Nashville Ballet Carmina Burana, duet, photograph by Marianne Leach
Though it might make for a better story, it is a myth that Carmina Burana is a bunch of bawdy songs written by monks. They were actually medieval clerical students who, predictably enough, liked to go out to taverns, get drunk, chase girls, complain about being broke…and then write poems about it all in Latin. In 1935, German composer Carl Orff set 24 of those poems to music, instructing that they should be performed in the “Theatrum Mundi” style (he subtitled his work Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magic images), with every note reflecting movement and visuals onstage. That directive was never followed—unless you count the lasers and fireballs in the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s rendition—until Paul Vasterling of the Nashville Ballet created his powerful, unusual choreography for the scenic cantata in 2009.
If you know “O Fortuna” (and trust us, you do) from car commercials or Val Kilmer’s dopey witchcraft scene in The Doors, this powerful work will redeem it, bringing it back into the realm of art. Nashville Ballet’s performance nods not only to Orff, but also to the original poets (dancers appear as parchment scrolls, with lyrics in Latin and English projected onto their bodies). Orff’s score will be performed live by UM–St. Louis’ University Orchestra and University Singers, who will also help set the mood for Modern American Dance Company’s performance to J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 10. The opener is choreographed by Dance St. Louis director Michael Uthoff and accompanied by the Bach Society of Saint Louis and The St. Louis Children’s Choirs.
Carmina Burana, $35 to $55. February 21 through 24, Thu, Fri & Sat 8 p.m., Sun 2 p.m. Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, University of Missouri–St. Louis,1 University, 314-516-4949, touhill.org.
