Nashville Ballet: Carmina Burana

Carl Orff's cantata Carmina Burana is a musical journey into the philosophy of free-thinking students from twelfth-century Bavaria. Orff adapted 24 satirical poems written by these students (topics include man's baser instincts, religion, the Catholic church and the wheel of fortune) into a song cycle that is both profound and profane. The Nashville Ballet returns to St. Louis to present its massive performance of Carmina Burana this weekend. The show calls for 40 dancers, 120 singers and 60 musicians, and it combines the creative forces of the UMSL Orchestra and Singers, the Bach Society of St. Louis and the St. Louis Children's Chorus in order to pull it off. Dance St. Louis presents the Nashville Ballet in Carmina Burana at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (November 6 through 8) at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Boulevard and Natural Bridge Road; 314-516-4949 or www.touhill.org). Tickets are $40 to $65.