Cultural Events this weekend in LA: May 17th

Music: To Hear or Not to Hear

 Tosca is opening this weekend. LA Opera calls Tosca “Puccini’s action-packed pyschological thriller.” Sir Richard Armstrong conducts in May. Placido Domingo conducts the second week in June. LA Opera 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90012. 213.972.7219. For tickets and times, visit  http://www.losangelesopera.com/productions/0708/tosca/index.htm 

 Theater: To Attend or Not To Attend

 A Noise Within presents Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. 

In this play Prince Hall pals around with the portly, jolly Falstaff. A Noise Within. 234 South Brand Boulevard. Glendale, CA, 91204. 818.240.0910 For tickets, please visit http://www.anoisewithin.org/boxoffice.shtml

 Art: To See or Not to See

 Marcel Duchamp Redux at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

Marcel Duchamp once said, “… the creative act is not performed by the artist alone…the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contributions to the creative act.”

 So head to the Norton Simon and decipher to your heart’s content!

 Norton Simon Museum of Art, 411 Colorado Boulevard. Pasadena, CA, 91105. 626.449.6840. For more information about the exhibit, please visit: http://www.nortonsimon.org/exhibitions.aspx?id=6#998

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Art Trivia: “Jack the Dripper?”

Question: Which artist was dubbed “Jack the Dripper” by a critic from Time Magazine?

  For the answer, visit this site:

 http://www.nga.gov/feature/pollock/process2.shtm

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The Dude

If you

a) live anywhere in the LA area

b) have a remote interest in classical music

You already know, or will learn about Gustavo Dudamel, who in September 2009 will take over the LA Philharmonic. The 27 year-old Dudamel has been called,  The World’s Most Precocious Conductor, Classical Music’s Rock Star, and The hottest thing to hit Classical Music. 

 

Others simply call him THE DUDE.  

60 minutes profiled Gustavo Dudamel in an interview:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2ECiFSGNNI

Much More to come!

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Cry Me a River! Oldest Bust of Caesar found in the Rhone

  I came. I saw. I was thrown overboard.

 

From today’s news:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3932198.ece

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“Declarations of Love in Music and Image”- The J. Paul Getty Museum and LA Opera

On May 3^rd The J. Paul Getty Museum in conjunction with LA Opera, hosted a conference on the “Declarations of Love in Music and Image.” Speakers included: Michael Walsh, music critic for TIME magazine, Mitchell Morris, UCLA Musicology Professor, and Scott Allan, assistant curator in the Department of Paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The conference concluded with a dynamic and moving performance by LA Opera. Soprano Tammy Jenkins, Tenor Robert MacNeil, and pianist Daniel Faltus performed selections from Puccini’s Tosca, Suor Angelica, and La Rondine.

Scott Allan illuminated the Getty exhibit on Fragonard’s “Allegories of Love”, a departure from the artist’s earlier, frothier Rococo style. Love becomes elevated from frivolous entanglements to a new state of spiritual ecstasy. The exhibit compared Fragonard’s Sacrifice of the Rose with Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Theresa.

 Allen also noted that in the Allegories, Fragonard’s palette becomes darker, more muted, invoking nocturnal mystery. For instance, in The Oath of Love, these darker shades contrast with the lovers who are symbolized by a radiant central energy.

  Fragonard’s Kiss illustrates the power of love to vanquish even death.  The sarcophagus breaks open and one can see the lovers embrace through the vapors as Love travels to the great beyond.

Fragonard’s The Kiss, 1785, Brown Ink over black chalk; The Albertina, Vienna

Professor Morris’ lively lecture on Puccini revealed that at the time of La Rondine, musicologist Fausto Torrefranca accused Puccini’s music of inciting criminal decadence.  Cesare Lombrosio, an Italian Criminologist, believed in the degeneration social theory, whereby humans could “evolve” into a class of criminals. Torrefranca’s critical attacks suggested that Puccini’s opera could do the trick.  Modern audiences, those of the Mozart for Babies age, may find it absurd to think that at one point in history, exposing children to opera was considered a recipe for Juvenile Delinquency. Perhaps Torrefranca’s misguided attacks can be best summarized by a Bon Jovi song: Shot through the Heart and Opera’s to Blame, Darling, you give Music a bad name.

  On Torrefranca’s Most Wanted List

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This Wednesday, a play that won’t break the Piggy Bank

   Sometimes the best things in life are free!

For those who have a taste for the theater, but not always the ducats to attend, this Wednesday May 14th the Pasadena Playhouse is offering a “Pay What You Can” Performance Of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men

Pasadena Playhouse Mainstage

Tickets offered on a pay-what-you-can basis to arts groups and community groups – call the box office at (626) 356-7529 for details. 

Take advantage of this opportunity! Tickets for this production are normally at least $50.

