuk Chin will have a U.S. Premiere with the L.A. Philharmonic

October’s performing arts calendar is packed full with all kinds of interesting tidbits. But before we get started I should note two shows that opened in September, which are still running and should be high on your priority list if you haven’t seen them yet. The first is Los Angeles Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Siegfried, everything an opera should be. Which is a miracle considering that it’s Siegfried, but there you have it. The other highly recommended hold-over is Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, which will continue at the Ahmanson Theater downtown through the 18th. It’s a great play with deep levels below its broad humor. Brush up on your T.S. Eliot and go see it.

But if you are ready to move on, then do so with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which will open its season with its new music director Gustavo Dudamel at Walt Disney concert Hall on the 8th when he will lead Mahler’s First Symphony and the World Premiere of John Adams City Noir. The show will be simulcast outdoors at the Music Center Downtown for free with a ticket and can be heard live on KUSC. For those of you who can’t get over not sitting outdoors to hear Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on Saturday the 3rd, you’ll also be able to hear the Hollywood Bowl PR festival with Dudamel and the orchestra on the radio as well. Not on the radio, but perhaps far more interesting will be the Dudamel-led shows on the 9th and 10th when he will again lead the Mahler, but this time paired with a new commission from Unsuk Chin for orchestra and sheng entitled Su. Don’t get too excited, though, because that’s about all you’re going to hear from Dudamel for now as our very fine orchestra gets right back to doing what they do best with visiting conductors including Andrey Boreyko the weekend of the 23rd and Christoph Eschenbach leading Christian Tetzlaff in Szymanowski’s 1st Violin Concerto the 29th through the end of the month. And while you're at it, don't forget the WDCH's other resident world class ensemble, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which will kick their year off with choruses for John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer and Mozrt's Requiem on Sunday the 18th.

From Cloud Eye Control's Under Polaris

On the theater side of things, L.A.'s Center Theater Group will continued to offer the recently opened productions of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's musical Parade at the Mark Taper Forum and Danai Gurira's Eclipsed at the Kirk Douglas Theater. Meanwhile, UCLA Live's International Theater Festival will continue with a visit from Italy's Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio with the U.S. Premiere of Purgatorio, which runs from the 28th through the end of the month. Glendale's A Noise Within will be opening up production of both Richard III and a 90-minute stage version of Crime and Punishment. And, although it hasn't made it to my personal calendar just yet, the Fountain Theater is currently putting on Conor McPherson's Shining City, which is L.A.'s first chance to see this play if you haven't before. If you're looking for more experimental fair, REDCAT downtown has two substantial offerings. This coming weekend on the 1st through the 3rd is the Belarus Free Theater presenting Discover Love to be followed on the 14th with a return engagement from Cloud Eye Control with Under Polaris for four performances.

On the opera front, I'll be out of town for Lyric Opera of Chicago's season openers, Tosca and Faust on the 10th and San Francisco Opera's next two offerings, Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment and Salome on the 24th. Interesting casting abounds in all of these productions, which might be worth seeing if you're in the area. Outside of Siegfried, L.A. Opera's other big October event is a recital from Thomas Hampson on the 3rd. There's plenty more around town to take in from Bob Dylan at the Palladium to a visit from Hofesh Shecter Company at UCLA. But don't take my word for it, get out and check them out for yourself.

Labels: In the Wings