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THE 2008-09 SEASON IN DETAIL

“Shaker” – Inbal Pinto Dance Company
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
Hailed as Israel’s new voice, Bessie Award-winning choreographer Inbal Pinto started out with the acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company before forming her own company and playing to rave reviews around the world. “Shaker,”the newest work from creators Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, is an eerily beautiful, grey winter day, observed through whirling snow from the window of a fast-moving train. A dance-theater piece rich in poetic imagination, its enchanted world is interspersed with humor, joy, pain and sadness, with music by Chopin, Purcell, Gavin Bryars, Arvo Pärt, Swedish folk music and songs from the 1950s performed by Japanese pop artists.

Pilobolus
Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, at 8 p.m.
A major American dance company with significant international influence, Pilobolus revels in a startling mix of physical prowess, humor, beauty and invention. Creating zany, moving shapes with an overwhelming acrobatic agility, these dancers become live sculptures, emerging from intense periods of improvisation and creative play. Contributing to one of the most popular and varied repertoires in the field, the company’s many decades of consistent artistic activity now stand as a testament to their remarkable fruitfulness and longevity. Pilobolus’ works have also appeared in the repertoires of other major dance companies, including the Joffrey Ballet, Feld Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Ballet Arizona and Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet in the United States; the Ballet National de Nancy et de Lorraine and the Ballet du Rhin in France; and Italy’s Verona Ballet.
Please note: This program contains nudity.

“Orpheus and Eurydice” – Compagnie Marie Chouinard
Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Avant-garde French-Canadian choreographer/performance artist Marie Chouinard unites the sensual and cerebral in her stark, iconoclastic, visually stunning and sometimes troubling works. Her provocative intelligence, idiosyncratic humor, sexuality and meticulous construction have garnered her several awards for her outstanding contribution to dance, and she recently was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. In the Greek myth “Orpheus and Eurydice,” Hades allows Orpheus, one of the great poets of antiquity, to return to earth from the underworld with his dead wife, Eurydice, on the condition that he walk in front of her and not look back during their journey. In his anxiety, Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice, and she vanishes forever. Chouinard’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” explores the notions of creation, loss, conscience and eternity.
Please note: This program contains nudity.

“Don Quixote” – Bolshoi Ballet
Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Long considered one of the world’s great cultural treasures, Russia’s grand Bolshoi Ballet has captivated dance lovers for more than 200 years. Embodying a schooling and performing tradition of unrivalled richness, the company’s superb ensemble skills and the spectacular realism of its scenery and costumes contribute to an illustrious history linked to generations of legendary names. Loosely based on Cervantes’ classic tale, the Bolshoi’s knockout “Don Quixote” is bursting with energy — an electric display of beautiful dancers, glorious costumes and ornate set designs.
Note: Bolshoi Ballet will also perform “Don Quixote” at 7:30 p.m. June 11, 2009, and “Swan Lake” on June 13 and June 14, listed below under “Special Events.”

THE WORLD STAGE SERIES

“The Rite of Spring” –Compagnie Heddy Maalem
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, at 8 p.m.
Fourteen dancers from Mali, Benin, Nigeria and Senegal come together for choreographer Heddy Maalem’s explosive interpretation of the infamous 1913 Stravinsky/Nijinsky ballet. Furious, bold and unflinching, Maalem’s “The Rite of Spring” is placed in Africa and features a backdrop of atmospheric film projections. Born in Algeria to a French mother and Algerian father, Maalem’s choreography is influenced by his training in boxing and Aikido. His compelling dancers are trained in contemporary dance as well as the traditional dance forms of their native countries.

“The Shadow of the Glen” and “Playboy of the Western World” – Druid Theatre Company
Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 29-30, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
Universally recognized as pioneers in the cultural development of Ireland during the last
three decades, Druid Theatre Company is at the fore of Irish theater. With a formidable international reputation for classic and new work, Druid has received wide acclaim for its new productions of the works of the great Irish playwright John Millington Synge, among others. Set in an isolated cottage in County Wicklow, Synge’s “The Shadow of the Glen” (1905) centers around a loveless and decaying marriage of convenience. Synge’s comic masterpiece “Playboy of the Western World” (1907) portrays the conflict between illusion and reality.
Note: Both plays will be performed each night.

