Monthly Archives: April 2011

Dueling Neon Guitars in Euphorie at RPI.

“Euphorie” at EMPAC Postponed- Dueling Neon Guitars will happen in Fall 2011

May 4, 2011: LATE NEWS: In a brief message just received, the Euphorie performance at EMPAC has been cancelled. From my contacts at RPI: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Thursday, May 5th’s performance of EUPHORIE has been cancelled. We are very

Dueling Neon Guitars in Euphorie at RPI.

“Euphorie” at EMPAC Postponed- Dueling Neon Guitars will happen in Fall 2011

May 4, 2011: LATE NEWS: In a brief message just received, the Euphorie performance at EMPAC has been cancelled. From my contacts at RPI: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Thursday, May 5th’s performance of EUPHORIE has been cancelled. We are very

The Cantilena Chamber Choir

Powerful “Mass for the Children” highlight of next Cantilena Chamber Choir concert

Not many choirs have the talent and guts to undertake complex and rarely performed works like composer John Rutter’s Mass for the Children. But now in its seventh season, the Cantilena Chamber Choir has risen to become the Berkshire’s leading

The Cantilena Chamber Choir

Powerful “Mass for the Children” highlight of next Cantilena Chamber Choir concert

Not many choirs have the talent and guts to undertake complex and rarely performed works like composer John Rutter’s Mass for the Children. But now in its seventh season, the Cantilena Chamber Choir has risen to become the Berkshire’s leading

The Seagull

A Berkshire twist infuses Chekhov’s “Seagull” at Main Street Stage May 5-22

The final (for now) production slated for the current Main Street Stage space is a classic work with a modern, local twist: Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. It is based on the adaptation by Paul Schmidt and will be set in

The Seagull

A Berkshire twist infuses Chekhov’s “Seagull” at Main Street Stage May 5-22

The final (for now) production slated for the current Main Street Stage space is a classic work with a modern, local twist: Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. It is based on the adaptation by Paul Schmidt and will be set in

Boston Public Garden in a photo by Eric Hill.

Boston Public Garden to host Arts Emerson’s experimental “Midsummer Night’s Dream”

How refreshingly different is this? For a few weeks, from May 20 to June 5, Arts Emerson is planning an experimental work, Susurrus, in the Boston Public Garden. It’s a different take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this

Boston Public Garden in a photo by Eric Hill.

Boston Public Garden to host Arts Emerson’s experimental “Midsummer Night’s Dream”

How refreshingly different is this? For a few weeks, from May 20 to June 5, Arts Emerson is planning an experimental work, Susurrus, in the Boston Public Garden. It’s a different take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this

BOS-BIFF

Berkshire Film Festival 2011 Underway June 2-5 in Great Barrington, Pittsfield

For its Sixth Anniversary BIFF Opened with “Page One – A Year at the New York Times” and Closes with Award-Winning Film “Buck” From our News Desk – The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) today announced the selection of films

BOS-BIFF

Berkshire Film Festival 2011 Underway June 2-5 in Great Barrington, Pittsfield

For its Sixth Anniversary BIFF Opened with “Page One – A Year at the New York Times” and Closes with Award-Winning Film “Buck” From our News Desk – The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) today announced the selection of films

Black Violin

Sensational on Stage, Black Violin will also bring music to Pittsfield Schools

Wherever Black Violin goes, the place is never the same after they leave. They are a pretty revolutionary music group, with two classically trained string players (electric violin and acoustic viola) plus a DJ. But here’s the thing. Their music

Black Violin

Sensational on Stage, Black Violin will also bring music to Pittsfield Schools

Wherever Black Violin goes, the place is never the same after they leave. They are a pretty revolutionary music group, with two classically trained string players (electric violin and acoustic viola) plus a DJ. But here’s the thing. Their music

