DC REVIEW: Anything but Business as Normal in the American Opera Initiative (Washington National Opera) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 22, 2024January 22, 2024 Jonathan Pierce Rhodes (Ari) and Justin Burgess (Gale) in the world premiere of the short opera Hairpiece at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on Friday, January 19. Photo by Bronwen Sharp. One of the great criticisms of the American opera industry is its obsession with things now more than a
NYC REVIEW: Spectacular Fulfillment in The Promise (PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL) Arts Music by Basil Considine - January 14, 2024January 14, 2024 The Dutch singer and multi-instrumentalist Wende (center) stars in The Promise, which plays through Sunday, January 14 at HERE Mainstage in New York City. Photo by Raymond van Olphen. Rarely have I seen a show to recommend so strongly as The Promise. What starts as an intimate concert experience unfolds into
NYC REVIEW: Adoration, Myths, and Reality (PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL) Arts Music Opera Theatre by Basil Considine - January 13, 2024January 14, 2024 Tenor Omar Najmi stars in the opera Adoration at the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York City. Photo by Maria Baranova. Prejudice, love, collective judgment, and the uncertainty of truth. These are some of the major threads woven into Adoration, a new opera by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Royce Vavrek that premiered at
THE CURMUDGEON: Vol. 6 – For Musicians (and Other Artists) Trying to Get Covered in the Press Arts Music The Curmudgeon by Basil Considine - January 9, 2024 A close-up of Albrecht Dürer's Melancolia (1514). Perhaps you know me as a composer and opera director; in this case, I am writing because I'm also a classical music critic. Are you an early-career artist trying to get me (or someone like me) to see your recital? My first recommendation is
PREVIEW: Ring in the New Year with Murder at the Mystery Café Arts Comedy Theatre by Amy Donahue - January 3, 2024January 3, 2024 In what can only be called the natural result of too many holiday Hallmark Specials, The Mystery Café is now serving murder mysteries over dinner at two Twin Cities area locations. Holidays got you down? Does spending too much enforced time with family make you wish you could, well, kill someone?
NEWS: HUGE Improv Theater’s Forever Home and Winter Season Arts Comedy Theatre by Basil Considine - January 1, 2024January 3, 2024 HUGE Improv Theater's new space at 2728 Lyndale Ave S in Minneapolis, MN features 25% more audience seating, as well as larger lobby, stage, and classrooms, dedicated storage and office space, and (to the relief of all) an additional restroom. HUGE Improv Theater is settling into its new home at
PREVIEW: Stages of Equity 2024 Festival (Jan-April 2024) Arts Dance Music Theatre Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - December 23, 2023December 24, 2023 North Hennepin Community College will host the Stages of Equity 2024 festival from January-April 2024. This visual & performing arts festival is marketed as raising up the powerful work of BIPOC visual and performing artists. All festival activities, including exhibits, live performances – notably including the acclaimed ensemble Ten Thousand
NEWS: Jerome Foundation Awards $487,650 in Film-Making Grants Arts Movies Visual Arts by Twin Cities Arts Reader - November 20, 2023November 20, 2023 The Jerome Foundation has awarded $487,650 in grants to early-career filmmakers in New York City and Minnesota. Six grants totaling $139,650 will be given to early career filmmakers in Minnesota and 12 grants totaling $348,000 to early career filmmakers in New York City. The Jerome Foundation's Minnesota and New York City
PREVIEW: JazzMN Orchestra Swings in the Season (Chanhassen Dinner Theatres) Arts Music by Brian Bix - November 20, 2023 The JazzMN Orchestra in concert. The JazzMN Orchestra is a 17-piece jazz ensemble that performs regularly at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Back in early October, it gave a fabulous show at the Chanhassen, featuring superstar trumpeter, Randy Brecker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj09mvRn2KM The Orchestra’s next performance at the Chanhassen is a holiday event on Monday, December
REVIEW: Company: A Refreshing Twist on a 70s Hit (Orpheum/HTT) Arts Music Theatre by Boo Segersin - November 16, 2023November 17, 2023 The ensemble of Company gathers around Bobbie (Rosalie Craig, center). This new twist on the classic Sondheim musical plays at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis through November 19. Photo by Brinkhoff Mogenburg. Stephen Sondheim may be best known for some of his show stopping musicals such as Into the Woods and