By Robert Croan The second half of the program offered Feb. 21 by Chamber Music at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea — a concert series at the Community Church on Bougainville Drive — was devoted to original Filipino music by composers whom most American music lovers have not heard of: Nicanor Abelardo, Lucio San Pedro, Rodolfo Cornejo, Manuel Velez — and not least, Ernesto Vallejo, a … [Read more...]
SFSO makes adventurous mark with two cutting-edge works
By Robert Croan South Florida Symphony Orchestra’s music director, Sebrina Maria Alfonso, led one of her orchestra’s most adventurous and interesting programs ever (seen Feb. 18 at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale) with two nearly brand-new works by composers who are at the cutting edge of today’s classical music scene. Four Black American Dances, by Carlos Simon (b. 1986), … [Read more...]
With early Bizet work, Palm Beach Opera finds a jewel
By Márcio Bezerra Before writing the revolutionary Carmen, Georges Bizet tried his hand at the operatic genre with a few operas that were given lukewarm receptions by the public and critics. His first significant opera, Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) was written in 1863 when he was not even 25, and had just finished his residency in Rome as a recipient of the … [Read more...]
Theatre Lab wants you to meet Joanna Castle Miller and her autobiographical trilogy
By Erik Kvarnberg FAU Theatre Lab wants everyone possible to get to know playwright, actor, and stand-up comic Joanna Castle Miller, and this starts with Conversa. Conversa is an autobiographical play written and performed by Castle Miller, directed by FAU Theatre Lab’s Producing Artistic Director Matt Stabile, and accompanied by live music from Theatre Lab veteran Paul … [Read more...]
Cleveland Orchestra brilliant in Mozart, Shostakovich at Kravis
By Márcio Bezerra The Cleveland Orchestra returned to the Kravis Center on Feb. 1 in a program that displayed its uncompromising technical and musical standards. Under the baton of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, the esteemed ensemble performed two very different symphonies with equally astounding results. The first half consisted of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s final work … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Opera opens season with splendid ‘Bohème’
by Márcio Bezerra Palm Beach Opera opened its 2026 season Friday night with the ever-popular La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini. Premiered in Turin almost 130 years ago to the date, it has remained one of the five most performed operas worldwide. Its simple yet heart-wrenching story, combined with Puccini’s unsurpassed gift as melodist, makes for a most satisfying night at the … [Read more...]
Soloist Chen mars uninspiring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra outing at Kravis
By Márcio Bezerra The Kravis Center’s Classical Concert Series second concert in the new year featured the renowned Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Founded in 1946 by Thomas Beecham, the orchestra has a somewhat lesser standing than its neighbor London Symphony, perhaps because it is so often heard playing background for pop artists, and for its infamous Hooked on … [Read more...]
Longtime Boca Museum of Art curator Goncharov dies at 73
By Sandra Schulman In an art career that spanned 40 years and major cities, Kathleen Goncharov served for 14 of those years as the senior curator at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, where she curated more than 30 exhibitions featuring notable artists of national and international acclaim. Goncharov died Dec. 31 at age 73 at her home in Boca Raton, family members said. … [Read more...]
Theater buzz: Dramaworks sets new play festival; FAU Theatre Lab moves to bigger digs
By Erik Kvarnberg Palm Beach Dramaworks sets eighth new play festival WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach Dramaworks is offering its eighth annual Perlberg Festival of New Plays this month at the company’s Clematis Street home. From Jan. 9 to 11, playwrights will unite with a number of actors and directors to read through works in progress. Last season’s festival led to two … [Read more...]
Boston’s H&H Society brings standout ‘Messiah’ to Kravis
By Márcio Bezerra The Kravis Center’s Classical Concert Series launched its latest season with a performance that has set the standard so high that it will be difficult to surpass it. Featuring the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus, the program’s sole work was the profoundly beautiful (and often butchered) George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. Written in … [Read more...]