“Monsters and Prodigies: The History of the Castrati” – Teatro De Ciertos Habitantes
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, at 8 p.m.
A wildly inventive comic romp from Mexico City, “Monsters and Prodigies” revels in the outrageous lifestyles, musical brilliance, decadence and violence surrounding the rock-star sex symbols of the Baroque: male sopranos. The high, angelic singing voices and legendary sexual prowess of these castrati turned the Baroque world upside down in the frivolous courts of Europe. With hilarious antics by gifted actors, excellent musical performances and a live horse, “Monsters and Prodigies”satirizes a bizarre musical sensation that persisted for three centuries. Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes has appeared at many international festivals and venues, including New York’s Lincoln Center Festival and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Note: In Spanish with English supertitles.

THE EXPERIMENTAL SERIES

“To Be Straight With You” – DV8 Physical Theatre
Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, at 8 p.m.
A visceral and highly political dance-theater piece featuring live performers, documentary footage, animation and film, “To Be Straight With You” is an explosive, angry, powerful and sometimes shocking work. Based on hundreds of hours of audio interviews, the multiethnic cast offers a poetic and unflinching exploration of intolerance, religion and sexuality. Blazing a fresh, dangerous trail for a large and enthusiastic audience, London’s DV8 (Dance and Video 8) is a leader in contemporary dance, taking physical and aesthetic risks and delving into complex philosophical issues. Radical but accessible, their work is a constant re-examination of the roles and relationships of men and women in our society.
Please note: This program contains disturbing material and is not recommended for ages 15 and under.

“Vivien and The Shadows” – Ong Keng Sen and Theatreworks (WORLD PREMIERE)
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
A soul-stimulating, postmodern spectacle, “Vivien and The Shadows” melds film, theater, race, gender and sexuality. Internationally lauded Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen gathers some of the best talents in global performing arts and transports us into the fantasy world of Vivien Leigh’s embodiment of Blanche DuBois, inspired by the 1951 film, “A Streetcar Named Desire.” With new texts by acclaimed Asian-American playwright Chay Yew; soundscapes by pioneering London electronica artist Kaffe Matthews; sizzling videos by CalArts media artist Brian Gothong Tan; and four virtuoso performers who witness, impersonate and accompany Vivien Leigh-Blanche DuBois to her transcendence, including Obie Award winner Karen Kandel, art-burlesque star of the New York underground Julie Atlas Muiz, the charismatic Charlotte Engelkes from Sweden and the scintillating drag dame Buckwheat from New Zealand.

“Continuous City” – The Builders Association with Marianne Weems, director
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, 2009, at 8 p.m.
What is the impact of technology on human presence? “Continuous City” tells the story of a traveling father and his young daughter, whose relationship is transformed by hypermodernity and failing cell phones. This experimental piece explores a vast, fragmented cityscape of real and virtual locations from Chapel Hill to New York, India and beyond, reaching into our cities through encounters with local participants. Obie Award-winning performance company The Builders Association produces gorgeous illusions with video, soundscapes, architecture, live performance and a Web site chorus.

THE AMERICAN ROOTS SERIES

Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, featuring Béla Fleck with Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
With Grammy-winning banjo star and Sparrow Quartet producer Béla Fleck, Grammy-nominated fiddler Casey Driessen and roots/classical cellist Ben Sollee, singer-songwriter/banjo player Abigail Washburn creates raw, inventive, cross-cultural takes on traditional folk and old-time music. Haunting, bare-bones songs and evocative vocals mark her growing acclaim as a solo artist. A member of the renowned old-time string band Uncle Earl, she has made a name for herself with her unique fusion of Appalachian and Chinese folk traditions. The collective’s self-titled 2008 release follows Washburn’s much-talked-about 2005 Nettwerk debut, “Song of the Traveling Daughter.”

