By Michelle F. Solomon On Valentine’s Day in 1942, tenor and voice teacher Arturo di Filippi, co-founder of the Opera Guild of Greater Miami, the precursor to Florida Grand Opera, produced its first production. It was Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and it played for only one night at Miami High School. It was groundbreaking because only four years later, The Opera Guild … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2024
Detroit SO, Weilerstein brilliant in concert to remember
By Márcio Bezerra Most people come from the Midwest to enjoy our mild winters. However, on the rainy afternoon of Feb. 11, one, for a little over two hours, envied the folks living in Detroit thanks to the thrilling concert given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. It was a reminder that, no matter how well intentioned our local … [Read more...]
At the Kravis: ‘Jagged Little Pill’ is challenging, but rewarding
Here’s a question for fans of statistics. What Broadway musical contains the greatest number of trauma topics? The Guinness Book of World Records is mum on the subject, but based on a viewing of the show currently at the Kravis Center this week, surely the answer is Jagged Little Pill. Based on singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette’s decade-defining 1995 album, adapter Diablo … [Read more...]
West Palm native Henderson found guitar glory far from home
Casual music fans might not recognize the name Scott Henderson (www.scotthenderson.net), but area musicians from the 1970s, and fans of jazz/fusion internationally from the 1980s onward, all know the name of the greatest electric musician South Florida ever exported. The guitarist released his seventh solo album, the self-produced Karnevel!, on Feb. 2, and has made 20 total … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Book Festival returning for 10th year
If there was a book out this year titled “Perseverance,” it would be authored by Lois Cahall, founder of the Palm Beach Book Festival and a former newspaper reporter. Hitting its 10-year milestone, the festival, scheduled for Saturday, March 16, at Florida Atlantic University, brings New York Times-bestselling authors to South Florida and has endured, despite challenges. … [Read more...]
‘Plaza Suite’ doesn’t age well, but lead performances save Maltz production
The three one-act playlets of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite have two things in common. They all take place in Suite 719 of New York’s swank Plaza Hotel and they all have a jaundiced view of marriage. OK, two more things. They each run a little too long for their own good and they each feel a little outdated in 2024. Plaza Suite hails from 1968, the fourth play by … [Read more...]
Simon’s ‘Plaza Suite’ not just for laughs, Maltz director says
You might think when the Maltz Jupiter Theatre takes a break from its usual musical menu to produce a comedy like Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite that the task is easier. Not so, says director J. Barry Lewis, the Maltz’s go-to guy when it comes to staging Simon’s plays. “They’re always a challenge, there’s no doubt about it,” he says. “It’s one of the oldest sayings in the … [Read more...]
MCB’s Winter Mix dazzles with ‘Firebird,’ ‘Concerto DSCH’
On a recent Saturday evening, Miami City Ballet’s performance began pre-curtain with the music of The Firebird filling the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. It was pleasing to sit back and let all your thoughts fall away as the live music rose from the orchestra pit. Looking up at the stage, there was a glorious, gigantic tapestry that reached to the full height of the … [Read more...]
PB Symphony satisfies with Rimsky, Zwilich, Grieg
By Márcio Bezerra The Palm Beach Symphony continued its 50th anniversary celebration Feb. 5 with a satisfying concert at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Under the music direction of the competent Gerald Schwarz, the local ensemble has bloomed into a serious musical organization and its increasingly audacious programming is proof of that. On Monday, the main … [Read more...]
Smokeboss Militia carves out original path amid tribute band plenty
Bands that blend a wide variety of different influences into a unique style often can’t be categorized in the moment. The Allman Brothers Band, for example, was simply called a rock act as it climbed to popularity from the late 1960s onward. No one coined the terms “jam band” or “Southern rock” until later to describe such a diverse act’s mesh of blues, jazz, gospel, … [Read more...]