SPOTLIGHT: The Mill City String Quartet Arts Music by Basil Considine - January 30, 2016January 30, 2016 From left to right: Valerie Little (viola), Huldah Niles (violin), Jeffrey Erbland (cello), and Erika Hoogeveen (violin). Today's Saturday Spotlight shines on the Mill City String Quartet, a classical music ensemble that has been making music across the State of Minnesota since 2007. Last season, the ensemble was a 2014-15 Artist-in-Residence in Minnesota Public Radio's
REVIEW: Lush Rusalka Delights (Minnesota Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Lydia Lunning - January 24, 2016March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera’s production of Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, with soprano Kelly Kaduce in the title role, has returned to the Ordway after its premiere in 2008. This fairy tale opera had not appeared in United States until the mid-1970s, but this richly textured staging and Dvořák’s full-bodied score should be an
INTERVIEW: Costume Designer Raquel Barreto Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 23, 2016January 24, 2016 Raquel Barreto's costume designs in the 2016 staging of Pericles at the Guthrie Theatre. Photo by Jenny Graham. It's been 25 years since the Guthrie Theater's artistic director Joseph Haj first staged the Shakespearean play Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The production that opened last night at the Guthrie is the third incarnation of a critically
PREVIEW: Flourish! Resource Fair – for Artists and Creative Entrepreneurs Arts Dance Music Opera Theatre Visual Arts by Jenny Martel - January 22, 2016January 24, 2016 Tomorrow, Springboard for the Arts hosts its second Flourish! Resource Fair. This half-day event is designed as a resource forum, clinic, and networking event for artists and creative entrepreneurs. Programming includes informational sessions about artist organization resources, healthcare, funding, tax preparation, and artists' services. Staff representatives from 26 organizations will be available for
REVIEW: Creeptastic Beauty Queen of Leenane at Park Square Arts Theatre by Basil Considine - January 22, 2016January 23, 2016 Sally Wingert (left) and Amber Bjork in Theatre Pro Rata/Park Square Theatre's production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Photo credit by Charles Gorrill. Some reviews of less-known plays start with a synopsis of the work. Doing so for The Beauty Queen of Leenane (now playing at Park Square Theatre) would be counterproductive to theatergoers, since
REVIEW: Frog Bride Excellent Bedtime Ribbit (Children’s Theatre Company) Arts Lifestyle Music Theatre Visual Arts by Basil Considine - January 16, 2016January 16, 2016 The Frog Bride opened Friday at the Children's Theatre Company. This storytelling hour riffing on a classic fairy tale makes an excellent afternoon interval or pre-bedtime story. It includes more than a few touches for the parents, a very memorable delivery, and a lot of musical pizzaz. The Frog Bride is not
PREVIEW: Tina Packer’s Women of Will Arts Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 15, 2016January 16, 2016 It's not a Valentine, it's not a plane, it's the latest installment of the lauded Women of Substance series at the O'Shaughnessy. On February 4, the noted actor and theatre director Tina Packer takes the stage for Women of Will, a dynamic look at William Shakespeare's varied depictions of women. Although
U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Town 1/15-1/24 Arts Dance Lifestyle Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 15, 2016January 18, 2016 The 2016 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships begin today in St. Paul and run through Sunday, 1/24. Over the course of the next week and a half, skaters will compete in women's, men's, pairs, and ice dancing. This national championship, now in its 102nd year, includes several special events: Free ice skating
Minnesota Opera Names New President Arts Music Opera by Basil Considine - January 14, 2016March 11, 2017 Minnesota Opera announced today that Ryan Taylor will become its president and general director, effective May 1, 2016. Taylor joins the company from Arizona Opera, where he currently serves as general director. Taylor is a distinguished singer, director, and artistic administrator – and, as an alumnus of MNOpera's Resident Artist Program,
Opera in the Twin Cities: The First Half of 2016 Arts Music Opera Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - January 14, 2016February 8, 2016 New York City Opera is shuffling its way to a zombie resurrection, but opera in the Twin Cities is going through a renaissance. Here's what's in store for 2016: January Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka (Minnesota Opera) Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 1/23 @ 7:30 PM, 1/28 @ 7:30 PM, 1/30 @ 7:30 PM, 1/31 @ 2