Scene from Iphigenie from a fresco in Pompeii

Toronto’s Opera Atelier looks to have a sparkling season coming up in 2009/2010, beginning with Gluck’s rarely presented Iphigénie en Tauride. It’s a reworking of Euripedes play of the same name, telling the tangled tale of Iphigénie, the maiden abandoned on the island of Tauride for the duration of the Trojan War. She’s miraculously reunited with her brother Orestes after the murder of their mother, Clytemnestra, (who murdered their father)… sounds like appropriately melodramatic operatic fare! It’s schedule for October 31 - November 7, 2009. Also on the list is Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro playing April 24 - May 1, 2010. Tickets are on sale now.

Kandinsky (1913)

Must See Show Alerts:

I’ve always had a fascination for the work of Kandinsky, (and I think fascination is the idea here). His work gets its first American retrospective since 1985 at the Guggenheim Museum, opening September 18. Did you know that Vasily Kandinsky’s work has been an integral part of the museum since its inception, and they already host some of his pieces in their permanent collection. This new, traveling exhibition brings 100 paintings from the collections at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris,) and the Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, (Munich).

Edward Steichen self portrait 1903

The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Musuem are collaborating on shows that focus on glamour and high fashion photography this Fall. The AGO will feature the work of Edward Steichen, the Condé Nast Years between 1923 and 1937, when it’s considered he basically invented the style of glossy fashion photography we now take for granted. The ROM will host Vanity Fair Portraits, covering the period from 1913 to 2008. It begins with Steichen and then progresses to people like Man Ray and Annie Leibovitz, and includes subjects like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway and Rebecca West.

photo by Steve Evans

And by the by, the treasures of King Tut are coming to the AGO in November - plan to get your tickets early.

If you’re in the Big Apple and into fashion photography, the Richard Avedon show at the Museum of the International Center of Photography’s been extended another two weeks to now close on September 20. Avedon was another key figure in the artistic reshaping of fashion image making, and the show covers his work during the years 1944 to 2000.

The Milkmaid by Vermeer

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a couple of really interesting shows coming up in September. Silk and Bamboo looks at the art and music of China (opening September 5 to February 7, 2010), while Vermeer’s masterpiece, The Milkmaid gets a special exhibit along with 5 other Vermeer paintings and the work of other members of the Delft group. The painting’s on special loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage from Amsterdam to Manhattan. You only have to see Vermeer’s work in person once to understand why this artist’s work continues to resonate through the ages.

Much as we hate the idea of summer’s end, the Fall can also be an ideal time to turn over a proverbial new leaf and get into something that’s good for you and fun too. The School of Toronto Dance Theatre has been educating young dancers for four decades, and they offer Adult Classes in Contemporary Dance designed for any level, including beginners. You’ll dance to live accompaniment under the tutelage of well known professional dancers, and thrill to learning how to express yourself in dance as you increase strength, flexibility and endurance. The School is located in a leafy Cabbagetown neighbourhood that’s easily accessible via TTC.

Over 300 booths of local designers and artisans bring you unique fashions, jewellery and more at the Toronto Clothing Show, taking place September 25-27 this year at the Better Living Centre (Exhibition Place). You’ll not only find new duds, but vintage and hard to find items, eco-friendly fashions and more, with runway shows and an art gallery to add to the experience. It’s worth saving up for this shopping extravaganza.

To my women readers - you can get an easy reference to these and other events, event reviews in the group blog and more by joining the group at ShesConnected.com. Let’s get together and go out!

Opera Erratica’s Dido and Aeneas
preview August 18, 2009
runs August 19-29 at the Winchester Theatre, Toronto

The stage is spare and mainly black, its main feature being a fabric screen that flickers with video images that appear twice - once on the screen and once at a different angle on the wall behind it. The elegant Baroque strains of Purcell come from period instruments and accomplished musicians playing at the corner of the stage, while the gorgeous voices and appealing stage presence of the young singers animate the music and the story of tragic romance. Above it all, a small screen offers a kind of alternate libretto that ranges from direct quotes of the singer’s words to philosophical musings to slying humourous side commentary on the story that makes a mockery out of opera’s stodgy reputation.

