Capital Region Classical presents Dutch violinist Stephen Waarts at Tannery Pond
New Lebanon— On Saturday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m., Capital Region Classical presents Dutch violinist Stephen Waarts with pianist Albert Cano Smit at Tannery Pond, presenting a program of Stravinsky, Ravel, Poulenc, and more.
Winner of the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Stephen Waarts has won over audiences across the globe with his innate and poetic musical voice. He was awarded the International Classical Music Awards Orchestra Award by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in 2019 and in March 2017 was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. He has performed at top venues including Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Louvre among others.
The concert is on Saturday, August 26th at 7:30 p.m. at Tannery Pond at the Darrow School in New Lebanon. Tickets are $40. Children and students are free. Tickets and more information can be found online or by calling 518-941-4331.
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Berkshire Opera Festival closes their 2023 season with their main stage production, Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’
Pittsfield— On Saturday, August 26th at 1 p.m., Tuesday, August 29th at 7:30 p.m., and Friday, September 1st at 7:30 p.m., Berkshire Opera Festival closes their 2023 season with their main stage production, Puccini’s “La Bohème”.
The unbridled passion of this ageless tale has made it a favorite of audiences for over a century. From the exhilaration of young love at first sight to the story’s unforgettable and heartbreaking conclusion, Puccini’s timeless tale of love and loss is not to be missed. Conductor Brian Garman and director Jonathon Loy create an exciting, new production of Giacomo Puccini’s timeless love story which tells the story of Mimì and Rodolfo, two lovers who meet by chance and change each other’s lives forever. Puccini’s soaring, aching melodies perfectly capture the emotion of every moment.
Playing Mimì is soprano Whitney Morrison, who makes her BOF debut in this role. The rising star from Chicago has been praised for her “vocally sumptuous” performances by the Chicago Tribune. Opera News said, “Whitney Morrison was simply astonishing in everything she sang…This is a voice we need to hear live.” Morrison was recently named the first ever artist-in-residence at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. A Chicago native and recent alum of the Ryan Opera Center, Morrison champions the African American aesthetic in classical music, embracing a style of performance that blends classical singing technique with elements of the gospel singing tradition. She received a 2023 Grammy nomination for Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s recording of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, in the role Louise/Betty. In 2022, she made her debut with Michigan Opera Theatre in the same role and reprised it with Opera Omaha and Odyssey Opera, before going on to record it.
Opposite Morrison is tenor Yongzhao Yu, who also makes his BOF debut. An expert “La Bohème” interpreter, he has sung the role of Rodolfo at opera houses across the country, including Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Arizona Opera, and he covered the role at The Metropolitan Opera. Yu who won the Audience Choice Award and the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award in Houston Grand Opera’s 2015 Eleanor McCollum Competition, continues to make important debuts throughout the United States. The 2022-23 season saw his Metropolitan Opera debut as Flavio in Norma, where he covered the roles of Alfredo in La Traviata and Rodolfo in La Bohème. In 2021-22, he performed the role of Rodolfo at New Orleans Opera, a role he has also sung for Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Arizona Opera. Additionally, he recently made his Seattle Opera debut as the Duke in Rigoletto, and made his Houston Symphony debut in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.
BOF Artistic Director and Co-Founder Brian Garman said that he is “so proud to present ‘La Bohème’ to our Berkshire audiences, featuring an absolutely top-notch cast that has received praise for their performances around the world. An ideal opera for first-time opera goers and seasoned opera veterans alike, this production is sure to capture your heart.”
The performances are on Saturday, August 26th at 1 p.m., Tuesday, August 29th at 7:30 p.m., and Friday, September 1st at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre on South Street in Pittsfield. Tickets are $20 to $120. The performance is approximately two hours in length including one intermission and will be sung in Italian with projected English translations. There will be a pre-performance talk with dramaturg Cori Ellison on Saturday, August 26th. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Great Barrington Public Theater (GBPT) presents “It’s Your Community Calling”, a community conversation
Lenox— On Saturday, August 26th, immediately following the 11 a.m. performance of “Representation and How to Get It”, Great Barrington Public Theater (GBPT) presents “It’s Your Community Calling”, a post-show conversation.
“It’s Your Community Calling” will be a conversation about the positive effect of activism and what brings leaders to follow paths to community service, with Ilana Steinhauer, Executive Director of Volunteers in Medicine of the Berkshires and Kelly Galvin, Program Director of Community Access to the Arts, moderated by GBPT Artistic Director, Just Braha.
