Joshua Bell Sells Out, Sells More Arts Music by Basil Considine - September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 In 2007, virtuoso concert violinist Joshua Bell took his violin to the Washington Metro and began playing. This impromptu performance was a social experiment organized by the Washington Post to see if people would stop and take notice of a highly skilled musician playing in this environment – and to
REVIEW: Minnesota Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - September 27, 2015March 11, 2017 The 1912 world premiere of Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos had a built-in pacing problem: while the opera itself was only 90 minutes, it was performed second on the same bill as Le bourgeois gentillehomme – a lengthy play that by itself ran 4.5 hours. This, unsurprisingly, was not the best combination even before the advent
REVIEW: Park Square Kills It In Murder for Two Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 25, 2015December 19, 2015 Park Square Theatre's production of Murder for Two, which opened this evening, is a charming murder mystery musical comedy in the pantomime tradition. If you want more alliteration, it's a funny fancy farce of fickleness and fanciful fare. The set is minimal, but the variety of charaters played by Andrea
REVIEW: Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, now playing at Park Square Theatre, is the sort of stage work where knowing too much in advance is against the audience interest. This staging of an intergenerational tale of experiences in and around the U.S. military is moving and gripping. Some preliminary notes: It's best to eat
Chameleon Theatre Circle Opens 100th Production Arts Music Theatre by Twin Cities Arts Reader - September 25, 2015September 27, 2015 As the Minneapolis Institute of Art's Julianne Amendola can tell you, it's not every year that your institution turns 100. In this respect, the MIA has a leg up on almost every arts organization in the area in terms of longevity and head starts – just ask the Children's Theatre Company. The
The Yellow Brick Road to the Box Office: Children’s Theatre Company Extends Wizard of Oz Arts Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 Opening night for the Children's Theatre Company's production of The Wizard of Oz is still five weeks away, but advance sales are already flashing like Judy Garland's ruby slippers. CTC announced today that it was extending the run of this classic musical by one week. The Wizard of Oz is set to
Minnesota Opera’s Popup Plan Arts Music Opera by Basil Considine - September 15, 2015March 11, 2017 Popup events are all the range now, and Minnesota Opera has decided to get into the game in a big way. Starting on September 19, MNOpera is sending its musicians out for free daily performances around town in the build-up to its season opener. The promotion, succinctly styled 7 Days of
CANTUS Brews, Sings New Music Loves Arts Music by Basil Considine - September 15, 2015September 15, 2015 When The Manchurian Candidate premiered at Minnesota Opera last winters, reviewers sang the praises of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts' score. Across town, however, Minneapolis-based ensemble CANTUS is singing a different Pulitzer Prize-related tune in rehearsal. The all-male vocal ensemble's latest concert offering, The Four Loves, features four new song commissions: “Manifesto,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning
CD ANNOUNCEMENT: VocalEssence’s Nordic Christmas Arts Music by Twin Cities Arts Reader - September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 Minneapolis-based choir VocalEssence has a new CD coming out on October 11. The disc, entitled Nordic Nativity, features traditional holiday music from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. This live album includes the trademark voices and Nordic fiddling by Sara Pajunen of Aallotar. (Pajunen studied violin in Minneapolis and Helsinki.) The 18 tracks on Nordic Nativity include
REVIEW: Twin Cities Fringe Opera’s Don Giovanni Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 In the composer Hector Berlioz's memoirs, he recounts traveling through Germany in the mid-19th century. Away from the refinement of Paris, he saw countless performances where the orchestra was fortified by the local military band, or a traveling opera company joined by members of the local music society in the pit. While