Mozart’s opera was always modern. That’s one secret to its greatness. “Don Giovanni” has consistently offered every era a reflection of its own fraught time.
Tag: Berkshire Opera Festival
Theater in the time of COVID-19: How area theaters and theater artists are coping during the pandemic
I asked the directors of several area theaters how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting their theaters and their staff in ways that might not be so evident to the lay public.
Bits & Bytes: Community dialogue on racism; Lenox Land Trust conversation; ‘Love Travels Fast’; Berkshire Theatre Awards
During the presentation, Gwendolyn VanSant will address personal identity and bias and their relationship to systemic racism and cultural barriers.
REVIEW: Berkshire Opera Festival’s ‘Don Pasquale’: Opera as Best Musical
If anyone is put off by opera, “Don Pasquale” — written by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti and first performed in 1843 — is Intro to Opera 101.
Bits & Bytes: Arbor Day at Mason Library; ‘Aladdin Jr.’ at the Colonial; ‘The Art of Costume Design in Opera’; science and engineering fair; Williamstown Repair Cafe
Directed by Travis Daly with music direction by Erin M. White and choreography by Kathy Jo Grover, the production features more than 100 Berkshire-area students.
Second-class citizens no longer: Berkshire second-home owners eye greater involvement, voting rights
Second-home owners have no voting rights in Massachusetts, so their influence in state and local affairs is necessarily limited. They certainly are permitted to attend town meetings and, in most towns, are allowed to speak at the discretion of the moderator.
THEATRE REVIEW: Berkshire Opera Company’s ‘Rigoletto’ offers depth of emotion, breadth of dramatic reality
Director Jonathan Loy has done a fine job with this piece, giving us the drama and the romance without the major forces of a large “court” to surround or frame these elements. It is due to his vision that the piece, pared down to its needs, delivers the world of Mantua so very well.
WRITING LIFE: Interview with poet and teacher Jayne Benjulian
“The writer is in the business of making discoveries, and whatever we can do to help her make those discoveries is fruitful. But the writer must surprise herself.”
— Poet Jayne Benjulian
REVIEW: ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ a gorgeous production by Berkshire Opera
It is wonderful that this fledgling company took the risk to bring this to the Berkshire public, because its glorious music and this stunning physical production also brings an extraordinary cast to our local stage.
Bits & Bytes: ‘SEVEN’ at Simon’s Rock; Berkshire Opera Festival; Bret Stephens to give Feigenbaum lecture; Laurel Hill Day
SEVEN was commissioned in 2006 by the Washington, D.C.-based Vital Voices Global Partnership, which had seven playwrights dramatize the stories of seven women.
Bits & Bytes: Free Fun Friday at the Mahaiwe; ‘Lincoln Speaks;’ WAM Theatre workshop; VIM gala; B’Shalom Chorale concert; Berkshire Opera Festival
Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM) will hold its gala event, “Knock Three Times and Whisper,” on Thursday, August 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Ski Butternut. The event will feature a Roaring 20s speakeasy theme, live music by the Wanda Houston Band.