Start your week with a little crazy & a nutty bride on stage, or experience some amazing art at Asia Week NY or the new Heber Bishop collection at The Met.
Tag Archives: opera
January 27, 2015
An NHL battle for New York’s best, the Winter Antiques Show, and an exhibit with pieces made of towels, toothbrushes, and recycled materials today in NYC.
Weekend Edition: January 16-18, 2015
Wahoo! It’s the weekend! Take in a film, some sports, or an opera! See you Monday, NYC.
January 12, 2015
It’s Monday, New York! Feeling Blue? Cheer up with a former President, some selfies, and theater!
January 5, 2015
Sesame Street lovers, a pair of events for you today! Plus, catch Aida at The Met and a festival you don’t want to miss.
December 18, 2014
Into the Woods: Reimagined! Hansel and Gretel… in opera form! Plus a dance world premiere and a high fashion bridal sample sale.
Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours
Banjo Billy’s gives history tours of Boulder and Denver, Colorado from an old school bus tricked out to look like a traveling hillbilly shack. Hear ghost tales, crime stories, and history while sitting on a couch, recliner or saddle as the bus rolls through the core of the cities. You won’t forget this bus tour!
Although the bus follows the same route every time, no two tours are alike. Passengers get to vote at multiple stops for what they want to hear about – whether it’s a ghost story, a bizarre tall tale, or historical facts. The tour is 90 minutes long, but we guess you’ll be hoping for more. Click here for more information.
Fresh Entertainment at Historical DAR Constitution Hall
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Only in town for a bit? Get a double dose of 
history and quality entertainment at DAR Constitution Hall – DC’s largest concert hall. Host to a variety of events throughout the year, including concerts, operas, high-profile lecturers and comedians, Constitution Hall is no stuffy federal building. As a Registered National Historical Landmark and owned by the elite Daughter’s of the American Revolution organization, this gorgeous venue has hosted every US President since Calvin Coolidge with performers from across the map – from Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Duke Ellington to Billy Joel, U2, Aerosmith and Jimmy Buffet. Needless to say, for such a prestigious structure, the entertainment factor is definitely not lacking.
Insider’s Tip: Purchase all DAR tickets through ticketmaster.com, as the DAR does not handle ticket sales.
Cutler Majestic Theatre’s Historic Night on the Town
Since 1903, the Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College has been providing year round cultural programs to both college students and visitors. The historic college located in the Theater District owns and operates the theater, which offers a wide-range of performances 
that include opera (La Traviatta; Madama Butterfly), theater (Divas by Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus), dance (Stomp) and music (New England Conservatory). Inside, you will find beautiful murals painted by New York artist William de Leftwich Dodge, whose works can also be found on display at the Library of Congress and Boston Public Library.
The theater is listed in both the Massachusetts and National Registers of Historic Places, and has also earned the prominent status as a Boston Historic Landmark. Over the past few years, it underwent some renovations that were approved by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
The Majestic has both historically appropriate stage systems and the most modern technologies for stage and video productions, which is why it is known around town as being a 21st century theater inside a 19th century building.
Florida Grand Opera’s Classics Hit a High Note
The vigor and passion in the voices of Florida 
Grand Opera performers is exactly what’s needed when presenting the classics this group puts on. For 69 years, this premier organization has been wowing audiences with works from Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills, opera greats who have all performed with the company.
The Florida Grand Opera’s latest incarnation of Bizet’s Carmen garnered rave reviews and a packed house night after night. The company also presents other well known productions, like Barber of Seville, Pagliacci and La Traviata. By far, this is the place in Miami to catch a night of electrifying live opera; the combination of powerful singing, gorgeous sets and theater make for a great night out.
Legendary Domingo Leads the Washington National Opera
Absorb all Washington has to offer with an elegant evening at the Washington National Opera (WNO). Founded in 1956 and recently bestowed with the distinction of “The National Opera” by Congress, WNO brings updated classics to the Kennedy Center’s Opera House stage. Led by none other than operatic legend, Placido Domingo himself, WNO brings exceptional performances with standards envied by some of the top houses in the world.
Grab a ticket or two and make it a formal evening out at the infamously standing-room-only Kennedy Center Opera House for a truly unique Washington experience. The world class company performs classic and contemporary pieces with an emphasis on Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi and Puccini. Popular past performances include: The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), Madama Butterfly (Puccini) and Rigoletto (Verdi).
Insider Tip: Although many patrons associate the opera with black tie attire, WNO audiences tend to lean towards business attire, with semi-formal and formal patrons intermixed throughout, so dress to impress as you like!
Performance Art Is Defined At Lincoln Center
With a new fountain in place of the iconic plaza fountain, it seems that things are changing at Lincoln Center. Yet, one thing that has not changed for the 16.3-acre complex is its role as the world’s leading performing arts center. Home to 12 resident arts organizations and 26 amazing performance venues, Lincoln Center is the epitome of art and performance in New York City.
One of its most famous facilities is the
magnificent 3,900-seat Metropolitan Opera House, which is the home stage of the world famous Metropolitan Opera and the annual Spring season of American Ballet Theatre. There is also the gorgeous Avery Fisher Hall, home stage of the New York Philharmonic, and the David H. Koch Theater, home of the New York City Ballet and the New York City Opera.