Ilana Steinhauer, MSN, FNP-BC, serves as Executive Director of Volunteers In Medicine (VIM) Berkshires. Along with the standard ED responsibilities, she also acts as director of medical services, coordinating patient care across all medical service areas as well as providing acute and chronic care. In 2016 Ilana helped launch- BASIC, Berkshire Area Support of the Immigrant Community, a group who works to ensure Berkshire County is a place the immigrant community can thrive. She is also a Board Member of Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network, Public Health Institute of Western Mass., and Lee Bank. With an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and BS and MS degrees in nursing from Simmons College, Ms. Steinhauer began her career as a nurse with The Medical Group/Harvard Vanguard Associates-Beverly, MA, later returning there as a nurse practitioner. Ms. Steinhauer is bi-lingual in Spanish.
Kelly Galvin is a director, producer, and teaching artist based in the Berkshires. She has directed for Shakespeare & Company, WAM Theatre, Gloucester Stage, Great Barrington Public Theater, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, Boston Playwrights’ Theater, Southwest Shakespeare, Advice to the Players, and the Theater at Woodshill. She has assistant directed for the Guthrie, Orlando Shakespeare, and Asolo Rep. Kelly is a Program Director at Community Access to the Arts, an organization that nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MFA from Boston University.
The discussion is on Saturday, August 26th, immediately following the 11 a.m. performance of “Representation and How to Get It” at the Mount on Plunkett Street in Lenox. Tickets to the performance are $30. Students are free with advance reservation and I.D. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Mount presents ‘¡Baile De Musica Latina!’
Lenox— On Sunday, August 27th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Mount presents “¡Baile De Musica Latina!”
The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, invites you to a free musical celebration of Berkshire Latinx culture and artistry. Bring the whole family and enjoy a performance under the tent from Brazilian samba/salsa dancer Luana Días and live Mexican music from Loreli Chavez and Laura Cabrera, the multifaceted singer of Yo Soy Arte, is a collective of Latinx artists dedicated to preserving their cultural heritage through music and dance, bringing people together in celebration and unity.
The Mount’s new Outreach Coordinator, Liliana Atanacio, shares, “I’m thrilled to be leading The Mount’s efforts to build authentic relationships and highlight the rich talent we have within our community. ¡Baila con nosotros!”
The event will be on Sunday, August 27th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Mount on Plunkett Street, in Lenox. Admission is free. Food will be available for purchase from local favorite, La Chalupa y La Enchilada, and a beverage garden will feature a variety of drink options. Children’s activities will include face painting and dancing. Tickets and more information can be found online. For assistance, email latanacio@edithwharton.org.
There is free bus transportation from Pittsfield to Lenox provided. The bus departs at 3 p.m. from Hotel on North at 297 North Street and returns at 7 p.m. Register for transportation by calling 413-707-2607 or by emailing latanacio@edithwharton.org.
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Prima Music Foundation presents ‘Opera and Art Song’ at Ventfort Hall
Lenox— On Saturday, August 26th at 4 p.m., Prima Music Foundation presents “Opera and Art Song” at Ventfort Hall. Tenor, Viktor Antipenko, and Pianist, Anastasia Dedik, a founder of the Prima Music Foundation, will perform works by Verdi, Bizet, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.
Russian-American tenor Viktor Antipenko, praised for his effortless, expansive sound, and excellent technique, continues to sing leading roles to great acclaim and has become a singer to watch in the dramatic repertoire. In the 2022-23 season, he made his house debuts at the Scottish Opera for performances in Glasgow and Edinburgh as Luigi in Il Tabarro in a production by Sir David McVicar, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as Don José in Carmen with Roberto Kalb on the podium. Mr. Antipenko also returned to Staatstheater Kassel for Hermann in Pique Dame conducted by Francesco Angelico, and Israeli Opera for his role debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore. Last season Mr. Antipenko made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pinkerton in the famous Anthony Minghella production of Madame Butterfly. He also made his role and house debut performing Radamès in Aida at the Israeli Opera conducted by Giuliano Carella and debuted at Arizona Opera as Don José in Carmen under the baton of Christopher Allen.
Anastasia Dedik has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborator in more than 22 states and abroad, including venues such as Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and others. Born and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia to a family of distinguished musicians, Anastasia graduated from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 2004 and moved to the United States to continue her education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School on full talent scholarships. She is a candidate to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts.
