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University Daily Kansan
Arts/Entertainment
μTT
Thursday, Jan. 16, 1985
Sorcery spices Renaissance opera
Wayne Kompelien, the sorcerer in the opera, stands over his cauldron while smoke billows around him.
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16th-century opera rarely would be compared to MTV. Yet Evelyn Brabant, cast member of the opera "Dido and Aeneas," described the production as "MTV of the 1600s."
Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" will be performed by the University of Kansas Workshop at 8 p.m. today through Sunday in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall. Matinee performances will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Public tickets are $3; student tickets are $1,50; and senior citizen tickets are $2. Advance tickets are available at the Murphy Hall box office.
Brabant, Lawrence graduate student, plays Dido in three of the six performances. She said recently that opera during the 1600s was the dominant form of entertainment, like present-day television or MTV.
John Stephens, associate professor of music and director of the opera, said he double-cast the performance to let more students participate. With the exception of a few roles, separate casts will sing three performances each.
Although each cast has its own way of performing, Stephens said, all performances will be basically the same.
"'even encourage serious opera fans to see both casts,' he said.
Stephens said that he chose "Dido and Aeneas" for many reasons other than that it was "simply a wonderful opera." For one, it runs slightly less
than one hour. Also, several nice parts are developed in the opera. And it never has been performed at the University, he said.
"There is also no problem with translation." Stephens said. The opera is performed in English.
In "Dido and Aeneas," which is Stephens' first attempt at opera direction, ancient Greek kings and queens grapple with the gods and with their own desires. The five-part production, set in Carthage, features cavorting witches, and Stephens guaranteed that audience members would have a lot of fun.
Every year, the opera workshop performs two productions ranging from fully staged shows to scenes from popular opera. KU voice students participate in Opera Workshop for academic credit, studying and performing opera from classic to contemporary styles.
Stephens and musical director Mark Ferrell, assistant professor of voice, added five of Purcell's songs not included in the original score. They also included a four-voice chorus and a quartet of dancers.
Three musicians will accompany the production. Ferrell will play harpsichord, Stewart Simon, Lawrence graduate student, will play piano, and Russell Elliott-Hodge, Kansas City, Kan., graduate student, will play the viola de gamba.
Brabant described the opera as "very slow-motioned and very stylized."
"Everything has a second meaning — every flick
Wendy Nyquist, Omaha senior, plays the First Lady in three performances. She said the cast and crew overcame a few technical difficulties along the way. A lighting problem in the theatre prevented cast members from practicing there.
of the pinky means something," she said. "The music is beautiful."
Stephens said the cast was able to hold dress rehearsals in Inge Theatre Monday night and last night.
Stephens received additional help from choreographer Linda Muir, visiting instructor in ballet, lighting designer David Neville, Wichita junior, and costume designer Eleanor Lind, Kansas City, Kan.. senior.
Opera fans who enjoy wicked witches, jealous gods and a bit of tragic romance can contact the Murphy Hall box office. Seating is limited to 90 for each performance.
--year's allotment of $13,500 will pay for travel expenses of guest speakers and art exhibitions.
Kompelien applies his sorcerer's makeup before a dress rehearsal.
Story by Leslie Hirschbach Photos by Paul Goodman
Aeneas, the Trojan Prince, sings to Dido; the Queen of Carthage. Steve Smith portrays Aeneas and Phyllis Pancella is Dido.
Festival satisfies thirst for fine arts
Staff writer
By Dawn O'Malley Staff writer
Art lovers will be able to satisfy their desires this month with art exhibitions, dance troupes, chamber music performances and plays. All will be spotlighted during the University Art Festival from Jan. 19 to March 5.
"There is a great deal of creativity in the fine arts, and we wanted to focus the attention on the variety of arts activity," James Scaly, assistant to the chancellor and chairman of the University Arts Festival Committee, said recently.
During the past six years the committee has allotted money to the fine arts to help alleviate costs. This
Jackie Davis, director of the concert series, "This year one of the premier dance companies will perform."
As part of the Concert Music Series, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 18-19 in Hoch Auditorium. The admission charge will be $15 and $13, with half-price tickets for KU students.
This year the Gutherie Theatre of Minneapolis, Minn., will perform Charles Dickens' classic "Great Expectations" at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 in
Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
The Spencer Museum of Art will present J. Carter Brown, director of the National Art Gallery, Washington, D.C., as its guest speaker. Brown will talk about "Treasure Houses of Britain; Art and Diplomacy" at 8 p.m. Feb. 2 in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
The National Art Gallery now is showing about 650 works borrowed from country homes in Britain, including paintings, sculptures and furniture. Brown will show slides of the exhibit, said Carol Shankel, managing editor of museum publications.
hibitions during the Art Festival. One exhibit will feature 94 master drawings, which are on loan from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine. They come from one of the oldest collections of European drawings.
The art museum also has acquired a 16th-century triptych, which is an attarpiece depicting Christ's descent from the cross.
The museum also will show two ex-
"The festival expands the audience beyond the campus," said Scally. "If may attract others by making them aware of what they might not otherwise be exposed to."
Stoner and Tantara Trumpets at 8 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall. Admission is free.
Other events during the festival will be:
"Just So Stories," presented by KU Theatre for Young People at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb.1.
A faculty recital with Roger
The play "The Suicide" at 8 p.m. Feb. 12-16 in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.
Festival taps KU theatre
The University Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Zuohung Cheng, will close the arts festival with a free performance at 3:30 p.m. March 2 in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall.
By Lori Polson Staff writer
The University Theatre has been selected to perform "Twelfth Night" this month in the annual regional American College Theatre Festival in Springfield, Mo.