Ancient Roman mosaic of Dido and Aeneas

This is opera, as conceived and staged by Patrick Eakin Young’s Opera Erratica, and it’s a hugely entertaining experience that does indeed accomplish Young’s stated goal of taking the art form out of the realm of museum piece and back into the present tense as something vital and living. Last night’s preview performance was well attended, and obviously enjoyed by the fairly casual and mixed crowd that seemed to range in age from university students to retirees.

The minimalist set and artsy/minimalist costuming (with a rather incongruous paint splash motif,) appropriately left the focus on the talented and charismatic group of performers. It was their obvious joy in the performance and the sense of fun they brought to the piece that lit up the avant garde staging and connected with the audience. It’s hard to pick a stand out from this group, but I’ll mention versatile Charlotte Corwin, who went from faithful maidservant Belinda to wicked witch with delightful verve, and Andrew Pickett’s soaring voice in the role of the Sorceress and Spirit. Musical Director and Conductor Ashiq Aziz and his group of players were outstanding, and you can also hear his work as artistic director of the Classical Music Consort.

This is definitely a ShesGotCulture recommended event - check them out if you can.

King of Egypt
by J.J. Makins
theKingofEgypt.ca

The King of Egypt is a first novel for Toronto’s J.J. Makins, a gorgeous lady who did what all writers dream - she quit her day job to devote herself to producing the 500+ page tome, which had been brewing at the back of her mind for a decade or so, as she told guests at the recent launch. The story begins in 2153 B.C., during a period of Egyptian history about which little is known. Few artifacts or other traces exist from this time, but some of the names in the novel - Ankhtify, Neferkare, among others - are taken directly from the history books. Others, like the star crossed lovers Tigris and Euphrates, are Makins’ own invention.

Don’t be put off by the ancient history, this is historical fiction for modern tastes. People say things like “I like what you’ve done with this room,” young women go to bars to pick up men, and characters cry out “oh god” in a polytheistic society. It’s history along the lines of the movie A Knight’s Tale - period costumes to a rock n’ roll soundtrack. It means you won’t need anything other than the book’s own brief glossary to keep up with the culture clash.

ancient Egyptian limestone relief

If not historical accuracy then, what you can expect is a convoluted tale that weaves several storylines and characters in short chapters that focus on action. It’s a well paced, good old fashioned yarn about love, betrayal and family secrets. Tigris is the King of Egypt, a woman raised to succeed her father as Pharoah and lead his army, a task she’s well equipped for. What she’s not prepared to tackle, though, is the arrival of a rival to the throne, one whose reappearance in Egypt unlocks the door to a secret that shakes Tigris’ very being along with the very foundations of the Empire itself. The interlocking stories of kings, servants, soldiers and politicians come together to its inevitable end - and to elaborate would give away the novel’s strength.

With its short chapter format, it makes a good summer or commuter read. The prose has a lean and unembellished feel that make it a relatively quick read, while including some incongruous word choices that hint it could have benefitted from a more rigorous editing process. If you’re not familiar with ancient Egyptian history, I’d save reading up for after you finish the book - it may tip you off to its twisted conclusion. (550 pages)

Drawing by Weinhold Reiss

Just back from NYC (literally this morning!) with lots to share both now and in the weeks to come. And in this city that’s full of places to indulge your love of jazz in all its forms from traditional to avant garde to worldbeat, I was reminded that one of my favourite spots to take in the music anywhere is venerable St. Nick’s Pub in Harlem. This unpretentious boite has a great casual neighbourhood pub feel and the music plays 7 nights a week, and you’re reminded that jazz has its roots in this very ‘hood. My personal favourite is Saturday nights, where you can check out traditional vibes and the old standards belted out with authority by Arlene Talley and the Crew till about 11:30. African Night takes over at around midnight, combining the mesmerizing polyrhythms of the African continent with Western instrumentation and syncopation. It’s a mixed, come as you are crowd, and dancing’s definitely allowed.

