The Newman Center will produce its first-ever opera in January, collaborating with , the and on an enhanced version of “Der Kaiser von Atlantis.”
The opera is among the highlights of at the University of Denver, which kicks off in September with the return of a venue regular, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.
The diverse lineup includes classical music, dance, holiday programs and a timely visit from political satirists The Capitol Steps on Oct. 6, “which happens to be three days after the first presidential debate, which happens to be at the University of Denver,” said Stephen Seifert, the Newman Center’s executive director
.
The Center’s mission is to present Denver audiences with performers and productions they don’t see at other venues. The fill-in-the-gaps strategy routinely inspires some of the city’s most interesting artistic programming.
The 2012-13 season follows that trend. There will be appearances by , the Detroit-based chamber orchestra which aims to increase the participation of African-American and Latino musicians in classical music; Quatuor Ébène, the in-demand French quartet that fuses jazz and pop sounds into their chamber programs; and the inspired Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.
Dance performances include a rare Denver stop for the , which was started in 1946 by Limón and Doris Humphrey and is now run by Carla Maxwell. Another unusual offering: choreographer Meryl Tankard’s “The Oracle,” created for the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” featuring solo dancer Paul White.
Operatic turns will be provided by soprano Stephanie Blythe with a program called “The American Song,” and a production of “The Mikado,” by the , which wraps the season May 3 and 4.
The most ambitious event, though, is the home-grown production of “Der Kaiser von Atlantis,” a satire of Adolf Hitler written by composer Viktor Ullmann and librettist Peter Kien around 1943. Both were killed in the Auschwitz death camp soon afterward.
Seifert said the local presenters have already been working for about a year and half on the production, figuring ways to expand the one-act piece so that audiences would have “the time and space in which to consume the emotional aspect of the opera itself.”
A Klezmer-inspired musical performance will proceed the 55-minute work. It will be followed by a dance choreographed by BNC’s Garrett Ammon
to “Concertino,” by Ofer Ben-Amots, chair of the music department at Colorado College.
Tickets will be available in stages. Current subscribers can renew starting Monday, and new subscriptions begin May 1. Single tickets go on sale June 11. Most shows start at $33. .
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rinaldi@denverpost.com, twitter.com/rayrinaldi
