Mezzo Devony Smith<\/a> and baritone Grant Youngblood<\/a>, two superb singers and Lyric Fest stalwarts, will accompany Skelton and pianist Laura Ward on this whirlwind tour through the Gershwin songbook. Hopefully you\u2019ll leave one of next weekend\u2019s performances with the same awestruck impression Serge Koussevitzky had watching Gershwin perform in 1937: \u201cI caught myself thinking, in a dream state, that this was a delusion, the enchantment of this extraordinary being was too great to be real.\u201d<\/p>\n Dec. 6 at 3 p.m., Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, $30;<\/p>\n Dec. 7 at 3 p.m., Benjamin Franklin Hall, American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, $30; tickets and information<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Soprano Anika Kildegaard, performing with pianist Daniel Schreiner on a concert presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.<\/p>\n Anika Kildegaard & Daniel Schneider <\/b>\u2014 Tuesday, American Philosophical Society<\/p>\n Art song and the Andes collide in this alluring Philadelphia Chamber Music Society recital from soprano Anika Kildegaard<\/a>, the winner of the Musical Fund Society\u2019s 2024 Career Advancement Award. Joined by pianist Daniel Schneider<\/a>, Kildegaard\u2019s program showcases curatorial savvy alongside her virtuoso technique, sequencing selections from Olivier Messiaen\u2019s rarely-performed 1945 cycle Harawi \u2014 a re-telling of the Tristan and Isolde myth in the Peruvian Andes \u2014 with Gabriela Lena Frank\u2019s Cuatro Canciones Andinas (Four Andean Songs), and Debussy\u2019s Ariettes oubli\u00e9es.<\/p>\n Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m., Benjamin Franklin Hall, American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, $27; tickets and information<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ein Kind Geborn<\/b> \u2014 Friday through Sunday, Various Locations<\/p>\n Michael Praetorius composed some of the most beautiful and enduring music for the Christmas season \u2014 including famous settings of the hymns Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming) and Quem pastores laudavere \u2014 while working in the German city of Wolfenb\u00fcttel in the early 1600s. For its annual holiday concert, Piffaro<\/a>, Philadelphia\u2019s one-of-a-kind Renaissance wind band, is joined by the New York City-based Tenet Vocal Artists to revel in the stunning harmonies of Praetorius and his contemporaries, capturing \u201cthe contemplative spirit and quiet joy of Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Church of the Holy Trinity, 1904 Walnut Street, $10-$49;<\/p>\n Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m., Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St Martins Lane, $25;<\/p>\n Dec. 7 at 3 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1502 West 13th Street, Wilmington, DE, $10-$49; purchase tickets<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring <\/b>\u2014 Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Marian Anderson Hall<\/p>\n From its pastoral evocation of The Shire to its harrowing portrayal of Mordor, Howard Shore\u2019s Academy Award-winning score to the 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings is, in my humble opinion, the most effective feat of cinematic storytelling through sound on this side of Star Wars. Conductor Ludwig Wicki and The Philadelphia Orchestra<\/a>, alongside the Philadelphia Boys Choir<\/a> and Singing City Choir<\/a>, will fill Marian Anderson Hall with the sweeping music of Middle Earth with these special screenings of Peter Jackson\u2019s epic.<\/p>\n Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 2 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $55-$251; tickets and information<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n George Balanchine\u2019s The Nutcracker <\/b>\u2014 Various Dates, Academy of Music<\/p>\n Audience members leaving the December 18, 1892 premiere of The Nutcracker at St. Petersburg\u2019s Mariinsky Theatre would have been shocked to learn that the ballet would become synonymous with Christmas around the world. The initial reaction to Tchaikovsky\u2019s masterpiece \u2014 from critics (who called it everything from \u201cinsipid\u201d to\u201cunbearable\u201d), the public, and even Tchaikovsky himself (he said he enjoyed its plot \u201cnot at all\u201d) \u2014 was tepid at best, and it didn\u2019t receive its American premiere until the 1940s. Much of The Nutcracker\u2019s modern popularity can be ascribed to the choreographer George Balanchine, whose 1954 production has been performed annually by the Philadelphia Ballet<\/a> for decades. From Dec. 5th through Dec. 31st, it offers 34 performances of Tchaikovsky\u2019s Christmas classic at the Academy of Music.<\/p>\n Running Dec. 5 through 31, Academy of Music, 240 South Broad Street; for showtimes and prices, visit Philadelphia Ballet\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carols by Candlelight <\/b>\u2014 Saturday, Church of the Holy Trinity<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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