Matthew Shepard (1976-1998). If ever there were a time when a work of art coincides with current events, that time will be Friday, when sections of a new opera with an anti-bullying theme have their premiere as the air is still thick with the sorrow of the Orlando shootings. Not in My Town, an opera based on the 1998 torture and murder of gay Wyoming college student Matthew … [Read more...]
‘While We’re Young’ panders and lectures, losing Baumbach’s spark
I must concede that my love for Noah Baumbach’s cinema is at least partly founded on the belief that he’s writing for me, and a cultish minority of other mes out there, and not the mass populace that fills multiplexes for comic-book sequels and Kevin Hart buddy movies. Like his antecedent Whit Stillman, his best films have talked up to their audience, not down. While the rest … [Read more...]
Moscow City Ballet makes mess of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan’
By Tara Mitton Catao You are all dressed up. You are going to Dreyfoos Hall to see Swan Lake, the most revered Russian story-ballet, which is being performed by the Moscow City Ballet, a “critically acclaimed” touring Russian ballet company. It is natural to have a certain set of expectations. After all, the house at the Kravis Center is sold out for the one-night show. Then … [Read more...]
New season is start of something big for Delray String Quartet
It’s been 11 years since the Delray String Quartet was formed and made its first appearance, but only four since its current lineup took shape. And this one feels like a keeper. “Like any quartet, you go through lots of personnel changes. Some of the quartets I know have none of the original members,” said Richard Fleischman, the group’s violist. “We went through so many … [Read more...]
Sundays: Being and un-being
By Myles Ludwig The untimely passing of Peaches Geldof was the big news in Britain this week. It was the top-trending topic on the staid BBC and banner fodder for the tabloid-obsessed country in which Murdochian journalism has ensnared its own perpetrator in a messy matrimonial scandal. You may be forgiven for not knowing that Ms. Geldof was one of the three whimsically named … [Read more...]
To El and back: Superman retake too interested in being overwhelming
Whenever a character as iconic as Superman is revisited, the creative visions behind it rarely see past the conservative knee-jerk reaction to regurgitate the hero’s origin story. Which means each “new” take treads familiar narrative ground. Like the latest cover version of a populist classic, we know the melody and lyrics, but we still want to know what the new artist … [Read more...]
The View From Home 2: New releases on DVD
Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service (Disney’s Studio Ghibli) Release date: March 2 Standard list price: $19.99 each Girls always rule in the films of Hayao Miyazaki, Japan’s top animator and one of international cinema’s most empowering feminist voices. In his four most prominent Western exports – Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s … [Read more...]