Love and War on the Nile at Kimball: Handel's Julius Caesar in Egypt

Julius Caesar in Egypt will be performed at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 and 3 p.m. Feb. 20 at Kimball Recital Hall. The performance, fully staged with costumes and chamber orchestra, will be directed by Ariel Bybee, (shown at right), artist-in-residence at NU.

Bybee, who learned the role of Sextus for a production of the work at the Metropolitan Opera, has a distinguished career in opera including some 20 years singing principal roles at the Met. Tyler White, NU's director of orchestral activities, will conduct the chamber orchestra.

Adrienne Walker is in the leading role of Julius Caesar; Ling-Ling He is cast as Cornelia; Sarah Barnard as Sextus; and Dawn Pawlewski as Cleopatra. Other principal players include Bret Howsden, Jeff Keele, Elizabeth Moulton and Jeff Behan.

Reserved seats are $12/adults and $6/students and are available at the Lied Center Box Office, 472-4747.

Nearly 20 years before he wrote his Messiah, George Frideric Handel composed his greatest and most popular opera, Julius Caesar in Egypt. The opera might well have been called Caesar and Cleopatra, for it covers that period of time when the two famous lovers meet, fall passionately in love, and struggle together against treachery to make Cleopatra queen of Egypt and to preserve Caesar's life and control over the Roman Empire.

The scene is Egypt just after Caesar has conquered Pompey, who had fled Rome after fomenting civil war. Caesar promises Pompey's wife, the virtuous and beautiful lady Cornelia, pardon for her husband as Achillas, an Egyptian lord, arrives. Achillas brings Pompey's head, which Ptolemy, degenerate usurping brother of Cleopatra, has had cut off. Pompey's son, Sextus, vows revenge. Cleopatra prepares to meet Caesar, who she hopes to seduce into removing her brother from Egypt's throne. Caesar, horrified by Ptolemy's gruesome deed and captivated by Cleopatra's beauty?agrees. As Ptolemy entertains Caesar in his palace, Sextus challenges Ptolemy to a duel, but is taken prisoner with his mother. The rest of the opera presents a maze of plots to assassinate both Caesar and Ptolemy, various attempts by both Ptolemy and Achillas to assault Cornelia, a battle between Ptolemy and Cleopatra in which Cleopatra is taken prisoner, and the eventual death of Ptolemy by Sextus' hand, followed by the complete triumph of the lovers and general rejoicing.

Revived last season at the Metropolitan Opera, Julius Caesar in Egypt has been gaining in popularity ever since its revival in Germany in the 1920s. Few other works contain so many arias which are known outside the context of their operas. There is a delightful tension between the complicated drama of the story and the stately classical form of the music. A challenge to singers, the vocal line is both sustained and florid.

Copland, Brahms, Ravel to be Performed

Violin Mastery from Joshua Bell at Lied Feb. 13

From child prodigy to mature and accomplished musician, Joshua Bell has earned a place as one of the leading violinists in the world. An evening of spellbinding music and artistry is in store when Bell takes the stage at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7 p.m. Feb. 13.

Accompanied by London-born pianist Simon Mulligan, Bell will perform Sonata for Violin and Piano by Aaron Copland; Violin Sonata No. 3, in D minor, Op. 108 by Johannes Brahms and Sonata for Violin and Piano by Maurice Ravel.

An Indiana native, Bell received his first violin at age 5. After meeting renowned violinist Josef Gingold, who became his teacher and mentor, Bell seriously committed to music at age 12. At 14, Bell came to national attention as the winner of a major music competition, followed by his Philadelphia Orchestra debut that same year. Now 31, Bell has performed with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and London Symphony.

In addition to an extensive touring schedule, Bell has recently found time to enter the world of cinema. In 1999, Bell made significant contributions to the film, The Red Violin. This film, with a score by renowned composer John Corigliano, traces the history of a mythical violin over three centuries. Bell served as artistic adviser and performed all the violin music in the film. The Red Violin was recently a Golden Globe nominee for best foreign film of 1999. Bell also made a cameo appearance in the 1999 Meryl Streep movie, Music of the Heart.