Die Walkure at The Metropolitan Opera

The Valhalla Machine returns for The Met’s Ring Cycle and Die Walküre Live in HD

(Updated May 16, 2011.) Those who planned to hear The Met’s new Die Walküre when it was telecast live on May 14, 2011, found that malfunctions are not limited to Spiderman on Broadway. Something as small as a malfunctioning encoding

Die Walkure at The Metropolitan Opera

The Valhalla Machine returns for The Met’s Ring Cycle and Die Walküre Live in HD

(Updated May 16, 2011.) Those who planned to hear The Met’s new Die Walküre when it was telecast live on May 14, 2011, found that malfunctions are not limited to Spiderman on Broadway. Something as small as a malfunctioning encoding

Tony Simotes in a photo by Kevin Sprague.

Tony Simotes – From “Women of Will” to “War of the Worlds” at Shakespeare & Co

We were glad to catch up with Tony Simotes, artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, and talk a bit about the coming season. (Seen above in photo by Kevin Sprague) We asked about both his health and that of the

Tony Simotes in a photo by Kevin Sprague.

Tony Simotes – From “Women of Will” to “War of the Worlds” at Shakespeare & Co

We were glad to catch up with Tony Simotes, artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, and talk a bit about the coming season. (Seen above in photo by Kevin Sprague) We asked about both his health and that of the

Philadelphia Orchestra Bankruptcy, Just a Blip?

Louise Stevens on Philadelphia Orchestra Bankruptcy: “This is Not a Blip”

Across the nation, many arts organizations are engaged in a battle for survival. In the Berkshires we have seen it too. The Berkshire Opera Company failed, Edith Wharton’s home faced a Mountain of debt, and Shakespeare & Company has bounced

Philadelphia Orchestra Bankruptcy, Just a Blip?

Louise Stevens on Philadelphia Orchestra Bankruptcy: “This is Not a Blip”

Across the nation, many arts organizations are engaged in a battle for survival. In the Berkshires we have seen it too. The Berkshire Opera Company failed, Edith Wharton’s home faced a Mountain of debt, and Shakespeare & Company has bounced

Ticketmaster ripoff
/ News

Ticketmaster announces a new way to screw concert-goers: “Dynamic Pricing”

Ticketmaster pretends to care about the customer, but in reality nothing they have done in their entire history has ever lowered ticket prices to the public. This despite the huge scale of its operation, which should provide some cost efficiencies.

Ticketmaster ripoff
/ News

Ticketmaster announces a new way to screw concert-goers: “Dynamic Pricing”

Ticketmaster pretends to care about the customer, but in reality nothing they have done in their entire history has ever lowered ticket prices to the public. This despite the huge scale of its operation, which should provide some cost efficiencies.

BOSWills447

Saturday for his 447th Birthday, Shakespeare gets cake, and a surprising Hamlet

If The Bard from Stratford-on-Avon were around today, he would be in for the surprise of his life. In his day, all the roles in his plays were played by men. The younger and fairer of the gentlemen usually took

BOSWills447

Saturday for his 447th Birthday, Shakespeare gets cake, and a surprising Hamlet

If The Bard from Stratford-on-Avon were around today, he would be in for the surprise of his life. In his day, all the roles in his plays were played by men. The younger and fairer of the gentlemen usually took

Hyper-Rainforest

Hyper-Rainforest is an 80-Channel Feast of Sound at RPI’s EMPAC in Troy

Due to overwhelming demand, EMPAC has added TWO ADDITIONAL performances of Francisco López’s Hyper-Rainforest this weekend forFriday, April 29 + Saturday, April 30 at 9:30 PM. The composer describes his Hyper-Rainforest as an “immersive concert-installation for a double dome, 90-speaker

Hyper-Rainforest

Hyper-Rainforest is an 80-Channel Feast of Sound at RPI’s EMPAC in Troy

Due to overwhelming demand, EMPAC has added TWO ADDITIONAL performances of Francisco López’s Hyper-Rainforest this weekend forFriday, April 29 + Saturday, April 30 at 9:30 PM. The composer describes his Hyper-Rainforest as an “immersive concert-installation for a double dome, 90-speaker

Jim Brochu IS Zero Mostel.

