It is with a mixture of joy and sadness that I attended my last event as part of the fabulous Spinning Wheel Festival last night at BRIC — joy because this was an incredible experience and sadness because it is nearly over. (The first two events I attended are reviewed here.) This two-week multimedia festival was…
Tag: vocal
The Spinning Wheel Festival, Part I
Dig it, man! On Friday night at BRIC, I was thrilled to attend the opening of both the interactive exhibition and the multimedia performance of The Spinning Wheel, based on the life of steve ben israel and The Living Theater. The Spinning Wheel Festival was brilliantly conceived by steve’s son, hip hop theater artist Baba Israel….
The Hard Nut
There’s something seriously subversive going on in downtown Brooklyn this holiday season. It’s going to completely upend your cherished memories of elegant sugar plum fairies and dancing flowers. Purists beware — then prepare to be wildly entertained. I am talking about The Hard Nut, of course, and word on the street is that Mark Morris…
Steel Hammer
“He laid down his hammer and he died. Lord, Lord. He laid down his hammer and he died.” I have had Pete Seeger’s voice singing his version of the folk song, John Henry, racing through my head like a runaway train ever since I left Steel Hammer — a collaboration between composer, Julia Wolfe, and SITI Company….
Epiphany: The Cycle of Life
I am thrilled to say that I wish I could have spent an additional hour at BAM’s Fishman Space last night, listening to the fabulous Young People’s Chorus of New York City. They sang the work of several composers and librettists in a multi-media piece called Epiphany: The Cycle of Life (conducted by Francisco J. Núñez.)…
Refuse the Hour
I just got home from the fabulous experimental chamber opera Refuse The Hour by artist William Kentridge. It was part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. It was hard to describe, but try to imagine this: a mad steampunk scientific traveling circus lab that is exploring the concept of time — with a dash of Robert Wilson…
texts&beheadings/ElizabethR
Sometimes it pays to take a risk. That’s what I did tonight when I headed to BAM’s Fishman Space to attend the production of texts&beheadings/ElizabethR. This was one of those performance ideas that was either going to succeed or fail embarrassingly. I am happy to report it worked quite well. I am fascinated by the…
tUnE-yArDs at Celebrate Brooklyn
Last night was the end of the regular season at Celebrate Brooklyn. Willie Nelson and Old Crow Medicine Show will play next week for one of their benefit concerts, but I will be picnicking in the park outside the gates because the show is sold out. Fun, but not the same as being there, so I…
Punch Brothers & Sarah Jarosz at Celebrate Brooklyn
It was a dark and stormy night … but the show went on! I was so excited to see the Punch Brothers last night that I went to Celebrate Brooklyn after work, despite the threat of rain. All through Sarah Jarosz’s terrific set, the weather seemed to hold. Maybe a few sprinkles but nothing much…
Community and Culture
As the days get longer and spring flowers turn to the lush green of early summer, my various cultural communities explode with outpourings of music and art. First there are all the wonderful spring concerts presented by the community choruses here in Brooklyn: the Brooklyn Community Chorus, Brooklyn Women’s Chorus, Grace Chorale of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Contemporary…
Iolanta/Bluebeard’s Castle
On Wednesday, February 18, I saw the perfect doubleheader at The Metropolitan Opera: Peter Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. I sometimes attend the Live in HD screenings at BAM, but I attended this one live at the opera house. Anna Netrebko was wonderful as the blind princess, Iolanta. I was surprised at how…
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Should I see the performance live, or should I attend the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD screening at BAM’s Rose Cinema? Lucky for me I have the option. I usually do a little of both. There is nothing like the thrill of being in the opera house and hearing the music and voices live —…
victoriab:culture 