Buckwheat Zydeco with Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas
Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, at 8 p.m.
The fast and furious dance music of southern Louisiana’s Creole community is in the hands of the masters with these two exuberant party bands. One of the most expressive sounds in roots music, this hybrid genre blends Afro-Caribbean rhythms with blues, soul, rock, country and French-rooted Cajun rhythms. Emmy Award winner and four-time Grammy nominee Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr. has collaborated with a who’s-who of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam and Mavis Staples. Musician and songwriter Nathan Williams’ illustrious career spans two decades and seven critically acclaimed albums.

Aaron Neville and The Neville Brothers with Dr. John
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
The heart and soul of New Orleans, The Neville Brothers define the deep musical spirit of the city with a heart-stopping blend of blues-soaked grooves and social commentary. With a dozen solo albums to his name, Aaron Neville’s angelic voice won him four Grammy Awards and Rolling Stone’sBest Male Singer title two years in a row. New Orleans’ super-charismatic Grammy-winning keyboard/vocal legend Dr. John the Night Tripper creates his own unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, R&B, psychedelic rock and Creole roots, starting out with Professor Longhair and going on to record with Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, among others.

THE JAZZ SERIES

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Legacy
Friday, Sept. 19, 2008, at 8 p.m.
Hard-swinging, powerful, fast, insanely skillful and downright fun, the 16-piece Vanguard Jazz Orchestra big band hails from New York City's legendary jazz mecca, The Village Vanguard. Originally the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra — the most influential big band since the swing era — the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has served for four decades as a creative outlet for some of the nation’s foremost performers, composers and arrangers. This performance is a tribute to the legacy of Thad Jones, a former Count Basie trumpeter, and drummer Mel Lewis, who played with Benny Goodman and Woody Herman.

Branford Marsalis Quartet
Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at 8 p.m.
One of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the past 25 years, three-time Grammy winner Branford Marsalis’ extensive experience as a saxophonist, composer and bandleader has placed him in the world’s great jazz clubs and classical halls. Known for his innovative spirit and broad musical scope, he was born into one of the country’s most distinguished musical families, gaining initial acclaim with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and his brother Wynton’s quintet before forming his own ensemble. He has also performed and recorded with jazz giants Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins.
This performance is part of the 32nd Annual Carolina Jazz Festival.

Vijay Iyer Trio
Friday, April 3, 2009, at 8 p.m.
The internationally acclaimed Vijay Iyer possesses an exotic, sophisticated, multi-cultural and emotionally engaging style that moved The Village Voice to describe him as “the most commanding pianist and composer to emerge in recent years.” A forceful, adventurous and rhythmically invigorating pianist, Iyer is a forward-thinking composer whose imaginative performances on record and on stage have won him raves from fans and critics alike. With 12 acclaimed albums to his name and collaborations with artists including Steve Coleman, Greg Tate, Amiri Baraka, DJ Spooky and John Zorn, his work, as described by the Los Angeles Times, is “so gripping and provocative that one hardly can wait to hear what he’ll hit upon next.”

THE CLASSICAL RECITALS SERIES

Matthias Goerne, baritone
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008, at 8 p.m.
Lauded around the world for his sheer vocal beauty and the consummate intelligence of his musical interpretations, Matthias Goerne is a frequent guest at the world’s most prestigious performance venues, including New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall. Highly respected as a Lieder singer, he is equally acclaimed on the concert stage, where he appears with the foremost orchestras and conductors. Increasingly sought after as an opera performer, he has appeared at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in “Wozzeck” under Antonio Pappano, Salzburg Festival, Saito Kinen Festival, Dresden Semperoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Opernhaus Zuerich and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Born in Weimar, he studied with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, among others.

Hilary Hahn, violin
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, at 8 p.m.
Grammy Award-winning virtuoso Hilary Hahn has been celebrated for her innovative interpretations, thoughtful musicianship and technical perfection. Her intoxicating stage presence and emotional sophistication belie her young age, while extensive international performances and recording activities confirm her place as one of the most distinguished artists on the concert circuit. A Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, her albums include works by Bach, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Mozart, Paganini, Sibelius and Schoenberg. All of her recordings are critically acclaimed and have spent weeks on the Billboard Top 10 list. Her numerous distinctions include Diapason’s “d'Or of the Year,” the German Record Critics’ Award and several Echo awards.