"Twelfth Night" will be performed at 8 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Irene Coger Theatre at Southwest Missouri State University. Ronald A. Willis, chairman of the department of theatre and media arts, directs the production.
"The cast is very excited because this is a big honor." Willis said Tuesday. "It's a big deal all the way around.
Charla Jenkins, director of public relations, said a panel of judges selected the University of Kansas and three other midwestern college and university productions for the festival.
The ACTF has 12 regions. Only five of 48 productions will be chosen from the regional festivals to participate in the national ACTF. The national festival will be field in April at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
This is the third time since 1982
that a KU play has been chosen to compete in the regional festival. "Dracula" directed by Gregory Hill, was selected for the 1962 regional festival and "Buried Child," directed by Jack Wright, was selected for both the regional and national festivals in 1983.
Phillip Schroeder, Olathe junior, who portrays Sir Toby in the production, said the entire cast was enthusiastic and had been preparing for the contest by having extra rehearsals.
Each year the ACTF presents the scholarship to one student who competes in the regional festivals. Other cast members competing for the scholarship are Martha Priest, Topeka senior, and Mark Rector, Lawrence junior.
In addition to being a member of the cast of "Twelfth Night," Schroeder also is one of three KU students selected to compete on the first day of the festival for the Irene Ryan Scholarship. The $4,000 scholarship is named after actress Irene Ryan who played Granny on "The Beverly Hillbillies." Ryan died in 1973.
"The festival will provide a lot of exposure," he said. "It will look really good on a resume."
Live music staves boredom in Lawrence bars, eateries
Staff writer
An influx of live entertainment at local bars and restaurants should eliminate many cases of student weekend boredom, that seems so rampant when the basketball team is out of town.
The Outhouse, Cogburns, the Paradise Cafe, Johnny's Tavern, the Up and Under and the Jazzhaus have full schedules of local and out-of-town bands for January and February.
Students under 19 who can't go to bars can attend performances at The Outhouse, four miles east of Massachusetts street on 15th Street. It is a locally owned establishment that rents space to bands, owner Don Mellenbruch said recently.
Shows usually begin at 9 p.m. and "things really start hopping" at about 11 p.m. Mellenbruch said.
The Outhouse will feature Swamp Thing on Jan. 23 and Psychic Archie on Jan. 25. The Residents, Snake-finger and Short-term Memory are scheduled for Feb. 12, and Legal Weapon will play Feb 14. The Outhouse doesn't close until the
crowd wants to leave, Mellenbruch said.
For students 19 and older, Cogburns features The Zoo, a Kansas City rock 'n' roll band that appeared on "Star Search," on Jan. 17 and 18 Brett Misman, owner of Cogburns, said that he was trying to schedule performances of well-known bands such as Shooting Star and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
Tapped Roots and The Poverty Wanks will perform a reggae benefit Jan. 20, and Boys With Toys, an Iowa band, will sing songs from their new album, "Big House," on Jan. 25.
Paradise Cafe, 728 Massachusetts St., also has live entertainment for those who like more traditional music. Full Circle, a women's quartet, will play progressive traditional folk tunes Saturday. Lisa Tannenbaum, harpist, will perform Jan. 19, and acoustic folk guitar Kasey Wold will play Jan. 23. Shows begin at 6 p.m.
Johnny's Tavern, 401 N. Second St., has a full schedule of rock, blues and country bands for January and February, said Louie Reider, owner
of Up and Under, which is located above Johnny's. The rock band Black Pearl arrives at 9 p.m. tonight. The rock band Red, White, and Blue, scheduled for Saturday, and rock and country band Neil and Brett and Co. scheduled for Jan. 23, are among other bands that will be featured at Johnny's in January.
Reider said 21-and-older crowds could hear the rock and blues of Beth Scalet at Up and Under on Jan. 24 and 25.
The Alvamar Country Club, 1809 Crossgate Dr., which is being remodeled, has plans for live entertainment and will make announcements in early February, said Frank Storm, club manager.
At the Jazzhaus, 926½
Massachusetts st., local favorites,
"Steve, Bob, and Rich," will play
classic rock Jan. 30. Matt "Guitar"
Murphy from "The Blues Brothers"
is scheduled for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
From hammered dulcimer and flamenco guitar at Paradise Cafe to a more progressive sound, way out at The Outhouse, student boredom may be struck a big blow by the live entertainment in Lawrence.
Snapshots
Exhibitions to open in Spencer Museum
Two new exhibitions will open at the Spencer Museum of Art at noon Sunday. "Old Master Drawings from Bowdow College" and "A Flemish Workshop: Understanding a 16th century Triptych" will be on view through March 2.
Bowdoin College has the oldest collection of European drawings in the United States, said curator Laura Giles, who arranged for the exhibition to come to the University. About 94 drawings, selected from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, will be on view in the museum's Kress Gallery.
"A Flemish Workshop," on view in the Museum's White Gallery, is centered on a 16th century triptych recently acquired by the Spencer Museum. The triptych is an altarpiece showing Christ's descent from the cross.
Infrared reflectograms of the triptych which show underdrawings, x-rays which reveal deeper layers of paint and photographs of related artworks also will be shown.
Lonnie Brooks plays guitar in Lawrence
Lonnie Brooks, the Louisianaborn, Chicago-bred guitarist, serves up his secret recipe of blues with a rock 'n' roll chaser at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday at the Jazzhaus, 926-822 Massachusetts.
Performing with Brooks will be his crack four-piece touring band. Brooks performs more than 150 nights a year. He plays a unique mixture of Chicago blues and 1980s rock 'n' roll interwoven with Louisiana swamp pop.
Brooks has twice been nominated for a Grammy Award, most recently for his explosive performance on the best-selling LP, "Blues Delux," a live album recorded at the Chicagofest.
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