Sleepwalking in Switzerland: What’s Happening in Classic Arts This Week
Find out what’s happening in the opera, concert, and dance scene this week.
New York City Center
Marc J. Franklin
From the moors of Scotland to the mountains of Switzerland, the classic arts scene in New York is never quiet. Here is just a sampling of some of the classic arts events happening this week.
Teatro Nuovo, an opera company devoted to historically informed performance of the Bel Canto era of Italian opera, will present Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth and Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula at New York City Center July 23 and 24 respectively. Macbeth will be performed in the rarely-heard original 1847 version of the score, before Verdi made revisions for the opera’s French premiere in 1865. Macbeth was the first of three operas Verdi wrote based on plays by Shakespeare, following it up with Otello in 1887 and Falstaff in 1893. The 1847 version of Macbeth thus presents a unique opportunity to hear a younger Verdi’s approach to the English dramatist.
La Sonnambula, another opera that has been subject to significant alterations after its premiere, will also be presented in its original version, including some unpublished passages from Bellini’s autograph score. Styled an opera semiseria, La Sonnambula is a pastoral opera set in rural Switzerland, and concerns the approaching wedding of Amina and Elvino, which is threatened when Amina’s somnambulism (sleepwalking) gets her into an unexpected scrape with a mysterious nobleman.
Teatro Grattacielo wraps up its 2025 summer season this weekend with three performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro running July 25-27 at La MaMa. Based on the play by Pierre Beaumarchais, Le Nozze di Figaro was considered revolutionary in the 18th century for its depiction of servant characters rising up against an aristocrat. Teatro Grattacielo’s production, directed by Stefanos Koroneos, incorporates moments of dialogue from the play.
The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center will play two programs this week at David Geffen Hall. The first program, titled “Folklore and Legends,” will be performed July 22 and 23, and feature Emilie Mayer’s Faust Overture, the New York premiere of Anna Clyne’s Glasslands with saxophone soloist Jess Gillam, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. The second program, titled “Timeless Transformations,” will be performed July 25 and 26, and will feature Michael Abels’ More Seasons, Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with cellist Sterling Elliott, and the first movement from Mozart’s Symphony No. 33. This will be followed by the first act of Mozart’s unfinished opera Zaide, sung by soprano Erika Baikoff, tenor Eric Ferring, and bass-baritone Ben Strong, with narration by Denyce Graves.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Summer Evenings series continues this week with concerts July 22 and 26 at Alice Tully Hall. The July 22 concert will include works by Glinka, Glière, Beethoven, Schubert, and Arensky, while the July 26 concert will feature string quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, played by the Viano Quartet.
The Mark Morris Dance Company’s 45th anniversary residency at the Joyce Theatre concludes this week. Running through July 26, the company will presents two programs, each of which will feature a world premiere alongside classic works from the Mark Morris repertory.
To stay up to date with classic arts news, subscribe to Playbill’s classic arts newsletter.