The concert is on Saturday, August 26th at 4 p.m. at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Walker Street in Lenox. Tickets are $45 general admission and $40 for Berkshire County residents. Reservations are strongly recommended as seating is limited. Walk-ins are accommodated as space allows. A half-hour before the performance, there will be light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar offering beer, wine, and our new signature cultural cocktail, the Ventfort Vesper, in collaboration with Berkshire Mountain Distillers. Reservations and more information can be found online or by calling 413-637-3206.
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Tanglewood presents ‘Star Wars: The Story in Music’
Lenox— On Sunday, August 27th at 2:30 p.m., in memory of Judy Brinberg, Tanglewood presents “Star Wars: The Story in Music”.
Take an intergalactic, musical journey with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Tanglewood. It might take you 30 hours to watch all of Star Wars, but you can relive the saga in just two hours as a live narrator and America’s Orchestra bring this epic story and iconic music to life. This immersive concert experience will awaken the force within you and transport you to a galaxy far, far away.
The concert is on Sunday, August 27th at 2:30 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood on West Street in Lenox. Gates open at noon. Shed tickets are $55 to $171 and lawn seats are $30. Costumed characters from N.E. Droid Builders will be there to share in the fun. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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MPZ productions productions presents ‘The Andrew Lloyd Webber Songbook’ at Saint James Place
Great Barrington— On Saturday, August 27th at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., MPZ productions presents “The Andrew Lloyd Webber Songbook” at Saint James Place.
If you have ever seen the musical “Cats”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Evita”, or “Starlight Express”, you have experienced the musical genius of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. A musical prodigy, Sir Andrew and his writing partner, Tim Rice, wrote their first musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” when they were teenagers ! “Joseph…” and many of their shows have gone on to international success. Performers Michael Pizzi, Gay Willis, and Brett Boles will sing many of their acclaimed hits.
The performances are on Saturday, August 27th at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Saint James Place on Main Street in Stockbridge. All tickets are $39. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to the People’s Food Pantry in Great Barrington. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Garage at Chatham presents S.O.A.R., the jazz vocalizations of April May Webb with Randall Haywood on piano
Chatham— On Saturday, August 26th at 6 p.m., The Garage at Chatham (GAC) presents S.O.A.R., the jazz vocalizations of April May Webb with Randall Haywood on piano.
Awarded and named “Best Jazz Group” at the 2019 New York City Reader’s Jazz Awards, the husband and wife duo known as Sounds of A&R, aka S.O.A.R., is the brainchild of vocalist April May Webb and multi-instrumentalist Randall Haywood. In 2023, S.O.A.R. was one of ten ensembles selected to represent The United States as U.S. Cultural Ambassadors, a part of the American Music Abroad program. Since 2017, S.O.A.R. has had the distinct honor of touring and joining forces with the legendary Jazz drummer Thelonious Sphere Monk III, aka T.S. Monk.
In 2021, S.O.A.R. released their third studio album, “Questions Left Unanswered”. It peaked at #12 on The National Jazz Week Charts and landed on Jazz Week’s Top 50 Jazz Albums for the year 2021, and was nationally syndicated on Sirius XM. Pulling inspiration from their deep love for one another, S.O.A.R. expresses that love through beautifully crafted compositions with fresh, innovative arrangements that, pun intended, soars.
The concert is on Saturday, August 26th at 6 p.m. at the Garage at Chatham on Kinderhook Street in Chatham. The performance is free. More information can be found online.
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Great Barrington Land Conservancy presents “Bluegrass at the Lake”, a special summer fundraiser
Great Barrington— On Sunday, August 27th from 3 p.m to 6 p.m., Great Barrington Land Conservancy (GBLC) presents “Bluegrass at the Lake”, a special summer fundraiser.
Come by Lake Mansfield for an afternoon fundraiser with the GBLC to celebrate community and the surrounding natural areas we love. This special event will feature the bluegrass trio of Kate Ritter Roblin on fiddle, Sam Clement on guitar, and Dave Lawlor on mandolin. The group has performed at a variety of venues large and small throughout Vermont, the New York Capital Region, and the Berkshires.
