ARTS NEWS
Forum Offers Hope and Ideas for a Revitalized San Diego Opera
The unexpected plot twists and emotional torrents of the opera stage seem rather tame compared to the real time drama that San Diego Opera has experienced during the past month. While the San Diego Opera Board was imploding at a raucous meeting in La Jolla Thursday afternoon, over 400 opera subscribers, stagehands, chorus members, and company staff members gathered at Civic Center downtown for a forum to consider what makes contemporary American opera companies successful . . .
Read MoreSpring Dance Calendar 2014: ‘Flowers & Weeds to Pick’
Dance events are wonderfully strange and varied flowers in a “pick your own” garden. Dozens of troupes are presenting dance-theater spiced up with live music, spoken word, puppetry, and art installations. Productions may be fresh and colorful or prickly and dark. You may find a few strange weeds among the flowers – and weeds can be fascinating.
Read MoreFrench Curves Bared at R.B. Stevenson Gallery
Using a bright 1960s flower power palette, Ricardo Xavier paints floral designs with meticulous care in his current exhibition entitled “Kinetic Contrasts” at La Jolla’s R.B. Stevenson Gallery. Xavier creates his ornate canvases by using draftpersons’ French curves and meticulous silk screening technique. The newest paintings’ color and designs have evolved in both their power and complexity…
Read MoreA Verdi Gem with Star Power to Spare
Longtime devotees of San Diego Opera may reminisce about the Tito Capobianco era, when the most celebrated opera stars—Beverly Sills, Tatiana Troyanos, and Luciano Pavarotti—performed with the local company at Civic Theatre. Capobianco may be a fading memory, and New York City Opera expired last year, but San Diego Opera’s upcoming production of Verdi’s “A Masked Ball” featuring Polish tenor Piotr Beczala and American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe in major roles promises a return of the star-studded cast . . .
Read MoreSexy Satire in ‘Don Juan’ Ballet
The three-act ballet opens with three women eager to seduce their humble servant, Don Juan. One by one, they slink out of their chairs for a turn with the handsome guy in tight skinny jeans and pointy boots. “It’s definitely good for adult date night and couples without their kids,” said Maxim Tchernychev, who stars as the legendary lover and scoundrel. And things really heat up when the nobleman discovers…
Read MoreSo You Think You Can Choreograph
Each audience member gets a vote to help decide winners of the San Diego Young Choreographers Showcase and Prize, taking place this Saturday night (Feb. 15). Judges will look for innovation, contrasts, and execution. Now in its fourth year, the competition is so popular that…
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