Countdown to “Zero Hour” as Barrington Stage Season Begins

It’s a simple production about a complex man, Zero Mostel, whose theatre and film careers are the stuff of legend. He could be charming, impossible, hilarious and infuriating all at the same time. And the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes

Jim Brochu IS Zero Mostel.

Countdown to “Zero Hour” as Barrington Stage Season Begins

It’s a simple production about a complex man, Zero Mostel, whose theatre and film careers are the stuff of legend. He could be charming, impossible, hilarious and infuriating all at the same time. And the Drama Desk and Helen Hayes

BOSnowWhite

Grimm’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs seen cavorting at The Mount

This July at The Mount, when the moon reaches its full phase it will signal the imminent return of live outdoor theatre to Edith Wharton’s classic manse. The Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) has announced that nightly performances of Snow White

BOSnowWhite

Grimm’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs seen cavorting at The Mount

This July at The Mount, when the moon reaches its full phase it will signal the imminent return of live outdoor theatre to Edith Wharton’s classic manse. The Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) has announced that nightly performances of Snow White

BOScatch_edited-1

Horsehide and holiness in downtown Pittsfield

Like theatre, baseball is timeless, it not only has no clock, but it is played just about every day from April to September. Football and basketball are more about marketing and commerce; baseball is mostly about community, and leisure. If

BOScatch_edited-1

Horsehide and holiness in downtown Pittsfield

Like theatre, baseball is timeless, it not only has no clock, but it is played just about every day from April to September. Football and basketball are more about marketing and commerce; baseball is mostly about community, and leisure. If

Michael Dahlberg, cello plays the Colonial Theatre.

Pittsfield 250th to host Tanglewood String Quartet, Brass Quintet at free Colonial concert

In celebration of Pittsfield’s 250th anniversary, current and former Tanglewood Music Center Fellows, including BSO trumpet players Michael Martin and Tom Siders, will perform a free concert of festive chamber music on Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m. at the Colonial

Michael Dahlberg, cello plays the Colonial Theatre.

Pittsfield 250th to host Tanglewood String Quartet, Brass Quintet at free Colonial concert

In celebration of Pittsfield’s 250th anniversary, current and former Tanglewood Music Center Fellows, including BSO trumpet players Michael Martin and Tom Siders, will perform a free concert of festive chamber music on Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m. at the Colonial

Larry Murray and Charles Giuliano dialogues.

The Giuliano-Murray Dialogues (Part 7 of 7) “It’s a Wrap”

In this final installment of their dialogue Murray and Giuliano discuss cutting edge theatre which is a mainstay of America Repertory Theatre in Cambridge. Giuliano asks why there is nothing like that in the Berkshires. Murray defines his approach to

Larry Murray and Charles Giuliano dialogues.

The Giuliano-Murray Dialogues (Part 7 of 7) “It’s a Wrap”

In this final installment of their dialogue Murray and Giuliano discuss cutting edge theatre which is a mainstay of America Repertory Theatre in Cambridge. Giuliano asks why there is nothing like that in the Berkshires. Murray defines his approach to

Albert Cummings plays Mass MoCA.

Singing the Berkshire Blues with Albert Cummings

Albert Cummings typifies the working man’s blues, with a classy Berkshire twist. He’s spread his take on the blues pretty much across the map, and now the Williamstown native is bringing it on over to Mass MoCA‘s Hunter Center in

Albert Cummings plays Mass MoCA.

Singing the Berkshire Blues with Albert Cummings

Albert Cummings typifies the working man’s blues, with a classy Berkshire twist. He’s spread his take on the blues pretty much across the map, and now the Williamstown native is bringing it on over to Mass MoCA‘s Hunter Center in