Choreographer Mark Morris is pleased. His rehearsal with the performers of his famed dance group went well. “L’allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato” is ready, once again — this time for its second appearance at the Kennedy Center in more than a decade. “The [dancers] just did it for me; now I’m ready for others to watch,” said Morris, who formed his troupe in 1980 and presented its first performance that year in New York City. “It’s a gorgeous show with amazing dance and great music and it’s been [touring] for a long time, so something is right.”
Indeed, “L’allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato” is one of 20 active choreographed works that Morris and the dancers bring to audiences in cities throughout the United States and to major international festivals. Along with flawless dancing, the piece highlights the music of George Frideric Handel played by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra under the baton of Jane Glover. The backbone of the piece, as Handel conceived it, are the poetic verses of John Milton rearranged by Charles Jennens and sung here by sopranos Lisa Saffer and Christine Brandes, tenor John McVeigh, baritone Tom Meglioranza supported by the full and joyous voices of the Washington Bach Concert Chorus directed by J. Reilly Lewis. A multidisciplined extravaganza, the aural and visual treat for the audience is one of timeless beauty with dancers delighting in pastoral splendor.
| Onstage |
| Mark Morris Dance Group |
| » Where: Kennedy Center Opera House, 2700 F St. NW |
| » When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday |
| » Info: $19 to $69, 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600; kennedycenter.org |
To fully appreciate this spectacle for the senses, Morris contends that it helps to have read the poems, but it’s not necessary to appreciate a show of these proportions. There are no hidden meanings and obscure messages. He suggests that audiences merely watch and listen.
“There’s nothing to get — it’s about dancing and music,” he noted. “It’s not watching a movie. [These] are real people.”
In fact, the Mark Morris Dance Group is noted for its commitment to and insistence on live music, a non-negotiable request of every performance. As a result, Morris has collaborated with the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies and musicians. From the company’s home in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the stages of host cities, it’s about entertaining in a full, sophisticated, sublime setting.
“That’s reason enough to experience something that you won’t get at home,” Morris said emphatically. “That’s a reason to leave the house.”