“Music and nature have some important qualities in common: both inspire community, and both are therapeutic. We are thrilled to share our music within one of the very places that this event is honoring.” says musician, Kate Ritter Roblin. Kate and her husband, Brad Roblin, are GBLC board members and they dreamed up this special event as a way to bring people together in support of the land conservancy’s annual efforts to promote land conservation, farm preservation, and community trails since 1992.
The concert is on Sunday, August 27th from 3 p.m to 6 p.m. at Lake Mansfield on Lake Mansfield Road in Great Barrington. It is free and open to the public. There is a suggested donation of $25 per family, $10 per individual over the age of five. Delicious ice cream has been generously provided by SoCo Creamery. All proceeds will go toward GBLC’s ongoing stewardship efforts including Lake Mansfield, River Walk, the Riverfront Trail, and the Pfeiffer Arboretum. Parking is limited; please consider walking, biking, or paddling to this family event. Overflow parking will be available at the Daniel Arts Center of Simon’s Rock College with a shuttle to the boat launch area. Though registration is not required, it is requested to help gauge participation. Register online. More information is available online.
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The Bidwell House Museum presents “Religion and Slavery in Colonial New England” with Dr. Kenneth Minkema
Monterey— On Saturday, August 26th from 11 a.m. to noon, the Bidwell House Museum presents “Religion and Slavery in Colonial New England” with Dr. Kenneth Minkema, a talk about enslavement in early New England and the ways that religious figured justified their participation in the slave trade.
While the colonial-period enslavement of persons of color and the business of the “slave trade,” or the kidnapping of free Africans, are usually assumed to have been foreign to New England, we are discovering the significant extent to which people of this region participated in, and profited from, enslavement and the slave trade. A vital justification for slavery was provided by religious belief and by the Bible as it was interpreted by white colonizers at that time.
In this presentation, Dr. Kenneth Minkema will examine some of the theological, religious, and biblical rationales for the institution of slavery, as expressed in the Puritan and Dissenting tradition inherited by many of the English colonizers of New England. Prominent ministers of western Massachusetts, such as Jonathan Edwards of Northampton, along with others, enslaved people of color. As the eighteenth century wore on, however, critiques of the slave trade and, eventually, of slavery itself emerged, helping to set the stage for a nation-wide debate and eventual armed conflict.
Dr. Kenneth P. Minkema is the Editor of “The Works of Jonathan Edwards” and Director of The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, with an appointment as Research Scholar at Yale Divinity School.
This lecture will be on Saturday, August 26th from 11 a.m. to noon on Zoom. Tickets are $15 and free for members. Register online. Attendees will receive an email in advance of the talk with the link to access the Zoom presentation.
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The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and the Stockbridge Library host biographer and journalist Joseph Berger for an intimate look at Elie Wiesel
Stockbridge— On Sunday, August 27th at 2 p.m., Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and the Stockbridge Library host biographer and journalist Joseph Berger for an intimate look at Elie Wiesel, author of the Holocaust memoir “Night” and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Berger will talk about his new book, “Elie Wiesel: Confronting the Silence”. Elie Wiesel seared the Holocaust into the world’s conscience and later spoke out against genocide everywhere. In his biography, Joseph Berger seeks to answer this question and presents Wiesel as both a revered Nobel laureate and a man of complex psychological texture and contradictions.
Joseph Berger was a New York Times reporter, columnist, and editor for over 30 years, writing about education, religion, and New York City, as well chronicling many of the events in Israel and the Middle East. He retired from the paper in December 2014 and is the author of five books.
The talk is on Sunday, August 27th at 2 p.m., at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge on Main Street in Stockbridge. Seating is limited and online registration is encouraged.
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Second annual meet and greet at Witch Slapped
Pittsfield— On Saturday, August 26th at 7 p.m., Witch Slapped presents their second annual meet and greet.
Calling all witches! Come by for a spell. With refreshments, magical activities, giveaways, and Witch Slapped’s most popular event, the “Penny Sale”, this free event is an excuse to gather in one place and connect to like minded people!
Witch Slapped is a family (and familiar) friendly witchcraft, metaphysical, spiritual supply store offering DIY witchcrafts, workshops, spiritual and healing services, classes, and events in the beginning stages of creating our own community of spiritual worship for all groups who walk the path of spirituality and wellness.
The free meet and greet is on Saturday, August 26th at 7 p.m. at Witch Slapped on North Street in Pittsfield. More information can be found online or by calling 413-464-9597.