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Cultural Events this weekend in Los Angeles, May 10

Art: To see or not To See

1. Huntington Library

Chinese Gardens: Liu Fang Yuan, The Garden of Flowing Fragrance

 A scholar’s retreat: step back in time where you can inhale the lotus, plum, and pine. Saturday and Sunday: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, CA, 91108. 626.405.2100

 2. Theater: To Attend or Not to Attend

Of Mice, Men, and the American Dream: A Weeklong Celebration of Culture and Community May 12-17. Pasadena Playhouse. 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101. (626)356.7529 http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/of_mice&men.htm. 

Highlights include: The performance of Mice and Men at the Pasadena Playhouse, photo exhibit: “In the Fields,” and lectures with historians, critics, and activists.

 3. Music: To Hear or Not To Hear

 Do not mourn Adonis- he is still alive!!

Check out Cuban sensation Adonis Puentes at:

The Latin Jazz Festival at the Greek Theater, May 10th. 7pm  2700 North Vermont, Griffith Park, CA, 90027

Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill, May 12th 8pm. 6122 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA, 90028

 

 

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Cultural Events Los Angeles; This weekend in LA, May 2-4

  This week’s cultural cocktail:  A dose of book burning, a pick-me-up of Prokofiev, and a shot of Bette Davis’ eyes! Enjoy.

Film: To see or Not to see

Fasten Your Seat Belts: The Essential Bette Davis

LACMA 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90036. (323).857.6000

 Friday May 2 7:30 P.M Jezebel; 9:30 P.M The Old Maid

Saturday May 3 7:30 P.M All About Eve; 9:30 P.M Of Human Bondage               

For information about tickets, please visit:

http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmListing.aspx#1206741726758

THEATER: TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE

Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451

Playing through June 18^th. 

Thur, Fri, Saturday: 8p.m.; Sunday 3p.m.

 Fremont Center Theater; 1000 Fremont Avenue, South Pasadena, CA, 91030

A theater Mr. Bradbury supports. If you are lucky, you may even see him in the audience! For tickets call: (323) 960-4451 Online: www.plays411.com/raybradbury

 

MUSIC: TO HEAR OR NOT TO HEAR   Sunday May 4, Royce Hall UCLA

American Youth Symphony. 7pm Concert; 5:30 Pre-Concert Lecture; Free Admission!

 Alecander Treger, conductor; Natasha Paremski, piano; Liadov, Eight Russian Folk Songs; Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5. For more information, visit: http://www.uclalive.org/event.asp?Event_ID=522

  

 

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To See Or Not to See This Weekend in LA, April 26

FILM: To see or not to see

 

 

 

La Fille du Régiment– Donizetti          

 Saturday, April 26, 2008

 If you do not have the luck to be at the Metropolitan Opera, fear not. 

The Met now screens operas live in HD in movie theaters across the world! To find out about tickets and show times at a theater near you visit

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events.aspx

 Juan Diego Flórez’s high C’s have received A’s from critics and audiences alike. La Fille du Régiment is a co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna.

 MUSIC:  To Hear or not to Hear

 

 

 

Southwest Chamber Music at the Norton Simon Museum

8:00 p.m. Concert; 7:30 p.m. Prelude Talk

 411 W. Colorado Boulevard,  Pasadena, CA 91105-182; 626.449.6840

 Program 

Charles Ives Children’s Day at the Camp Meeting

Franz Schubert The Shepherd on the Rock

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 4 in G major (arr. Stein)

 For tickets: http://www.swmusic.org/site/concerts/master.html

ART: To See or Not To See  

“Consuming Passion: Fragonard’s Allegories of Love”

 

Getty Center

1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, California 90049

 http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/consuming_passion/

 

 

 

 

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To see or not to see in LA this weekend 4/18/08

Weekend Cultural Menu

 

Art: To see or not to see:

  “The Color of Life: Polychromy in Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present”

Daily through June 23, 2008

Museum, Floor 2, Getty Villa

 The White House should not be white.  Greeks had fun with garish colors. Check it out.

 Check Website for ticket availability: http://www.getty.edu/visit/

 Music: To hear or not to hear

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Thibaudet Plays Grieg

 Thursday April 17, 2008 8:00 P.M

 Friday April 18, 2008 8:00 P.M 

Saturday April 19, 2008 2:00 P.M

Sunday April 20, 2008 2:00 P.M

 111 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA, 90012

323.850.2000

 FEATURED ARTISTS: LA Philharmonic; Charles Dutoir, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano

Program:

Ravel, Mother Goose Suite; Grieg, Piano Concerto; Saint-Saens, Symphony No.3 “Organ.”

 

Books: To read or not to read

Stravinksy’s The Poetics of Music

Who makes the best companion to a concert? Igor Stravinsky!

In 1939 Igor Stravinsky delivered the Charles Eliot Norton Lecture at Harvard, a six-part lecture series which eventually comprised this gem of a book. Stravinsky’s insights are as timeless as music itself. He will make a wonderful companion to the Philharmonic, the Met, or even listening to classical music in your room. He discusses Wagner, Verdi, Berlioz, Weber, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgasky in a language that is as poetic as it is polemic.

         

Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Igor Stravinsky. 1920. Graphite and charcoal. Musée Picasso, Paris, France.

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