#5. Green Sneakers at Windfall Theatre Company.
Why? Because Ricky Ian Gordon is one of most talented and lyrical composers of vocal music around. Because his work has been sung by the likes of Audra MacDonald, Dawn Upshaw and Renee Fleming. Because this 2008 Song Cycle-Theater Piece is one of his most personal works, a reflection-tribute to Jeffrey Grossi, Gordon’s lover who died of AIDS in 1996. A poet of both word and melody, Gordon’s music deserves to be heard more often. And thanks to Windfall and ensemble member Larry Birkett, it’s here in Milwaukee.
#4. Danceworks’ Mad Hot Ballroom & Tap at the Bradley Center.
Why? Because the kids will be home from school for the summer any day now, and those of us looking for something to get them off the couch could do worse than get them dancing. Danceworks’ MHBT program has been going strong since 2006, and it seems to get bigger every year. This year, the Bradley Center will be buzzing with cheering, partisan crowds, each celebrating (and rooting for) dancers from 22 schools in the Milwaukee area. During the breaks, the Grammy nominated salsa band, Tiempo Libre, will take the stage. So you can plan on doing a little shimmying and sliding yourself.
#3. One Hot Texican Summer at the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts.
Why? Because Alvaro Saar Rios has been braving our northern winters since he moved here from Houston four years ago. This one-person show takes us to his former home, deep in the heart of Texas, or at least the part where Mexican and American people and cultures mingle. The semi-autobiographical play focuses on Saar Rios’s childhood and his relationship with his older brother. And the one particular summer when he “discovered he was Mexican.”
#2. Florentine Opera’s Baroque Double Bill at Vogel Hall.
Why? Because we live in a noisy world. And there is no better antidote than the pure and clarion melodies of the English baroque. The Florentine, emboldened by the success of Handel’s Semele a few years ago, break the usual mold with this evening – two one-act operas (John Blow’s Venus & Adonis and Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas) performed not in the usual Uihlein Hall, but in the Marcus Center’s more intimate Vogel Hall. Former Florentine Studio Artist Greer Davis returns to play Venus & Belinda. And the great Patricia Risley (who played Sharon Falconer in Elmer Gantry) returns to play Dido. Photo Kathy Wittman, Ball Square Films.
#1. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at Uihlein Hall.
Why? Because for all the buzz about Edo, you sometimes miss former MSO music director Andreas Delfs. His animated style at the podium, his hyper-romantic sensibility. Well, Delfs is back, with a program that should play to his strengths. Tchaikovsky’s ecstatic Fifth Symphony, which the composer was convinced would be unpopular. Sibelius’ lush Finlandia. And Morten Lauridsen’s serenely beautiful Lux Aeterna, which features the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