Mulligan has performed and recorded internationally, both in the solo and chamber music field, as well as a recital partner with Bell and Lynn Harrell. He celebrated his musical debut in 1992 in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Lied Center will be holding a drawing at the concert for several romantic prizes to complement the pre-Valentine's Day theme. Prizes include a dinner for two at Misty's Restaurant, flowers from Danielson Floral Co., a heart-shaped box of candy from Sugar Plum Candies and more. Those attending the concert will be able to sign up for the drawing before the performance or during intermission. Prize winners will be posted after the concert.

Tickets for this performance are $36, $32 and $28; half-price for students. Call the Lied box office at (402) 472-4747 for ticket availability.

Six One-Acts from the Wacky World of David Ives

All in the Timing is the the first main stage production of University Theatre's Spring 2000 semester season. All in the Timing is a collection of six one-act comedies written by David Ives, a master of wit, intelligence and satire.

The production preview for students only is at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Howell Theatre. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 and Feb. 22-26.

The comedies are:

o Sure Thing, a classic of contemporary comedy. Two people meet in a cafe and find their way through a conversational minefield as an off-stage bell interrupts their false starts, gaffes, and faux pas on their way to falling in love. Cast members are Kyle Johnston and Amy Black.

o Words, Words, Words recalls the philosophical adage that three monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later produce "Hamlet," and asks: what would the monkeys talk about at their typewriters? Cast members are Eric Underwood, Heidi Maus and Jeff Barwig, all undergraduates.

o The Universal Language brings together Dawn, a young woman with a stutter, and Don, the creator and teacher of Unamunda, a wild comic language. Their lesson sends them off into a dazzling display of hilarious verbal pyrotechnics - and, of course, true love. Undergraduates Karen Kumm and Brian Lucas comprise the cast.

o Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread is a musical parody vignette in trademark Glassian style, with the celebrated composer having a moment of existential crisis in a bakery. Adrienne Gregg, Abby Miller, Michael Semrad and Kerry Gallagher are the undergraduate cast.

o The Philadelphia presents a young man in a restaurant who has fallen into a "Philadelphia," a Twilight Zone-like state in which he cannot get anything he asks for. His only way out is to ask for the opposite of what he wants. The cast are undergraduates Jason Pope, Mollie Cox and Aaron DuPree.

o Variations on the Death of Trotsky shows the Russian revolutionary on the day of his demise, desperately trying to cope with the mountain climber's ax he's discovered in his head. Gregory Peters, Erin Reitz and Dana Wheatley are the undergraduate cast members.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 472-2073. Students are $6; UNL faculty, staff and senior citizens are $9, and all others are $10. Preview tickets are $5.

Multidimensional Artist Reworks Shakespeare In Romeo Sierra Tango

Rinde Eckert brings his latest piece, Romeo Sierra Tango, to the Johnny Carson Theater at 8 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17 as part of the Lied Center's Discovery series.

Eckert, a writer, director, actor, musician and composer will perform Romeo Sierra Tango, as a solo theater piece.

Loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and originally commissioned by the New York Shakespeare Festival, the premise of Romeo Sierra Tango is that Romeo has awakened in his tomb. The poison with which he tried to kill himself has instead made him age very slowly. It is now several hundred years later and Romeo awakens on a World War I battlefield. This time the warring parties are not families, but countries. Despite the subject matter, Romeo Sierra Tango is as funny as it is serious, with plenty of puns and allusions to Shakespeare. Most of all, the work strives to challenge the audience intellectually, who should be aware that the piece contains mature language and material.

Eckert has been celebrated for his writing and performances in multimedia theater pieces with the Paul Dresher Ensemble (with whom Eckert has appeared previously at the Lied Center) and the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Recently, Eckert has worked more on solo theater pieces and original music. Other solo works written and performed by Eckert include The Idiot Variations, Dry Land Divine and Quit This House.