The most “entrepreneurial” people I know are by and large artists actually - in contrast with our Prime Minister’s characterization of the artisic community as a bunch of ne’er do well’s addicted to government handouts. Case in point: photographer Alex Jowett, an artistic and enterprising Torontonian, recently opened Atelier 688 on Richmond Street West. Atelier 688 combines art and design projects in a cool loft environment, and showcases artists whose work emphasizes handcrafted design, quality workmanship and the use of reclaimed or vintage materials in an overall green philosophy. Among the artists featured are Bradley Denton (the designer responsible for the eateries Czehoskis, The Harbord Room and Le Petit Castor,) and Matthew Hunter from TV’s the Re-Inventors. It definitely sounds worth checking out, and you’ll find Alex’s own work at www.AlexJowett.com.

Dido and Aeneas (Opera Erratica)

Opera Erratica is a company unique in Toronto, bringing you a potent combination of old music and new media in productions that feature music, dance and avant garde staging. Sounds intriguing, no? I love the pomp and pageantry of traditional opera as much as the next culture hound, but I also have a fondness for nouveauté. In their own words “For us, opera is an idea and an ideal—a departure point for creating work that is formally complex and emotionally present. Opera is a place where genres and styles blur. It is a horizon of possibility, a thin margin between reality and illusion, an old form imbued with new meaning.” The company and its collaborative pieces are the brainchild of Patrick Eakin Young - director, designer and artist. A Toronto native, he studied English and Comparitive Lit at Columbia University in NYC, has lived and worked in both NYC and Johannesburg, and now lives in London. I’ll be checking out their preview performance of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas tomorrow night - review to follow.

Brooklyn Museum

Did you realize that the Brooklyn Museum is New York’s second largest art museum in the city, and one of the largest in the USA? They have some really interesting shows this summer, including Yinka Shonibare (mentioned in my earlier post) arts of Islam and ancient Egypt, and a very cool online collection. They also host the Feminist Art Base, the first online digital archive devoted to feminist art in a growing database. Don’t be afraid of the “f” word! - it’s definitely worth checking out.

To my women readers - you can get an easy reference to these and other events, event reviews in the group blog and more by joining the group at ShesConnected.com Let’s get together and go out!

Image by Brian Solis

Featuring a programme that showcases the work of local zero budget filmmakers and emphasizes short film, experimental cinema and animation, the NYC premiere of the Zero Film Festival promises to be one of the most entertaining set of screenings in town. It takes place on August 20 at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. Doors open at 7:30 with free Pabst Blue Ribbon until the screening starts at 8:30, and after that, live music continues the party until the late hours. Sounds like a cool night out.

Women Fully Clothed is a group of four veteran comediennes - you may have caught or heard of their show that toured Canada extensively last year to rave reviews. The four funnywomen have come up with a new version called Older and Hotter (and aren’t we all!) that just previewed at Toronto’s Second City. Watch for them to take it on the road after that last minute fine tuning, so keep an eye out for WFC this fall if you want to take in a live show of hilarious sketch comedy. Their most veteran of members, Jayne Eastwood, is someone you’ll recognize immediately if you’ve pretty much ever watched Canadian TV, and while you may be familiar with her as an actress, did you know she’s also a talented visual artist? I met her a couple of times recently in (one of) my other role(s) as an artist’s model through the Dundas Valley School of Art.

No, it’s got nothing to do with Joni Mitchell, but if you’re in the Bronx you can check out the Tree Museum, an outdoor show conceived and realized by Irish artist Katie Holten, the show covers a four and a half mile stretch of the Grand Concourse, the historic boulevard that connects Manhattan to the parks of the north Bronx. This “museum without walls” is on display 24/7 until October 12 as part of the Park Avenue of the Working Class celebrations. The show is designed to give you an unexpected view of the Bronx, including a hundred green and flowering trees from 138th Street to Mosholu Parkway, some planted a century ago, with an audio guide and sidewalk markers to lead you along the way. Call 718-408-2501 from a cellphone and key in the location number (as marked on the sidewalk) to have a listen. Satellite exhibitions at the Wave Hill and Bronx Museum of the Arts house drawings, sketches, writings and other artwork.

