The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker
Colorado Ballet
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Denver, CO
November 25 - December 24, 2017

The Nutcracker is a must see for many people this time of year. In its advertising, the Colorado Ballet promoted they produced the “most loved” Nutcracker in the nation. After many viewings it is easy to see why.

This year’s performances had all the classic elements the audiences expect. The sets were spectacular from the growing Christmas tree to the lovely land of sweets. The costumes may change slightly year to year, but they always have the same beauty as the previous productions.

As always, a few slight changes made their way in. Mother Ginger and the Rat King seem to be funnier and more over the top than the season before.

The Russian dancers stole the show with their energetic leaps. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her consort amazed the audience with their dizzying spins across the stage. The Dance of the Snowflakes creates the most beautiful blizzard anyone has ever seen.

Overall, the show hasn’t changed much, but it doesn’t need to. Patrons return year after year to relive the magical beauty of this classic ballet.

A Colorado Christmas

A Colorado Christmas
Colorado Symphony
Boettcher Concert Hall
Denver, CO
December 15-17, 2017

A Colorado Christmas had a little of everything. It was conducted by Christopher Dragon, who always brings joy into the experience at the Symphony.

The soloist Devin DeSantis was perfect for the variety of music in the concert. His “O Holy Night” was gorgeous. And he performed the jazzy selection from “Too Hot to Handel” and “Believe” from The Polar Express with equal expertise. He had a few fun costume changes to go with the selections as well. At the end of “Believe,” there was a fun train conductor versus symphony conductor moment between DeSantis and Christopher Dragon.

The concert also featured two choirs – the Colorado Symphony Chorus and the Colorado Children’s Chorale. The Symphony Chorus performed the more difficult pieces. The Hallelujah Chorus from “Too Hot to Handel” was a real treat.

The children’s choirs were fun. It was puzzling that some of the children were seated by the Symphony Chorus while the Children’s Chorale performed all their selections on the stage.

Before intermission, Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance. Their chorography with the Children’s Chorale was enjoyable. Even better, both were available in the lobby for photos. It was impressive to see how quickly they moved the kids through to make sure they could get through them all.

The music was well chosen to bring the holidays alive. A few fun lighting effects brought magic to the show. My only complaint is that the symphony did not have many instrumental pieces.

The show was perfect for audiences of all ages, bringing the spirit of the season to everyone.

Cendrillon

Cendrillon
Boulder Opera
Stewart Auditorium
Longmont, CO
December 3-8, 2017

Cendrillon is an opera based on the Cinderella story. It is not as well known as the Rossini version La Cenerentola. The Boulder Opera production gave audiences a look at this lesser performed work. Unlike the Rossini version, this one fully embraced the fairy tale nature of the story by including the fairy godmother and two fairy sprites to help her.

The fairy godmother’s arias were quite impressive. There were hints of the Queen of the Night in her songs, but they were perfect in the context of the magical happenings around her. The sprites were an enjoyable addition. The performers appeared to throughly enjoy the magic and mischief they provided to the story. The addition of a handful of girls from the audience during one of the fairy godmother’s scene was distracting.

The stepsisters were also fun to watch. Their reactions and preening were so funny that occasionally they took the focus off of the action in the story.

The oddest part of this opera is that the role of the Prince was written for a soprano, meaning it must be played by a woman. This was awkward at best. While the singer did her best to appear as a man, it wasn’t convincing. And in the duets with Cinderella, it was difficult to distinguish Cinderella’s part from the prince.

The set was fairly bland and simple. However, the elaborate costumes made up for much of that. Nothing was more stunning than Cinderella’s voluminous ball gown.

I was surprised that despite that the show was part of their Family series the opera was performed in French. The biggest issue with the production was the subtitles. They were projected at the back of the stage. While they were easy to read, it meant the children who cannot read yet were left to rely on their parents to read to them. But, as it turned out, the subtitles were poorly set up, at times there were typos in them. Frequently the translation for hopelessly behind the action. For the final scene, they completely gave up on them, leaving the audience to guess at what was happening.

Despite the difficulties, the audience seemed charmed with the show. As an additional treat, all of the performers appeared in the lobby for meet and greets after the show.

