By Robert Croan There was a sense of intended internationalism and ecumenism about the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s Feb. 25 performance on the Broward Center Classical Series. At the start, the orchestra, conducted by Russian-born, American-trained Dmitry Yablonsky, played The Star-Spangled Banner followed by the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah. The repertory was … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2016
Young Nigerian artist explores dualities in Norton show
5 Umezebi St., New Haven, Enugu (2012) by Njideka Akunyili Crosby. By April W. Klimley It isn’t often that an artist comes along who says something new in an original way. But that’s just what Nigerian-born artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby has done. Her colorful mixed-media artwork makes big statements about the dualities of life, while intriguing the eye with their abstract … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 27-28
Film: On the weekend that it looks likely that Sylvester Stallone will walk off with an Oscar for playing his screen alter ego, Rocky Balboa, go see another sports underdog, Eddie the Eagle, the real-life story of an unlikely Olympian. From a young age, Eddie set his sights on participating in the Olympics any way he can. He decides his best chance of qualifying would be in the … [Read more...]
FAU students bring the bawdy to ‘Country Wife’
By Dale King Oh, you rascally Restorationists. You aristocratic, anti-Puritan tricksters of late 17th-century England. You sure know how to show a lady a good time — sexually, that is — even if it’s at the expense of their unsuspecting, seemingly dimwitted husbands. That’s essentially the plot of William Wycherley’s 1675 play, The Country Wife, now being presented by … [Read more...]
Oscar bets: ‘Spotlight,’ DiCaprio, Larson will take top honors
Look for Leo DiCaprio to pick up the Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant. This Sunday’s 88th annual Academy Awards telecast should be more interesting than most because of the controversy surrounding the all-white acting nominees for the second year in a row and the anticipated reaction by outspoken emcee Chris Rock. His selection and the number of awards presenters of color … [Read more...]
Brutal and deep, ‘A War’ engages on fields of suspense, ethics
We’re just minutes into Tobias Lindholm’s A War when the first IED explodes in a heretofore tranquil stretch of desert in Afghanistan. The 21-year-old soldier struck by the device dies moments later, leaving his fellow-troops shaken, grieving and enraged — questioning the direction of their mission, fighting a deluge of tears and snot, asserting that they’re not cut out for … [Read more...]
Exceptional ‘Pasquale’ a triumph for Palm Beach Opera
Palm Beach Opera’s second mainstage production of the season, Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, showcased in deeply satisfying fashion the improvement in vocal casting this company has demonstrated in the past couple years. In a charming, smart production reset in the 17th century and borrowed from Glimmerglass Opera, Palm Beach Opera gave Donizetti’s 1843 comic romp … [Read more...]
ACO blissfully good in Ravel, Respighi, Haydn
David Loebel, the second of four conductors vying for the post of music director, led the Atlantic Classical Orchestra in a familiar but adventurous program at the Eissey Theatre on Feb. 10. It was the first evening concert in the series and seats were filled. Was it because it was a light orchestral program of five music gems or that concertgoers prefer the nightlife that … [Read more...]
Wick revives Kander and Ebb’s ‘Curtains’
In the out-of-town tryout within the musical 42nd Street, the leading lady merely breaks her ankle. In the tryout depicted in Curtains, a so-so show from 2007 by the renowned composer-lyricist team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the leading lady is murdered offstage during the curtain calls. That fictional leading lady, Jessica Cranshaw, is a classic triple threat — she can’t … [Read more...]
Composer Zwilich featured at Lynn New Music Festival
The life of a composer is something like that of a permanent student, says Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Which will come in very handy this week when the eminent American composer confers with some young practitioners of the craft at Lynn University’s New Music Festival. “I’m always learning. I think that’s one of the fun things about what I do,” Zwilich said last week. “I always … [Read more...]