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Backstage And Beyond

WOLFIE, IS THAT YOU? Spinning Tree closes season with ambitious Shaffer play

CARMEN UNBOUND: Lyric Opera ends season with Bizet’s subversive tale of love and death

CHARMED, I’M SURE: Chorale and HASF collaborate as part of worldwide celebration

JOYCE AND ALL THAT JAZZ: Harriman season takes us from gospel to Gershwin, Fleming to floods

IN THE SERVICE OF MYTH: Donizetti favorite can’t be taken too seriously

BIG BANG: New concerto expresses composer’s devotion to his bride, who is also its soloist

NEXT STOP, FOUNTAIN CITY: Lyric Opera takes on sly, good-natured updating of Donizetti classic

TWO HEARTS THAT BEAT AS ONE: KC Ballet presents its first full-length ‘Swan Lake’

PONDERING THE UNIMAGINABLE, IN A VERY PUBLIC PLACE: KC Rep stages ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’

FEEDING BODY AND SOUL: Homegrown TV celebrity hosts unique Coterie-Harvesters collaboration

FREEDOM CHALLENGED: Coterie Theatre production tackles slave laws of antebellum America

WELLSPRING OF DANCE: KC Ballet artistic director draws from many sources for new ‘Nutcracker’

HOLY NIGHT, INDEED: Quality Hill Playhouse keeps holiday show alive with subtlety and sophistication

IN A WORLD: Unicorn stages dystopian comedy of ideas and pop culture

WATER EVERYWHERE: Lyric stages cautionary tale set to lush music

OCTOBER THE BEGUILING: Harriman Series challenges concertgoers with a busy month

CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING: Lyric Opera ‘Giovanni’ exploits visual, emotional contrasts

ART, LIFE: KC Rep production evokes deep thoughts about art, which is perhaps the point

SING YE UNFETTERED: Symphony Chorus given a chance to shine in program of Italian opera favorites

DEEP, DARK LOVE: Lyric uses classic cinema to cast light on Mozart anti-hero

MADE GLORIOUS SUMMER: Fine performances have graced the city’s summer months

MOVE ON: KC Rep and Nelson-Atkins Museum team up for essential Sondheim classic

TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES: KCAT opens season with intimate dramas, spare means

THE ART OF BEING A KID: Performing-arts groups offer creative ways to expand your child’s purview

PRINCE SCHMINCE: Starlight hosts tour of Broadway ‘Cinderella’ that humanizes leads

‘SPRING’ IN JULY: Summerfest silver jubilee features big classics, favorites from 25 years

ARE WE THERE YET? Men’s choir takes on new challenges in a rapidly changing world

SING IT, GIRLFRIEND: QHP program highlights vocalism of three great American women

SENSE OF HUMORS: Ballet brings top stager to set ground-breaking Balanchine classic

HIGHER: Harriman continues stellar 50th with Bell, Denk, promises more for 2015-16

BEL CANTO, OR CAN BELT-O? Met tenor will bring freshness, classic vocal style to Harriman-Jewell Series

SCHIFF DIGS IN, DANIELPOUR ‘SINGS’: Two events show that classical is still alive and reinventing itself

DECEPTION THAT KILLS: Ballet brings classic tale of love, betrayal and apotheosis to Kauffman Center

ART TRUMPS POLITICS (AGAIN): With wars and revolutions behind, pianist continues spinning poetry

A HISTORY STILL BEING TOLD: KC Rep’s ‘Angels’ lifts us from our smug seats and slaps us in the face

JUST NORTH OF HERE: Chorale’s program of music by Canadians draws attention to America’s ‘other’ border

JOYOUS MOMENT: KC Lyric tackles bold new opera asking ‘big questions’ about war

SHE DIES, HE LIVES, THE END: KC Ballet seeks inner core of problematic classic

REALMS OF GLORY: KC Rep takes on ‘Angels’ with preeminent storyteller at the helm

LAST LAUGH: Performance suggests that a composer’s final thoughts are his best—or are they?

THAT’S ECLECTICISM! Playhouse shines wide-ranging spotlight on classic film musicals

I YAM WHO I YAM: In KC Symphony premiere, Previn proves that knowing thyself has no shelf life

LYRIC NIGHT: Prize-winning World War I opera, soon to make KC premiere, strikes at the heart of human conflict

COME, THOU FOUNT: Choreographer and star team create dazzling new vision of Handel

MUSIC PAST, MUSIC PRESENT: Choral composition honors Harriman’s life and the Series he founded

ADIEU, ‘MR. B’: KC Ballet presents Bolender ‘Nutcracker’ one last time with help of Todd protégé

NO HAREM APPARENT: Lyric production brings out musical treasures in zany Rossini comedy

PRESCIENCE AND POETRY: Harriman series celebrates golden anniversary with returning pianist

WONDERING ABOUT ‘ALICE’: KC Ballet’s production is colorful, entertaining, and just plain strange

IT’S ABOUT THE ART: KC Friends of Alvin Ailey, celebrating 30 years of community-building, presents the full AAADT in schools and at the Kauffman Center