Lincoln Center puts on thousands of performances of music, opera, theater, dance, and multi-media every year by renowned artists from all over the globe. It has been home to ultra cool events like the MTV VMA’s and is the new home of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Whether its orchestra concerts or authentic kabuki theater or opera performed with life-size puppets, Lincoln Center presents only the top of any and every kind of performance art.
Brooklyn Academy of Music Gives Art With A Bam!
Commonly known as BAM, this leading arts venue does just that. With a Fort Greene district named after it, the Brooklyn Academy of Music is compromised of various venue that are more avant-garde and unique than the next. It’s the oldest continuously running performance art center that just keeps getting stronger, in 2008 it had a record-breaking attendance of 550,000!
The main building contains its major venue, the Howard Gilman Opera House. The theater, designed by the famous theater-architect company Herts &Tallant, contains 2,109 seats under its soaring ceiling and has seen legendary performances by Enrico Caruso and Vanessa Redgrave. There are also the BAM Rose Cinemas, where one screen shows classic movies and the other three show first-run and independent films. For night owls, there is the BAMcafé, a restaurant that offers free music performances on Friday and Saturday nights. Every exhibition, screening and performance is carefully chosen to further the BAM goal of the preeminent place for progressive art, and its popularity shows that it achieves its goal every night of the week!
BAM’s Harvey Theater, located a few streets away, is smaller and offers a different, more intimate experience, having originally been a traditional playhouse housing Shakespearean revivals, vaudeville reviews, and musicals. BAM also organizes multiple festivals, from DanceAfrica to BAMcinemaFEST, art exhibitions, and educational programs.
4. BrAVA Philadelphia! Gala Concert March 31
The city o
f Philadelphia has produced some of the world’s most brilliant opera stars, thanks in large part to the Academy of Vocal Arts. Enjoy as many of them return to Philadelphia to celebrate AVA’s 75th Anniversary.
International superstar mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads a lineup of AVA singers, including tenors James Valenti, who debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in March, Stephen Costello, winner of the 2009 Richard Tucker Prize, and Michael Fabiano, star of the feature film The Audition, plus many more great up-and-coming artists. This star-studded event will be one of the most high quality performances of the year.
Busy Bees at JFK Center for the Performing Arts
Created in 1971, this memorial to President
John F. Kennedy highlights more than 3,000 multimedia performances a year, making it the busiest arts facility in the nation. Complete with an Opera House, Concert Hall, Family Theater, Atrium, Terrace Gallery, Rehearsal Room and more, the facility offers workshops, family performances, ballets, musical events and festivals.
For the holiday season you can catch the famous Nutcracker ballet here and it seems for every other national holiday there is a performance, or two, at the JFK Center.
The JFK Center is more than a massive performance arts venue, it is also a living memorial, with sculptures and special exhibits to the beloved President.
Classical Art Made Modern at San Francisco Opera
If you think of opera as long, boring, and hard to follow, you haven’t been to the San Francisco Opera. From the bellbottoms to ball gowns dress code, and 
with subtitles above the stage, a night at the opera isn’t just for the world-traveling elite anymore. The San Francisco Opera does justice to this classic art form by making it accessible and entertaining to modern society.
In the heart of The Civic Center next to the Capitol Building, every grand staircase and facade of the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House seems to have been carved out of marble and gold, and the set designs are always elaborately impressive. Taking in the spectacle is even better while enjoying a pint of beer or a high-end wine. And don’t think the crowd is going to be boring either, since the opera is attended more these days by 20-50 something’s in the peak of their social lives, with great fashion sense to boot.
Tickets can range from $10-$120, but if you’re looking for an old-fashioned night out on the town don’t be afraid to play “Pretty Woman” dress-up, make reservations at one of the many nearby fine restaurants (like Absinthe), and go all out with a box seat and opera glasses.
The Extensive San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center
As one of the largest performing arts center in the United States the SFWMPAC covers everything from theater, operas, concerts, lectures, special screenings, dance, recitals, meetings, and galas. It is a massive facility, 7 1/2 acres in total, containing the War Memorial Opera House, Herbst Theater, War Memorial Veterans Building, Louise M. Davis Symphony Hall, and even the offices of the prestigious SFMOMA.
Conveniently located in the heart of San Francisco’s historic Civic Center district, the Performing Arts Center is not only a haven for the arts, but also a memorial for the men who fought in the first World War.
Check out the calendar for all the lectures, performances and recitals or participate in a tour of the facilities which are held every Monday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Dallas Does Art… Finally!
The long anticipated and well publicized Dallas Arts District is finally open! As one of the largest- if not THE largest- urban arts districts in the nation, it has put the Big D on the map as a major player in the art scene. The new Dallas Arts District in downtown Dallas is a sprawling 68-acre, 19-block area of performing and visual art utopia that brings an imaginative world of art this city has craved for for decades.
Incorporating over a dozen venues, the Dallas Arts District crosses all genres and functions to create a city within a city. From One Arts Plaza, where you’ll find a dynamic mix of corporate, residential, and retail space featuring some of Dallas’ hippest restaurants and bars to the Nasher Sculpture Center, highly regarded as one of the foremost collections of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world to the internationally renowned Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, where some of the world’s finest acts have performed. With a massive collection of new and old, classic and modern, the buildings themselves are masterful works of art.
And don’t forget the new ‘kids’ on the art block, the Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House and the Dee & Charles Wyly Theater, as they don’t mess around… unless, of course, it’s comedy.