Tickets for this performance are $20; half-price for students.

Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 for ticket availability. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. The box office in the Johnny Carson Theater opens one hour prior to the performance. Out of consideration for the artists and patrons, no late seating will be allowed.

NPRN Now Live on WWW

Nebraska Public Radio Network listeners can now "tune in" to their favorite source of classical music, news and commentary by logging onto the World Wide Web at http://net.unl.edu.

NPRN began using streaming audio technology to deliver its programming live and in real time over the Web on Jan. 28. Public radio fans who log on will hear the same programming broadcast by NPRN's flagship station, KUCV 90.9 FM in Lincoln.

Audio streaming will allow more Nebraskans access to NPRN programming such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Wet Paint, Performance Today, A Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk, according to NPRN General Manager Steve Robinson.

"This is a real breakthrough for those few Nebraskans who don?t live within the range of a network transmitter," Robinson said. "It's also ideal for people who work in offices where they don't have access to a radio."

The Web will also deliver NPRN to Nebraskans who have moved outside the state and anyone else who wants access to Nebraska news and programming, said Nancy Finken, NRPN news director.

"It's a great way for ex-Nebraskans to stay in touch and for others to learn more about Nebraska," Finken said. Nebraska news stories air weekdays at 6:04 and 7:04 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in both Central and Mountain Time.

Web users will need to download the free RealPlayer media player program in order to listen to streaming audio, said Bill Ganzel, managing editor of NET Online, the home page for Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

The RealPlayer usually comes installed on new computers or can be downloaded for free from the Web, Ganzel said. "We provide a link to the media player on our Web site."

NPRN, NPRN streaming audio and NET Online are services of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. The complete program schedule for NPRN is available on NET Online.

NPRN can be heard on the following stations: Alliance/KTNE 91.1 FM; Bassett/KMNE 90.3 FM; Chadron/KCNE 91.9 FM; Hastings/KHNE 89.1 FM; Lexington/KLNE 88.7 FM; Lincoln/KUCV 90.9 FM; Merriman/KRNE 91.5 FM; Norfolk/KXNE 89.3 FM; and North Platte KPNE 91.7 FM.

Gallo Will Replace Bikel in Fiddler Production

Joseph M. Gallo III will portray Tevye in April 6-9 production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Lied Center. He replaces Theodore Bikel, who cancelled due to personal schedule conflicts. The performance is a collaboration between the Lied Center and the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Gallo has portrayed the role of The Auditioner/ Narrator in the award-winning production of The Promise in Branson, Mo. for the last four years, as well as numerous other regional theatrical productions including Hello, Dolly; Destry Rides Again; Damn Yankees and Anything Goes. Gallo is also featured as Mary's father in matinee performances of Two From Galilee at Branson's The Promise Theater. Gallo has also appeared in several other Branson productions.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing Tevye and am looking forward to working with the staff and performers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln," Gallo said.

Fiddler on the Roof is the award-winning story of family love and tradition in an ever-changing world that is forgetting the old ways of life. Father Tevye and his wife struggle to instill the traditions and faith of their Russian Jewish heritage to their five daughters. A unique and rich musical score enhances the story with classic songs such as "Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset."

Tickets for the performance are $28, $24 and $20; half-price for students.

Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 for ticket availability.

Glass Artist Chihuly Lecturing Feb. 14

Internationally known glass artist Dale Chihuly will give a free public lecture beginning at 11 a.m. Feb. 14 in the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Auditorium. All students, faculty and staff are invited to the presentation.

Chihuly is one of the world's foremost artists who has elevated the medium of glass to an art form. Known mainly for his blown-glass objects, Chihuly actively explores other media, including ice, plastic, and paint. Through production and experimentation, he arguably has produced the most influential body of contemporary glass art in the world. His colorful, lively, beautiful pieces are organic and jewel-like, and range in size from mere inches to more than 30 feet tall.