Anansi

Anansi
The Bitsy Stage
Denver, CO
October 27 - December 17, 2017

The Bitsy Stage’s commitment to sharing folk tales from around the world continued with their newest show Anansi. The intimate theater transformed into a dark jungle with thoughtful decorations. Foliage was draped over the entire room and the stage line was marked with a web pattern.

Anansi was a collection of folk tales and each one was told through a different form of theater. One story was a radio play, another a puppet show – other forms included ensemble acting and dance.

The cast of the show was top notch. Each actor morphed into various character before our eyes with only slight costume changes. The skits were funny and intriguing, keeping even the youngest members of the audience engaged.

The set was truly remarkable in this tiny space. Webs raised and lowered, creating swings and ladders. The lights created the time of day and showed the passage of time and change of scenery.
The Bitsy Stage is considered to be children’s theater but there was plenty for adults to enjoy. The quality of the performances, the writing and the presentation created a theatrical experience that everyone will love.

Rent

Rent

National Tour
Buell Theater
Denver, CO 
November 14-19, 2017

It’s hard to believe that the groundbreaking musical Rent is celebrating its 20th anniversary. After all this time, the storyline has begun to show its age, although it is nostalgic to see phone booths in New York City! The storyline has become a time capsule for the 1990’s, much like South Pacific is for the 1940’s.

The music of Rent, however, is timeless. The humor of “The Tango Maureen” hasn’t diminished a bit. “Will I? is still heartbreakingly beautiful.

The cast of the tour is a strong one. Marc was the glue holding the whole story together and he did it perfectly. While Roger’s singing was a bit of a disappointment. He handled the crescendos of “One Song Glory” with style but the quieter parts were underwhelming. The duet between the two “What You Own,” however, was spectacular.

The supporting cast brought much to the show. Angel was charismatic and engaging, making her death even more devastating. Maureen was a force to be reckoned with. Her character is larger than life and the actress delivered a performance that lived up to her own hype.

The multi-level set continued to set the standard of how to use all the theater space you can. It gave many playing spaces and took the audience to the cold and poor side of New York.

The brilliance of Rent always makes me sad in a way. The show’s author Jonathan Larson dies shortly before its Broadway debut. I wonder what other amazing shows he would have written if he had the chance.

Cinderella

Cinderella
Opera Colorado
PACE Center
Parker, CO 
November 11, 2017

Opera Colorado’s touring production of Cinderella created the perfect opportunity to introduce children to opera. The show was performed by the young artists program in an abridged format especially for children.

The sets for the show were simple but effective. The cast moved furniture quietly and effectively and the backdrop opened up to reveal the prince’s castle. The costumes communicated each character’s position and Cinderella’s ball gown was as beautiful as each child imagined.

The performances of each singer were impressive. The singing and the acting were equally strong, making each character believable. The songs were sung in English, allowing the audience to follow along easily.

The one hour running time was just right for the young audience and there were no obvious gaps in the story. At the end of the show was a question and answer period which was painfully short for such a large audience. It would have been better to eliminate that portion than disappoint most of the children who wanted to ask questions.

La Boheme

La Boheme
Opera Colorado
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Denver, CO 
November 7-15, 2017

Operas are known for depicting glamorous lives with complex music. However, La Boheme is a departure from this formula. The main characters of this opera are starving artists whose dedication to their craft has left them in dire straits. These characters are much easier for the average person to identify with.

The characters are fairly two-dimensional. This cast had the acting abilities to flesh them out into more realistic people. They were likeable and appealing – even at their worst.

Even the love stories were believable. The actors had enough on-stage chemistry to invest the audience in their relationships.

The score of La Boheme is not the most familiar in opera. While the music is beautiful, aside from “Musetta’s Waltz,” it is not memorable.

The sets for the show were indicative of the poverty the characters lived in. While the apartment of Rodolpho and Marcello was sparse, there was a poetry to the scene. The audience was able to see into the hallway outside their door, giving the audience a preview of what may be coming.

In such a setting, the costumes could have been overly plain. However, each man had his own style and even Mimi’s dress was pretty if plain. It only made her special pink bonnet stand out even more. However, during crowd scenes if was difficult to pick out the main characters.

One character who did not blend in was Musetta. She was the wealthiest of the main characters. However, it was unclear why her clothing was so tacky, especially considering so many of the men were supposed to be attracted to her.

For opera  lovers, La Boheme is everything they could ask for – a high quality production with excellent performances.