Kyle MacMillan - For the Sun-Times
COT opened the much-belated Chicago premiere of Shostakovich’s opera Friday evening at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, with a smart, winning new production take makes clear the appeal of the work.
Facing brain cancer, the renowned conductor delivered a performance that will stand up to any in this hall this season.
Jessie Montgomery has curated the group’s concert program as part of her duties as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Mead Composer-in-Residence.
Amid all the variety, one work remains a Chicago-area staple:stands out: Handel’s “Messiah,” with several groups offering their takes on the beloved oratorio.
While there is much to praise about the performances, especially those of the two leading women, the exaggerated, expressionist staging is perplexing at best and sometimes even silly.
The exhibit at the Art Institute offers a compact yet impressively thorough overview of the main phases of the Spanish artist’s career, one that should appeal to those familiar or unfamiliar with his work.
The presentation contains nearly 150 objects, including paintings, drawings, original prints, quilts, sculptures and mixed-media works as well as archival photos and materials related to her activism.
Dandy cast and nimble chorus keep up with the exacting, energetic staging.
In Chicago premiere of the late Liam Scarlett’s adaptation, Jonathan Dole powerfully conveys the hurt, twisted emotions and deep humanity of the creature brought back to life.