Forget the butterfly, the thorny vine and the heart with initials. Imagine a colorful bird with a fish’s tail, a snake’s neck, and a turtle’s shell expanding from the neck all the way to the ankles. That’s what you can expect to see now at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World features photographs of full body … [Read more...]
Choral clarity, soloists stand out in Seraphic Fire’s Brahms
Dashon Burton. By Robert Croan In its original form, Johannes Brahms’s A German Requiem, composed in the 1860s, is his longest, biggest work, lasting just over an hour, scored for full orchestra, large chorus and soprano and baritone soloists. Patrick Dupré Quigley, the creative and enterprising director of Seraphic Fire, likes to perform authentic small versions of … [Read more...]
Husband-and-wife artists powerful apart, together
Under a Blazing Sun, by Teresa Frazee. By Lucy Lazarony Artists John and Teresa Frazee have been collaborating on paintings and everything else for more than 40 years. The couple met as teens while growing up in New York City and they married four years later. They moved to South Florida in 2005 and they live and work in Boynton Beach. A 20-piece collection of their … [Read more...]
‘The Gift’ uncovers suburban heart of darkness
In its first half, The Gift is a fine movie for our panicked, over-surveilled, mentally unstable age, and the second half is even more powerful. Like Rosemary’s Baby, it opens on an average, happy, industrious couple visiting its new home, in this case a palatial California spread overlooking miles of lush greenery. But things get creepy real quick. In the next scene, Simon … [Read more...]
FGO’s Così: Strong singing, smart direction sell tricky story
For as many problems of interpretation that Mozart’s Così fan Tutte presents to its observers, there are at least as many options that this singular opera gives to its presenters. Given that its specific locale of Naples isn’t underlined in Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto, directors have felt free to reorient it everywhere else and every other time, and it rarely detracts from the … [Read more...]
PBO’s ‘La Bohème,’ Cast 2: Subtle approach makes ‘Bohème’ memorable
I heard the second cast of Palm Beach Opera’s very fine production of Puccini’s La Bohème on Saturday. The Kravis Center was packed to capacity for this, the first opera of the season. It was good to hear from the government last week that the arts in America now account for 4.3% of our gross domestic product. Palm Beach County’s lively arts programming surely contributes … [Read more...]
PBO’s ‘La Bohème,’ Cast 1: A ‘Bohème’ to cherish
Because of its uninterrupted 119-year streak of popularity, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème can come dangerously close to paint-by-numbers opera: Fill in the blanks with some colorful voices, and the work performs itself. Happily for local audiences, the creative staff of Palm Beach Opera’s just-passed revival of the opera were interested in approaching it with fresh eyes, and the … [Read more...]
Seraphic Fire and chant: The music of faith, hypnotically sung
In its concert Saturday night of Gregorian chant and music associated with it, Seraphic Fire decked out Fort Lauderdale’s All Saints Episcopal Church with all the candlepower typical of a Catholic high Mass. That was entirely appropriate, because if you’re going to sing the music of Ritual, you might as well include the scenic ambience. And in this beautifully sung concert, it … [Read more...]
Oscar nominations have more than fair share of snubs
What do Jake Gyllenhall, David Oyelowo, Amy Adams and Jennifer Aniston have in common? They all turned in first-rate performances last year -- in Nightcrawler, Selma, Big Eyes and Cake, respectively -- but failed to earn Oscar nominations for their efforts when the career-boosting list of potential Academy Award winners was released this morning. 2014 saw a crowded field of … [Read more...]
PB Jewish Film Festival screens at multiple venues in 25th year
For its 25th anniversary, The Donald M. Ephraim Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival is hitting the road. Don’t worry; it remains within Palm Beach County, but each week it will move to a different location, giving local residents the opportunity to see nearly every one of the 31 major Jewish-themed films in their own neighborhood. Following the opening night film, Above and … [Read more...]