Itzhak Perlman.By Greg StepanichBOCA RATON -- As night fell and concert time arrived Saturday at the third Festival of the Arts Boca, hundreds of ticket-clutching patrons still stood in two slowly shuffling lines along both sides of the streets of Mizner Park, waiting to get in.But once inside the tent at the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater, they found the music worth enduring … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: March 5-9
Strawberry Tart Supreme (1974, acrylic on canvas),by Audrey Flack (b. 1931).The Boca Raton Museum of Art: Rebelling against a generation of artists who produced wild Abstract-Expressionist paintings and the stripped-down simplicity of Minimalism, the Photorealism movement of the late 1960s might have been a shock to those who had worked to escape the confines of … [Read more...]
ArtsBuzz: Boca fest gearing up to be ‘fabulous,’ despite scaling back
Itzhak Perlman. (Illustration by Pat Crowley)By Greg StepanichBOCA RATON – Itzhak Perlman really wants to conduct the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven.And Charlie Siemon has always wanted to hear the symphony in the amphitheater at Mizner Park where the third Festival of the Arts Boca gets under way Thursday. His wish dates back to the day the amphitheater opened with the Florida … [Read more...]
Opera review: Second-cast ‘Figaro’ sometimes disjointed, but singing is strong
From left: Layla Claire, Solo Braga and Patricia Risleyin Palm Beach Opera's Le Nozze di Figaro. By Rex HearnThe idea of setting Beaumarchais's play to music came from Mozart, librettist Lorenzo da Ponte said of Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro):''Much as I had to 'cut' the dialogue, we must give Mozart the kudos for writing music that filled in the gaps,'' he said. … [Read more...]
Opera review: Palm Beach ‘Figaro’ entertains, honors Mozart
Russian soprano Lyubov Petrova.By Greg StepanichWEST PALM BEACH -- There has been a good deal of debate about the ultimate strategy of the creators of the great humanist document that is Le Nozze di Figaro: Were da Ponte and Mozart trying to say pointed things about the aristocracy, explore the vagaries of love with a pre-feminist twist, or simply try to show their audiences a … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 26-March 2
Michael McKenzie, Brett Fleisher and Wynn Harmon in Dangerous.Theater: Prolific South Florida playwright Michael McKeever has noticed that his work has grown darker over the years, but never more so than his latest, titled simply Dangerous, a “deconstruction” of the classic French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which has spawned several film versions.McKeever sets his version … [Read more...]
Music review: Violinist Hou exceptional in Flagler concert
Yi-Jia Susanne Hou.By Greg StepanichPALM BEACH -- If ever there were a violinist whose gifts and achievements suit her perfectly for the modern age, it might well be Yi-Jia Susanne Hou.The Shanghai-born Canadian violinist brought her hair-raising technical wizardry and hair-tossing theatrical flair to the Flagler Museum on Thursday night as part of Whitehall's chamber music … [Read more...]
Music review: Mozart foursome exemplary in canonical program
From left: Mark Gothoni, Paul Rivinius, Hartmut Rodhe and Peter Hoerr.By Greg StepanichLAKE WORTH -- Although much of the activity in today's classical music world is spent in pursuit of the new or the old but overlooked, it's always nice to check in on the canon and see that it's doing just fine.The Mozart Piano Quartet, a foursome of performers and academics who work in … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 20-24
Lorin Maazel and his band.Music: Lorin Maazel is wrapping up his tenure as director of the New York Philharmonic this year, and Sunday night he brings the band back to West Palm Beach with a non-controversial program that should show this great orchestra to good advantage.The concert, set for 8 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center, includes the Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture of … [Read more...]
Music review: Organ-and-orchestra works make for diverting program
The American composer Craig Phillips (b. 1961). By Greg StepanichPALM BEACH -- One of the more original and interesting feats of programming came the way of local audiences Tuesday night when the Palm Beach Symphony presented an evening of nothing but music for organ and orchestra.That it was a good program that but for a pre-concert switch could have been a great program is … [Read more...]