The play depicts young love quashed by implacable social forces. The theater company's story is one of bravely surviving amid censorship in Uzbekistan, while drawing on folkloric and boldly experimental performance styles. It adds up to a remarkable night of theater.
The Academy of Ancient Music, at Town Hall, shows how in your face "old" music can be, while the Russian National Orchestra raises goosebumps at Benaroya, making Tchaikovsky almost frighteningly up-to-date.
Robert Schenkken's By the Waters of Babylon at Seattle Rep narrows his usual large canvas to an intimate story of two characters groping with the torments of exile. Suzanne Bouchard's performance alone makes this a must-see production.
A stunning weekend festival by Seattle Chamber Players demonstrates the great vitality of contemporary classical music. And also how much Seattle lags the West Coast in serving up such excitement.
The short opera is normally part of a double bill, but here, presented alone, some padding only adds to other problems.
