Triple the Fun

Marilyn LaRocque

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 9:05 a.m.

Southern Nevada's "Big Three" community performance organizations -- the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Performing Arts Center, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) -- have created a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds designed to pry even the most determined couch potato from his or her sofa during the 2003-04 performing arts season in Las Vegas.

UNLV again offers its triple-threat programming -- "Charles Vanda Master Series," "Best of the New York Stage," and "The World Stage." Titled "Season of Colors," it's a smorgasbord of performances at Artemus Ham Hall on the UNLV campus.

In terms of brilliance, versatility, longevity and international acclaim, flutist Sir James Galway (March 26) and Hal Holbrook's stage reincarnation of Mark Twain (May 22) must head the list.

Galway catapulted the unassuming flute to the pinnacle of success. Masterworks, folk music, pop hits -- he plays them all.

Galway's music has broad appeal, from classical enthusiasts to casual listeners of all ages. He has played for heads of state and with the Muppets. He won his first competition when he was 10. One of his earliest concert halls was the subway station -- that's a far cry from being knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2001.

Holbrook's career traverses the spectrum of acting and stage, films (30, total) and television (50 TV movies and miniseries, winning five Emmy Awards). His first solo performance as Mark Twain in 1954 established his alter ego as the famous author, an interpretation he updates to reflect current events.

Holbrook's 50th anniversary tour of "Mark Twain Tonight" concludes the UNLV Performing Arts Center season.

Big Ben

The season at UNLV begins Sept. 5 with versatile Ben Vereen in the first show of the "Best of the New York Stage" series. Vereen scored major success on Broadway in "Fosse," "Chicago," "Sweet Charity," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Pippin," for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Vereen has also performed with many symphony orchestras.

Multitalented composer/pianist/conductor Marvin Hamlisch returns to UNLV on Feb. 22, backed by an orchestra. Hamlisch is probably best known for his score for the Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Chorus Line."

Hamlisch's more than 40 motion picture scores include "The Way We Were" (Oscars for score and title song), his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music for "The Sting" (another Oscar) and "Sophie's Choice." He is "Pops" conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony and National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

Singers also have their chance in the spotlight. Broadway stage sensation Faith Prince (Oct. 10) has enjoyed Tony acclaim and counts among her hits numerous revivals, including "Noises Off," "The King and I" and "Guys and Dolls."

Prince has also received rave reviews for her cabaret show, "A Leap of Faith."

Maureen McGovern, described as having a "Stradivarius voice," will entertain with the music of Richard Rodgers and holiday favorites in her Dec. 20 show. Her 30-year career encompasses theater, films, recordings, concerts, television and radio. She has starred at the Sundance Theatre, the Kennedy Center and in the national touring company of "The King and I."

The holiday season also sparkles with the Boys Choir of Harlem (Dec. 5). Its repertoire ranges from boy choir works of Haydn, Bach and Mozart and moves through black spirituals to modern and contemporary music, even jazz and hip-hop.

They tour nationally and internationally and sang with the New York Philharmonic at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Concert, at the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty, Nelson Mandela's first visit to the United States and Pope John Paul II's Sunrise Mass in Central Park.

"The Newport Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary Celebration Tour" (March 12) showcases a stellar roster of jazz artists -- Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Cedar Walton on piano, Lew Tabackin on tenor saxophone and flute, Ken Peplowki on clarinet, Howard Alden on guitar, Peter Washington on bass, Lewis Nash on drums and Lea DeLaria on vocals.

The festival made history in 1954 as the first outdoor music event devoted entirely to jazz. Its sessions have featured legendary performers -- Louie Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Benny Goodman among them. The list is a roster of jazz immortals.

The Parsons Dance Company (April 16) wraps the "New York Stage" series. The company has made a name for itself as innovators, pushing the envelope of contemporary dance.

'Charles Vanda' series

In the classical mode, Opera Verdi Europa launches the "Charles Vanda Master Series" with a performance of "Rigoletto" on Sept. 27. The series continues its "Rising Stars of Classical Music" on Nov. 21 with Icelandic violinist Judith Ingolfsson and the Miami String Quartet.

