http://www.philly.com/r?19=960&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts Coverage of the performing arts in Philadelphia. en-us Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 2009-11-21T08:01:00Z en-us http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70687067&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091121_Curtis_Opera_and_rare_Stravinsky.html The new Curtis Opera Theatre production of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress is a test of sorts. How much are you willing to endure for love of this opera? What aspects mean the most to you? Music? Words? Characters? Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 4d8a9f3b5c528fe57b36d88892efc9dc 2009-11-21T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70534337&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091120_Lovely_musical_on_love_and_risk.html 'Reader, I married him." Is there a fantasy dearer to the female heart than Charlotte Brontë's long-suffering governess finally marrying the lord of the manor? Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 3e1d3726c2c51d07e9cc31c89b3d459b 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70534267&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091120_Eschenbach_goes_deep_into_Mahler_s_Seventh.html Christoph Eschenbach saved the strangest for last in his complete Mahler symphony cycle with the Philadelphia Orchestra. After the folksy tunes and nature description of Mahler's first four symphonies, the orchestral apocalypses of the fifth and sixth, the dizzy-making gargantuanism of the eighth, and elegiac lyricism of the ninth and 10th, the nocturnal but discomfiting Symphony No. 7 arrived on Wednesday under ex-music director Eschenbach. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 637b9494b1847efbb3eb1d70c485c07b 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70534307&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091120_Huge_cast__a_Fagin_with_heart_in_terrific__Oliver__.html The Walnut Street Theatre has engineered many firsts in its 200 years, and here's the latest: For only the first time in its modern history of producing shows, which spans 27 years, the Walnut is presenting a show it has produced before. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT ab481d4f1a5a92076a63b98a135e3314 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70534332&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091120_Performance_and_classical_music_listings.html Theater Professional/semi-professional An Addams Family Mystery Without a Cue Productions presents an Addams Family reunion that is filled with suspense & entertainment. Closes 12/26. Peddler's Village, Rtes. 202 & 263, Lahaska; 215-794-4000. www.withoutacue.com. $47.95 includes dinner & show. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 03ed7b2b9f4c60f0c2530a72be23c610 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70534237&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091120_Museum_and_gallery_events.html Art Museums & Institutions African American Heritage Museum 661 Jackson Rd., Newtonville; 609-704-5495. www.aahmsnj.org. Tue.-Sat. 10 am-4 pm. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT ae65da35954958740fcb91efb242063e 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70349717&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091118_Janacek_s_unsparing_prison_drama_a_rare_opera_treat.html NEW YORK - The marquee value could hardly be less inviting, but serious operagoers shouldn't deprive themselves of Leos Janacek's From the House of the Dead in a powerful new Metropolitan Opera production by Patrice Chéreau. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 36f5d7a956c4c9fc17d9bdffedf843fb 2009-11-18T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70349722&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091118_Pavel_Haas_Quartet_at_the_Seaport.html Great string quartets aren't unusual around here, thanks to the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, but even in the most august company, the Pavel Haas Quartet on Sunday was a peak experience. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 6c956e9f5f266b42b4d92b274399db2c 2009-11-18T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70213087&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091116_fraulein_maria.html Been to any dance performances lately that begin with an audience sing-along? Choreographer Doug Elkins' Fräulein Maria, a lovingly irreverent take on The Sound of Music presented by Dance Celebration at the Annenberg Center, may well be the first. It opens with an emcee in tails coaxing us into a robust rendition of "Do-Re-Mi." With that, we're plunged right into the show's mix of silliness and delight. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:10:00 GMT 4efea21f6315af1e631ecb4db6b8575b 2009-11-14T20:10:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70257852&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091117_AVA_stages__Falstaff_.html The buzz that greeted the Academy of Vocal Arts' new production of Falstaff hung in the air at the weekend's opening night: Verdi's great ensemble opera was an easy vocal reach for the Academy's young singers, who were said to be charmed and fired by charismatic veteran stage director Tito Capobianco. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 97367f66886ad3b29edfcd36de6c4b3d 2009-11-17T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70257862&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091117_2_fine_Josephs_put_on_2_terrific__Dreamcoats_.html Joseph's remarkable coat, a gift from his doting father in the Bible story, had many colors. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - the musical that admirably follows the story from the Book of Genesis - has its own bright colors, displayed energetically in two distinct productions now in the region. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT f6a32022efce9345ab610a3c74403737 2009-11-17T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70257847&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091117_Solzhenitzyn_leaves_Chamber_Orchestra.html Pianist/conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn is moving on after 16 years conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia - though not entirely: With yesterday's announcement that Dirk Brossé will succeed him as music director came the news that Solzhenitsyn, as conductor laureate, will lead one program a season. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 2e4c84d98b05345ccdfe62ee6c5a3368 2009-11-17T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70257857&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091117_Devon_Theater_cancels_season__citing_state_cuts.html The Devon Theater, reborn in March to produce live stage shows after years of abandonment and dilapidation on Frankford Avenue in Mayfair, has canceled its inaugural season after its current production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, ends Dec. 13. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 4074dc3c4573dc0648d1341859ee8eba 2009-11-17T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70169112&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091116_A_joyous_one-day_Brahms_festival.html Like most great ideas, Astral Artists' one-day Philadelphia Brahms Festival immediately posed the question of why it hadn't been done anytime recently. Probable answer: Does Brahms' chamber music need a festival? By no means is it neglected, but as the three-concerts-on-one-Saturday festival showed, there's plenty to be said for focusing the attention of listeners and performers, proving the old Mae West aphorism, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT e14cea5a7f8e54e576d6239b55bc489c 2009-11-16T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70169162&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091116_Peek_at__70s_is_quite_a_romp.html Montgomery Theater, like many area houses, just opened its winter musical, I Love My Wife. Like most of the others, this show deals with a very special Christmas Eve, when gifts are offered and dreams come true. Unlike the others, those gifts and dreams mostly involve getting undressed and swapping spouses. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 609c892503d93dee30f6387123b8c352 2009-11-16T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70169167&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091116_I_Love_My_Wife.html Playing at: Montgomery Theater, 124 Main St., Souderton. Through Sat., Dec. 5. Tickets: $23 to $35. Information: 215-723-9984 or www.MontgomeryTheater.org Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 65c32f87d21570f94b3ad6b42414ae6e 2009-11-16T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70169117&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091116_As_if_in_a_Lisbon_cathedral__c__1660.html Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, has long been the go-to ensemble for the exploration of lost musical continents, this weekend's concerts revealing a pocket of repertoire whose existence is now so marginal you'd never think to look for it. In collaboration Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 1db9e53c9f3166edd4981776c5d86183 2009-11-16T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=70092292&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091114_Pleasant_night_with_the_orchestra.html Stéphane Denève is not what you could call a high-impact podium presence. He led a perfectly pleasant concert Thursday night. The Paris Conservatory-trained conductor does nothing extreme, nothing exaggerated - a strategy that works in getting the Philadelphia Orchestra to a high comfort level, particularly in repertoire it knows well. Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 3e7d3bcce8108854c609a172dc2ddbb5 2009-11-14T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=69961312&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091115_Her_radical__rumbling_vision.html NEW YORK - Among downtown New York composers, few stick so relentlessly to the cutting edge as Julia Wolfe. Now 50, she recently wrote a piece for nine bagpipes that sent her two children running for cover in her SoHo loft. Even her husband, Michael Gordon, who with her cofounded the composer collective Bang on a Can, has been moving toward more mainstream music for opera and film. Back home in Blue Bell, Wolfe's mother supports her daughter's performances with a dignified stoicism. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 541b3c11b41c096f3b70cc05c47c0d47 2009-11-15T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168046&44=69961327&32=3796&7=195487&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fentertainment%2Farts%2F20091115_Art__Serious_flaws_in_prize_paradigm.html When I learned that Ryan Trecartin was one of three finalists for the $150,000 Wolgin art prize - awarded for the first time last month - I should have put down a bet with someone that he would win. His exhibition in May at the Fabric Workshop and Museum indicated he should be the odds-on favorite. Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT d9cf4f2bbbc9397af35b53c940496416 2009-11-15T08:01:00Z