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Show 0CT26 - 2000 OPERA Dancing e classics, meditative provocations and arresting choreography, the U's Performing Dance Company once again produced an fascinating and eclectic fall show which ran the past two weekends. Abby Fiat's "Silent Whispers" the evening's opening piece was danced beautifully by Tamara Riewe and Jesse Walker. Both dancers seemed to capture the abstract movement to the point where you forgot that the piece was actually choreographed an attribute that is most common in distinguishing professionals from the rest of the crowd. Although the romantic duo's work became extremely abstract at times, the piece was intriguingly grounded in the object reality of the creatively-use- d park bench the only prop in the work. The next piece on the evening's agenda was "Renee & The Wolverines," choreographed by Stephen Koester. The movement was typical Koester oddly paired, created and motion intricately the but three student invoking dancers failed to capitalize on the interesting choreography. (I attended the opening night, and the opening night only, so things definitely could have profast-pace- d, gressed.) One of the highlights of the came with Brent evening Schnieder's "Excerpts From Life." As the title may suggest, the piece was somewhat post-moder- n and used video, spoken word, etc. to music, incorporate a very theme. contemporary In what was easily the best multi-medi- a dancedcreated scene in the program, dancer Liz Carter moved in front of a lighting fixture passed between two male hand-hel- d dancers. The work took on a meta-fictio- n quality which added to the voyeurism implied by the creation, The last piece choreographed by a faculty member for the evening was "Indelible," created by newcomer Pamela Garber, who vill be taking over the direction of PDC this January. With very unobtrusive movement, the female trio gracefully performed Garber's choreograa phy ultimately producing trance-likor meditative, state for R8 the stone pillars in the fust scene. Perhaps intended to point the focus on King Lear's throne, the excessive amount of actors detract from the main action priate.Inthe set of Tatyana's bedroom, trie angle of the walls gave by Jacob Stringer avant-gard- continued from page R8 Tatyana enough space to dream her romantic dreams, while also conveying a feeling of entrapment and constriction. The sparse darkness of the final set foreshadowed the bleak fate of Onegin, while the presence of two chairs held out a slim hope of togetherness. The vocal artists were superb. Each seemed made for his or her ' respective role, especially those in the three main roles Lensky, Tatyana and Onegin. Paul Hartfield's portrayal of Lensky, Onegin's best friend, was sin- cere, innocent and joyful a sharp contrast to the brooding, discontented Onegin. Onegin, played by Scott Henand jaded, dricks, was but Hendricks' rich, full voice made his character so charismatic that it was almost impossible to hold his character flaws against him. Maria Kanyova, who played the role of Tatyana, proved to be more than up to the task of portraying a young lady who falls in love with life at first sight Her devotion and agitation was immediately apparent, and an impulsive letter scene was passionate in a pure, guileless way. Unfortunately, in the final scene, Kanyova's voice was too thin to impress upon the audience the emotional significance of the moment The dance elements, choreo-graphed by University of Utah professor Richard Wacko, were also superb. A peasant dance in the first scene was crisp and lively, deserving of a standing ovation in and of itself. The most significant breakdown was in the acting. Though it was fine during most of the production, the final scene was unnaturally stiff and did little to convey the eternal love that the characters claimed to feel for each other. Utah Opera is to be congratulated for opening the season with a strong performance of a work. This is an opera for everyone. "Onegin" almost demands a second viewing for understanding and appreciating the elements missed the first time around. The final two performances of "Eugene Onegin" will be this Friday at 7:30p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. e tickets are available to students half an hour before each performance according to availability. All performances are at the Capitol King Lear's folly. Cordelia's refusal to vocalize her love takes place in the middle of the court, but because the scene is so distant from the audience, we don't feel any real pity or sorrow for her. THE ARTS Playing predators not only through the deliverance of their lines, but also in their movements, the two actresses create villains that you're sorry to see leave. Wisdom comes with age, so the older crowd doesn't need to be tempted to see one of the greatest plays ever written. For Lear." "King Lear" plays Cct 25 through Nov. 11 at Pioneer Theatre Company. Student tickets are available for $4. Call for more information. 581-696- 1 i Louncn fimm the play progresses, the action shifts into the natural center, where it belongs. The final tragic scene with Cordelia, played by Krista Hoeppner, and King Lear, played by William Leach, takes place where the opening scene should have. A bright shaft of light and the actors enclosed around the old king takes full advanta ge of the set design. Closing in on the action heightens the tragedy by making King Lear's last moment of sorrcv; personal instead of on a large, courtly scale. "King Lear" is a play full of vioAs self-center- SALE SALE SALE Sale Dates: 1024-102- 8 $269 $359 $349 $375 $275 $365 LONDON PARIS AMSTERDAM ROME FRANKFURT MADRID Fares are RT kx midweek travel and subiect to availably TMs jre from $. $65 Tkts nxrsl be booked and pad lor tiont Oct ISC.ITIC. 20O1 to departires tram Dec 12th through Dec 24th Must hold valid restrictions nviy apuly and Shop extended 10-- 8 Othbr H?7afto Mailable! wrtfiw o' Uwssurrturyes horn Nov 2h orDeparture IVTC Gird Some age whrh range lence. Under Charles Morey's direction, the violence is interspersed with comedy. Edmund, the most interesting and comic villain in the play, is played by Jonathan Hammond. He plays the illegitimate son of Gloucester, determined to be bad , , hours-Tues-F- ri: 1 wKSf&fiR&&'ml1f3Sii March ,1 and other T-n,i with delight. His passion and love of evil enliven the opening half. He stands out as the only character with any strong desire at all as the play unfolds in the first half. The other characters seem dull and uninteresting in the opening scenes where the basic plot 7 ww&jL U develops. Even Leach's Lear, cursing the sky and his daughters, 1 IHWHIUIIIIIIU: Blork is nothing 1 short of fiyonQtic! ' -- f cannot compare to the passion in Hammond's performance. This banality in the opening half drove alcouple in neighboring seats on opening night to leave at intermission. However, the second half of this production proves worth the wait. The actors come alive as the storm and impending violence of the first half come to a head. Goneril and Regan, played by Alison Edwards and Joyce Cohen, make excellent villains.Cold, insensitive and always fondling a male in their vicinity, the vomen dominate the stage and are strong and power-hungrAt one point when they are manipulating Gloucester, played by Richard Mathews, they swirl around him like sharks around lesser-know- n y. Half-pric- Theatre. e, the audience. The finale of the very avant-gard- e the program was "Passengers," which was originally choreographed in 1970 by Viola Farber, and was restaged with the direction of Repertory Dance Theatre's Linda Smith. Created along the same lines as many of Merce Cunningham's works and'John Cage's compositions, "Passengers" mostly felt out of place in the 21st century. The creation speaks to a very specific time period and artistic movement, but the young dancers on stage didn't seem to be able to make it work. In what can Only be attributed to a severe misunderstanding, or lack of understanding, the piece fell flat far short of what its original state must have been. Although PDC's fall program had its shortcomings as any program does, student and professional the overall production, and the creative expertise with which it was produced and performed, is prime evidence that the U's modern dance department is one of the most highly esteemed in the country for a good reason. r1 .T1- - . - R9 students, the violence, villains, and criticism of the uncaring gods should be enough of a draw to PTC's production of "King their prey. LSAR continued from page Voyeurism With - RED ' r . . w s7 -- n c a jl ft 43 trrmamrnmm iwrnw. twiww -- I |