I’ve seen Georges Bizet’s Carmen many times, but the second cast of the recent Palm Beach Opera production offered even a veteran operagoer fresh delights. Chief among them Saturday night was the Polish-born mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór, who made a magnificent debut with this company, with her rich, seductive mezzo sound, perfectly suited to the role. And her acting as the … [Read more...]
Artists to transform small hotel in annual Showtel exhibition
For the past eight years, a small hotel in West Palm Beach has been transformed for a short time into a home of art installations. It’s called Showtel, and it’s one of the most unusual local events in contemporary art. It begins tonight at Hotel Biba on Belvedere Road and lasts through Saturday night. This event, in which selected artists take over rooms in the hotel and turn … [Read more...]
The View From Home 3: New releases on DVD
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XVII (Shout! Factory) Release date: March 16 Standard list price: $32.99 Aside from, perhaps, the wheel, the cotton gin and the printing press, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is one of man’s greatest creations. OK, well, at least it should be the top 100. Such hyperbole is not uncommon among Mystery Science Theater 3000 fanatics, or … [Read more...]
‘Reclaimed’ story gripping, the art is less so
Dark walls and low lights set up the mood for Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker, a traveling show now at the Norton Museum of Art through May 9. The pieces shown here have been through a lot. They are part of one of the largest restitutions of Nazi-looted art and were only recovered a few years ago. Most of them look tired, old and would be far … [Read more...]
Film expert Osborne to sound off on Oscars at Crest talk
The Academy Awards have been going through a transition lately, with notable rule changes to either improve the voting process or at least increase ratings for the annual telecast. Still, the awards themselves remain of value, says film historian Robert Osborne, the genial host of Turner Classic Movies. “I care about the process, and I do think we wouldn’t have as many good … [Read more...]
Wu Han prepares ‘most special’ Schubert for Four Arts
If Wu Han had another 50 years, she says, she might follow the traditional path of the professional piano trio: End your career with performances of the two piano trios of Franz Schubert. “As a piano trio, we’re doing it backwards,” the Taiwanese-born pianist said last week. “We’re not doing it in the normal way of a piano trio: you play Haydn and Mozart trios, then maybe … [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...]
From Firebird, a peerless night of J.S. Bach
On the one hand, it's no mystery why the Brandenburg Concertos of J.S. Bach should be so rarely played in local concerts. Engaging as they are, canonical and popular as they unquestionably are, they are also very difficult. And in some ways, that only deepens the mystery: If you're an ambitious instrumental musician or conductor, why not spend some time learning or … [Read more...]
The View From Home: New releases on DVD
While we’ve been dedicated to reviewing the newest movies to hit theaters on a regular basis, we here at ArtsPaper know that most viewing is done at home these days. Many movies already debut on pay television concurrently with their theatrical release, and many quality films either don’t receive theatrical distribution or don’t play in the comparatively small South Florida … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 19-21
Film: Fans of great acting have a new must-see movie opening this weekend in The Last Station, a diary-based fictional account of the final days of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. He is played with crafty charm by Christopher Plummer, but the film really revolves around his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren, giving the single best female performance of 2009). Tolstoy is a communist, in … [Read more...]