András Schiff, piano
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
One of today’s master pianists, Grammy Award winner András Schiff shines brightly in all the international music capitals. Recitals and special projects include cycles of the major keyboard works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Bartók. His prolific discography features recordings for Teldec, London/Decca and ECM New Series, including the complete solo piano music of Beethoven and Janáček, a solo disc of Schumann piano pieces and his second recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations. He performs annual engagements with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as conductor and soloist and appears regularly with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others. Schiff continues his exploration of all the Beethoven piano sonatas.

THE CLASSICAL ENSEMBLES SERIES

Hesperion XXI with Jordi Savall, conductor and viola da gamba, and Montserrat Figueras, soprano
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
The world’s preeminent viola da gamba performer Jordi Savall leads his Barcelona-based early music ensemble in a rich and colorful program exploring the many musical references in Cervantes’ classic and enduring tale, “Don Quixote.” With the vocalists of La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Spain’s beloved soprano Montserrat Figueras, Savall’s meticulously researched program richly displays some of the great musical treasures of the Spanish Renaissance. Noted for his scholarship in early music, Jordi Savall also received acclaim for his beautiful film soundtrack to “Tous les matins du monde.” This performance complements the “El Greco to Velazquez”exhibition at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art.

Kirov Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, conductor
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
In less than a decade, the Kirov Orchestra has become internationally acknowledged as one of the world’s super orchestras. Music Director Valery Gergiev, one of the most in-demand conductors in the world today, is also director of the Mariinsky Theatre, artistic director of the Kirov Opera and principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s with Xian Zhang, conductor
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
The performance from Orchestra of St. Luke’s features an evocative contemporary program centered on Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, whose association with earth and nature is pivotal to his work: nature as solace in its stillness and serenity, nature menacing in its unleashed, uncontrollable strength, and the mystery of both. Dreamlike and emotional, the music ranges from solo and chamber works to larger orchestral pieces. Orchestra of St. Luke’s has earned a reputation as America’s foremost and most versatile chamber orchestra, with an annual series at Carnegie Hall and yearly collaborations with renowned artists. Xian Zhang is the rising star associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin, and Camerata Salzburg
Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
At the age of 13, Anne-Sophie Mutter was hailed by Herbert von Karajan as “the greatest prodigy since the young Yehudi Menuhin.” She remains one of today’s most celebrated and glamorous violinists — a bold thinker and a staunch advocate of new music. She appeared recently with the Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic, among others. The exceptional Camerata Salzburg chamber orchestra, founded in 1952, has appeared with a host of renowned international artists, including Veronika Hagen and Emmanuel Pahud.

Ornette Coleman
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
One of the great innovators in jazz after Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Pulitzer Prize-winning saxophonist/composer Ornette Coleman has played a seminal role in American music. Identified with the free jazz movement of the 1960s, he belongs to that rare breed of artists/thinkers whose influence extends far beyond the realm of their chosen medium. Always putting his remarkable virtuosity at the service of melody and emotion, Coleman continues to have a powerful impact on the color and sound of music, how musicians play, improvise and compose, and how music lovers listen.

Carolina Ballet’s “Nutcracker”
Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, at 2 p.m.
A holiday season staple, Robert Weiss’ “Nutcracker” is a fantasy classic, capturing the irrepressible imagination of a child’s world in which all things are possible. Based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s more macabre “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,”the original work was Tchaikovsky’s third and last major ballet.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
The first jazz composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis also was the first artist to win jazz and classical Grammy Awards in the same year. His Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) features 15 of jazz’s leading soloists, drawing from an extensive repertoire including original compositions by Mr. Marsalis, Ted Nash, Ron Westray and other members of the orchestra, as well as the masterworks of Ellington, Mingus and Coltrane. JLCO performs and leads educational events around the globe in concert halls, dance venues, jazz clubs, public parks, riverboats and churches, with major symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, students and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists.

New York Philharmonic with Lorin Maazel, music director and conductor
Tuesday and Wednesday, March 3-4, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
The oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, the New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842. Its 20th-century roster of music directors is perhaps the richest and most distinguished in the world, including Mahler, Mengelberg, Walter, Toscanini, Rodzinsky, Stokowsky, Mitropolous, Bernstein (Conductor Laureate), Mehta and Kurt Masur (Conductor Emeritus). Fresh from posts in Vienna, Paris and Munich, Lorin Maazel became music director in 2002 and has taken the orchestra on tour to Asia, Europe and North America.