PASSION WITH A FLICKER OF FIRE: Lyric brings attractive production, fresh voices, to Verdi classic

WACKY WONDERLAND: KC Ballet opens season with an explosion of color, design and dance

FALLING HARD: Lyric’s production of Verdi staple features stellar cast, lush production

NO LETTING UP: After passing 40-year mark, Unicorn forges ahead with all pistons firing

MUSIC THAT UNITES WHERE DOCTRINE CAN’T: Local Cathedrals see eye-to-eye on concert series

SING YE OF SOLIDITY: Chorale’s new season continues on a road toward fiscal and artistic success

CAN’T SCHMAN’T: Actor-comedian recounts his own obstacles and triumphs in Fringe Fest show

THE MUSIC’S THE THING: Shakespeare Festival incorporates live music, to brilliant effect

MEET AND GREET: Passion for friendly classical environment drives summer chamber season

MADE GLORIOUS SUMMER: KC performing arts groups vying for ever-growing summer audiences

HERE TO STAY: Quality Hill Playhouse offers generous array of Gershwin’s amazing talents

UNDER PRESSURE NO MORE (FOR NOW): Dance group founded by Kansan makes KC part of its final tour

DANCE TO THE MUSIC: KC Ballet’s Cinderella highlights fine dancing and a deathless musical score

CHEERIO, NOT GOOD-BYE: Wichita native shifts focus of world-renowned dance/art collective

BATS IN THE BELFRY: Lyric’s Fledermaus offers fine singing, excellent scenic design, firm direction

IF THE SLIPPER FITS: Ballet’s ‘Cinderella’ also features local premiere of essential Prokofiev score

TOMER AT THE BAT: Lyric Opera’s ‘Fledermaus’ director talks about opera, comedy and a life in the theater

RUSSIA, GERMANY, BRITAIN AND BEYOND: Harriman series brings pianistic giant for a second visit

CLIBURN TRIBUTE CONCERT: Program Notes Now Available Online at the Park University website

HIGH AND LOW MEET ON BROADWAY: MTH’s tribute honors one of America’s great polymaths

CLIBURN AT THE KAUFFMAN: Park University’s music program hosts tribute to pianistic icon

SURPRISED BY HER OWN VOICE: Five Questions for Soprano Katie Van Kooten

MIMÌ AND THE STAGES OF LIFE: Lyric explores why Puccini’s classic gets us all where we live

GOLDEN, DELICIOUS: Harriman-Jewell Series unveils impressive 50th anniversary season

‘NINE,’ MEIN HERR: Classical giants dish out Germans, Austrians and a buffet of others

HUMBLE BEFORE BACH: Violinist brings daring solo program to Harriman-Jewell Series

WHAT WOULD WILLIE SAY? KC Rep’s production of well-worn tragedy revisits the bard’s own text

ARRIVEDERCI, 2013: KC performing-arts scene experiences notable shifts in “the year that was”

LOCAL HERO: Armed with Midas touch, Patterson built KC’s opera company from the ground up

OLD WINE IN NEWISH BOTTLES: KC Ballet presents bright, dusted-off version of holiday classic

NUTCRACKER AND BEYOND: A DISCUSSION WITH DEVON CARNEY

SOMETHING OLD, NEW, BORROWED: KC Ballet spiffs up Nutcracker as it sets sights on a new one

BACH AS HE MIGHT HAVE HEARD IT: Leipzig choir’s local debut is another coup for Harriman series

PEACEFUL REST: Symphony explores Fauré’s ‘up-side’ of death

GARDEN OF VISUAL DELIGHTS: Lyric’s ‘Flute’ rides on top-flight vocals, over-the-top designs

WRITING ABOUT WRITING: Unicorn’s swift, witty production of Rebeck play is like a runaway train

DEBBY RIDES AGAIN: Met Valkyrie brings smart, wistful, low-key program to Harriman series

MAGIC INDEED: Lyric brings designs by world-renowned artist to Kauffman stage

GLORY BE: Trumpeter, composer, visionary brings magnum opus to the Harriman-Jewell Series

WELCOME BACK: Dance company returns in fine form after eight-year pause

RING OF FIRE: In anticipation of her third Harriman-Jewell appearance, soprano looks to shining future

CONTAINING THE FIRE: Violinist continues to establish his place in the string firmament

EMBRACEMENT OF RICHES: Ballet’s ‘state-of-the-company’ season-opener offers rewards

SUM OF PARTS: Choreographer creates freedom, innovation from a wide range of life experiences

FAMILY TIES: Eternal ‘clash of clans’ shines in Lyric’s polished, beautifully sung production

VENUS IN BLUE JEANS (WELL, BLACK LINGERIE): Unicorn offers choice one-acter for season opener

BOY II MAN: Pianist remains rooted in classical soil while blossoming in new and intriguing ways

O WILLIAM, WHEREFORE ART THOU: Lyric production of Bellini rarity sports stellar cast, native daughter

THE REAL AMERICAN DREAM: Actors Theatre presents dark drama of love and addiction

THE PLAY’S THE THING: Dual loves of theater, finance, motivate Rep’s new executive director