Two orchestras are scheduled -- the Prague Chamber Orchestra, with special guests Eroica Trio (Oct. 26) playing works by Beethoven, Martinu and Prokofiev, and the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra (March 4) featuring American pianist Navah Perlman (daughter of violinist Itzhak Perlman) in a program of Chopin and Tchaikovsky.

Russians are also on stage on Feb. 18, when the Moscow Festival Ballet performs "Carmen" and "Paquita." Russian dancers of a different style, the Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia, perform Sept. 12. They are part of the World Stage series.

Completing that series are two distinctly different groups, the Chieftains (Jan. 31) and American Spiritual Ensemble (Feb. 13). Paddy Moloney founded the Chieftains in 1962.

The group's authentic Celtic sound has been heard on movie soundtracks such as "Treasure Island" and on recordings with Galway, the Rolling Stones and Linda Ronstadt. The Chieftains have won six Grammys.

The American Spiritual Ensemble is another versatile group with a diverse repertoire -- opera, spirituals and Broadway hits. Its members have had classical training at many world-famous opera houses in the United States and abroad and frequently appear as soloists.

Fifth of Weller

Brilliant soloists perform in the fifth season of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, lead by Music Director Harold Weller at Ham Hall. Pianists bookend the season, which has been expanded to six concerts.

At the opening concert, titled "The Spirit of America" (Oct. 4), David Koravaar performs Samuel Barber's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 38. William Schuman's "New England Triptych" and the Dvorak Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (from the New World) complete the program.

At the closing concert, "Russian Romantics," on May 8, Russian pianist Valentina Lisitsa joins the philharmonic in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F Minor. Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43," and Raneyev's "Oresteia Overture, Op. 6" fill out the program.

The philharmonic's Nov. 15 concert, "From the Heart of Europe," features two concertos. Violinist Stefan Milenkovich, a sold-out success with the philharmonic two years ago, will be joined by cellist Ani Aznivoorian in the Brahms concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor.

Members of the philharmonic will be soloists in Hindemith's concerto for Woodwinds, Harp and Orchestra. Mendelssohn's "Midsummernight's Dream: Incidental Music" opens the program.

Another violinist, Corey Cerovsek, will be heard in "The Max Bruch Scottish Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 46" at the philharmonic's "Northern Exposures" concert on Feb. 28. Works by Britten and Sibelius continue the evening's theme.

The season also presents a first for the orchestra. The Las Vegas Philharmonic Chorus, trained by Kim Barclay Drusedum, will debut in Mozart's "Requiem, K. 626," on March 20. The orchestra's annual community tradition, the "Holiday Celebration Concert," is scheduled for Dec. 13 and Dec. 14.

Nevada Ballet Theatre also celebrates the holidays with its annual bonbon, Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker," at the Samba Theatre at The Rio, with choreography by NBT Artistic Director Bruce Steivel. The exquisite costumes and sets by Russian theatrical designer Alexandre Vassiliev add visual candy. The dates are Dec. 19 to Dec. 23.

The NBT season opens with another Russian favorite, "Cinderella," (Oct. 3 to Oct. 5) at UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre, site of all the other NBT performances. The lavish sets and costumes were originally designed for the Hong Kong Ballet.

A special performance of "Cinderella" at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 will celebrate the farewell performance of Clarice Geissel, prima ballerina with the NBT for more than two decades.

NBT shifts style Feb. 20 to Feb. 22 with Tennessee Williams' steamy drama, "A Streetcar Named Desire," originally choreographed by Mark Diamond for the North Carolina Dance Theatre. The neo-classical fireworks of Balanchine's "Allegro Brilliante," danced to Tchaikovsky's Third Piano Concerto, provide stylistic balance.

Dynamic Korean choreographer James Jeon electrified local audiences two seasons ago with his pulsating, metallic-score ballet, "Inner Moves." He returns (March 26 to March 28) with a new work, "Classic Crossings," commissioned by the NBT.

A new ballet by Steivel and two classic pas de deux fill the program.

The romantic "Giselle" concludes the NBT season May 14 to May 16.

Tickets for all Big Three performances are available by calling 895-ARTS (2787). The Las Vegas Philharmonic offers bus service from Summerlin. The NBT sponsors pre-performance dinners at prestige restaurants.