Lied to Welcome Bolshoi Stars

In the grand Russian tradition, stars and corps dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet will perform scenes from the history of ballet at 8 p.m. April 18 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

The company of 50, featuring prima ballerinas Natalia Arkhipova and Maria Bylova, will present Act II of Swan Lake, and the Don Quixote Suite, among other selections.

The Bolshoi Ballet is Moscow's premiere dance company. Named after its home theater, the Bolshoi has a company of 250 dancers.

Two pre-performance talks will be given in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room. Lisa Fusillo, director and professor of dance with the UNL Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, will offer her insights 55 minutes before the performance and again at 30 minutes before curtain.

Tickets are $40, $36, and $32; half-price for those 18 and under and UNL, Doane and Wesleyan students who present proper identification.

Cajun Music Masters Plan Spicy Lied Performance

Led by Bayou native Michael Doucet, the energetic zydeco band BeauSoleil will bring their special brand of music to the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 8 p.m. April 20 .

Winners of numerous Grammy Awards, BeauSoleil has earned the admiration of critics and music fans alike. On A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor called them the "best Cajun band in the world." Pop, rock, country and folk artists have sought BeauSoleil as back-up musicians, including the Rolling Stones, Mary Chapin-Carpenter and English folk star Richard Thompson.

Zydeco music is a production of Louisiana's Cajun population. The Cajuns are descendants of 17th-century French settlers who moved to the bayous west of New Orleans after being forced out of the their Canadian home, a region they had called Beau Soleil ("good sun" in French). Tales of their journey and the land they left behind were passed down in the form of old French songs that gradually absorb country and blues instrumentation and other influences.

Doucet sought to preserve music of the Cajun musical heritage by personally seeking out first-generation Cajun recording artists. "When I got in touch with some of those old musicians, they were shocked," he remembers. "Some of the men hadn't played in 30 years, and they wanted to know how I found them . . . I found gems, songs that I had never heard that just made me cry."

Many of those 1920-30 ballads, waltzes and two-steps were recorded on BeauSoleil's 1994 release, L'Echo, and Lied audiences can expect to hear a number of them during the April 20 performance.

The pre-performance talks will be given by Deborah Reinhardt, assistant professor of music education at UNL.

Tickets are $20, $16 and $12; half-price for those 18 and under and UNL, Doane and Wesleyan students who present proper identification.

Sheldon Introduces New Leland Lecture Series

A $50,000 dollar bequest to UNL from the Dorothy E. Leland estate will establish a memorial lecture series titled "The Leland Lectures: The Artist's Voice."

The series will allow UNL's Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery to bring artists of national reputation to campus and provide a public forum to discuss the artists' work and issues facing the art world.

The Leland Lectures will begin with a public lecture by William Wiley at 5 p.m. April 24 in the auditorium of the Sheldon, 12th and R streets. Wiley's presentation is a collaboration between the Sheldon and the Department of Art and Art History and is in conjunction with the exhibition "William Wiley: Seed Corn" on display at the gallery through July 7.

"In today's cultural climate of diminishing support from governmental agencies and increased competition for private support of cultural dollars, it's important to find more long-term solutions to support education and exhibition programming in the arts," said George Neubert, director of the Sheldon. "It's hoped that through the establishment of this endowment we have created a model for other Sheldon patrons in our community to generate such additional support."

The lectures will communicate the artists' perceptions, which are vital components to the meaning and understanding of contemporary art, and serve the educational role of the Sheldon. They will complement the recently established Geske Lectures in the College of Fine and Performing Arts at UNL. That series brings visiting art historians, critics and scholars to the university.

The Leland family has a long-time association with the university. Dorothy Leland's father, Dean Leland, was the University of Nebraska's first chaplain, while her mother Clara Leland, was a practicing artist and an active member of the Nebraska Art Association. Dorothy Leland bequeathed the money in the memory of her parents.

"We're pleased that the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery has chosen to use this gift to establish a lecture series that will not only benefit the university, but the entire community," said UNL Chancellor James Moeser. "By establishing an endowment in honor of Dean and Clara Leland, it reflects the family's long-time contributions and association with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln."

'Oedipus the King' Staged in Sheldon Gardens

To end a devastating plague which threatens Thebes, King Oedipus must overcome rumors of incest and patricide to discover the murderer of the former king. Can he solve this riddle in time to save his city? Theatrix and the Sheldon Gallery present Sophocles' masterpiece, Oedipus the King, in the outdoor sculpture garden immediately west of the gallery at 5:30 p.m. April 18 to 21.

This production weaves the tale of the proud, cursed king who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother through an ensemble of 16, featuring Kevin Bensley as Oedipus, Claudia Cox as Kreon, Janet Macklin as Jocasta, Paul Pearson as Teiresias, and Dinah Mahlman as the chorus leader. A chorus of seven women, choreographed by senior dance major Tania Reynoldson of Eagle, alternately grieves for their city, mocks the gods and shrinks in horror from the shattered, sightless remains of the once-mighty king.

Directed by Layne Ehlers, this production balances stubbornness and pride against the acceptance of personal responsibility, a dilemma as relevant today as in classical Greece. Layne, adjunct instructor of theatre history in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at UNL and director of community outreach for Nebraska Repertory Theatre, most recently directed Me and Jezebel at the Futz.

A $3 donation is requested to cover the production's expenses. Audience members are asked to bring blankets or lawn chairs. In the event of inclement weather, the production will take place at 5:45 p.m. in Studio 304 at Mabel Lee Hall.

Theatrix to Stage 'Extremities'

Theatrix continues its spring season with Extremities by William Mastrosimone at 8 p.m. April 18 to 20 and 2 p.m. April 21 in the Studio Theatre, Third Floor Temple Building. Tickets are $3 and available only at the door.

Tchaikovsky Piano Trio Performs April 20

In the last concert of the Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music 1995-96 series, the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio will perform at 8 p.m. April 20 in the auditorium of the Sheldon Gallery.

Founded in Moscow in 1975 and now based in Paris, the Tchaikovsky is among world-class chamber ensembles. Their taut and vibrant interpretations of the Slavic repertoire have won special praise, but these musicians are also compelling with works in other traditions, including some American compositions. The program for April 20 opens with Aaron Copland's piano trio Vitebsk, composed in 1929. It continues with Arensky's Trio in D Minor, Op. 32. The concert concludes with Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67.

A pre-concert talk will be given at 7:30 by John Bailey of the UNL School of Music, and a reception for the artists and audience will follow the concert. Tickets for the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio can be purchased from the Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music. Individual concert tickets are $25, with a special students price of $5. For reservations and information about the 1996-97 season, please call 435-5454 in Lincoln.

For questions regarding these Scarlet pages, contact:
dtaurins@unlinfo.unl.edu
(402) 472-8518, Fax: (402) 472-7825