Patti LuPone: “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”
Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
In “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda,” Tony Award-winning Broadway star Patti LuPone (the original Evita) takes us on a high-spirited tour of songs and roles that she could have played, should have played, did play and will play, with selections from “Hair,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Funny Girl,” “West Side Story,” “Peter Pan,” “Evita,” “Anything Goes” and more. Earning an Olivier Award for her performances in the West End productions of “Les Misérables” and “The Cradle Will Rock,” she also has appeared in “Sunset Boulevard” and “Oliver!.” She has headlined solo Broadway concerts, and received a Tony nomination for her role in the recent smash hit revival of “Sweeney Todd.”LuPone joined Audra McDonald for Los Angeles Opera’s production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagony,”and most recently appeared on the New York stage in City Center’s rapturously received production of “Gypsy.”

“I went to the house but did not enter” – Heiner Goebbels (U.S. PREMIERE)
A staged concert in three tableaux with The Hilliard Ensemble
Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 29, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
A dizzyingly original feast of contemporary European music and theater, “I went to the house but did not enter” is a new, experimental piece that delves into 20th-century literary texts by T. S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett and Maurice Blanchot. Devised by the defiant and inimitable German director and composer Heiner Goebbels and featuring the uniquely intense British vocal quartet The Hilliard Ensemble, it is an indescribable journey on which the un-heroic protagonists never embark.

Mariza
Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Mariza has taken the world by storm with her spectacular singing voice, extraordinary magnetism and vividly emotional performances. Her unique artistry marks her as the new face of fado, the fiery, haunting torch songs of old Portugal. Raised in the heart of fado culture — the picturesque Mouraria district of Lisbon — Mariza was born in Mozambique and embraces her African musical roots. With wildly enthusiastic audiences and sell-out performances at Carnegie Hall and other major international venues, she has received overwhelming critical acclaim and the BBC Radio 3 Award for Best World Music Artist (European category).

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 50th Anniversary Celebration, with Sweet Honey in the Rock
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 21-22, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
The genius of Alvin Ailey forever changed the perception of American dance. Today the legacy continues with Judith Jamison’s remarkable vision and the extraordinary artistry of the company’s dancers. A highlight of this performance is the company’s eagerly anticipated collaboration with the Grammy Award-winning female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, who will return to Memorial Hall to perform with the dancers in a piece choreographed by company member Hope Boykin.

Bolshoi Ballet
Long considered one of the world’s great cultural treasures, Russia’s grand Bolshoi Ballet has captivated dance lovers for more than 200 years. Embodying a schooling and performing tradition of unrivalled richness, the company’s superb ensemble skills and the spectacular realism of its scenery and costumes contribute to an illustrious history linked to generations of legendary names.

“Don Quixote”
Thursday, June 11, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.
Loosely based on Cervantes’ classic tale, the Bolshoi’s knockout “Don Quixote” is bursting with energy — an electric display of beautiful dancers, glorious costumes and ornate set designs.

“Swan Lake”
Saturday, June 13, 2009, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 14, 2009, at 2 p.m.
The majestic “Swan Lake,” originally created for the Bolshoi in 1877, features the company’s incomparable prima ballerinas expressing like no other the ecstasy, tenderness, hope and despair that make this the most beloved of all ballets.

Ticket Information
Subscriptions to the Carolina Performing Arts Series will be available beginning May 19, 2008, and tickets to individual performances will be available beginning July 1, 2008. Both subscriptions and individual tickets can be purchased online at carolinaperformingarts.org, by phone through the Memorial Hall Box Office at (919) 843-3333, or by mail to the Memorial Hall Box Office, UNC-Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3276, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27599-3276.

Carolina Performing Arts Web site: http://www.carolinaperformingarts.org

Note: High-resolution photos for stories published after the embargo lifts on April 1, 2008, are available from Harry Kaplowitz at (919) 843-3119 and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Carolina Performing Arts contact: Kara Larson, (919) 966-3834, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589