Image by Xavier Snelgrove

The next time you’re in Toronto’s Little Italy, make sure you stop by the Organic Metal Gallery. The brainchild of owner Robin Gray, the Gallery showcases unique jewellery designs in precious metals with both precious and semi-precious stones, and to call them art and the store a gallery is no marketing-invented stretch. These pieces are gorgeous, intricate and sculptural, and guaranteed to become the instant focal point of your ensemble, using fluid natural shapes along with geometric elements with a contemporary flavour. For a taste of their beautiful works, check out the Swoon Show this coming weekend (August 15 & 16) during store hours, featuring the work of Gray along with Samantha Ravenda and Tamiema McBride - cocktails start at 12pm. Have a look at the website for a sampling of the designs, or call 416-533-8127 for details.

And, speaking of retail therapy, The Shop Girls bring you 1800 square feet of arty retail mania on Queen West in Toronto, featuring the wearable art of local artists and artisans.

Think your Tweets are a cut above the rest? Then join in the great Twitter Opera experiment. London’s prestigious Royal Opera House is working with the Twitterverse to create the libretto for a brand new opera that will be performed September 4, 5 and 6 this year. They’re looking for a “non-linear narrative” - clearly! - and so far the story involves William, imprisoned by birds in revenge for his killing one of them, along with Hans the rescuer and a mysterious Woman With No Name. Check it out, and if you want to get involved, fly over to Twitter and join the fun.

To my women readers - you can get an easy reference to these and other events, event reviews and more by joining the group at ShesConnected.com Let’s get together and go out!

Burmese VJ

Opening this week in Toronto (August 7) - in Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country, Danish Director Anders Ostergaard brings to the screen the incredible inside story of the 2007 uprising in Myanmar through the eyes - and lenses - of the Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of 30 anonymous journalists and videographers who risked their freedom to collect the footage.

Burmese VJ

Burma VJ had a hugely successful showing at the recent Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, and it’s easy to see why. 100,000 people took to the streets to protest the country’s existing regime, foreign news crews were banned, and the internet was shut down. The remarkable VJs document violent clashes with the military and undercover police, often themselves becoming targets of the authoritarian regime, in scenes that give you a vivid and intimate sense of the action. Opens August 7 at the Royal Cinema 608 College Street.

Toronto will be getting a brand shiny new concert hall this fall with the opening of Koerner Hall, part of the Royal Conservatory. They’re throwing an opening Gala Festival to celebrate the spiffy new digs, running from September 25 to October 17 and offering a range of musical styles from classical to jazz. Highlights includes the Grand Opening Concert with conductor Jean-Philippe Tremblay, pianist Anton Kuerti, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and more, a night of jazz with Chick Corea and friends, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Frederica von Stade’s farewell tour, a mesmerizing installation on October 3 as part of Nuit Blanche and much more.

NYC Skyline

New York has to be the most filmed city ever, the city to most often play itself in the movies (that’s just my unofficial guess!) and you can celebrate its gleefully dark side at the Film Forum in Manhattan all this month with the NYC Noir series of screenings, including the classics like Rosemary’s Baby, and Taxi Driver - and did you remember that Cat People’s on the list too?

Since we’re speaking of film..

TIFF Update
Here are some of the latest additions to what looks like a really exciting year of films, economy be damned:
- Dorian Gray - this world premiere gala stars Colin Firth
- German director Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, with Nicolas Cage as a homicide detective in the Big Easy (North American Premiere)
- Michael Moore’s much anticipated Capitalism: A Love Story
- the Coen brothers return with the World Premiere of A Serious Man
- Drew Barrymoore’s directorial debut, Whip It, in a World Premiere, starring Ellen Page (of Juno), with Marcia Gay Harden and Juliette Lewis.
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s World Premiere of Micmacs
- Up in the Air, the lastest comedy by Jason Reitman, starring George Clooney

So.. who can we expect to see in town? Let’s hope everybody! Get your tix soon.

Pilobilus is a dance company that’s earned a reputation for an unorthodox style combined with superb skill, making them both a fan and critical favourite for decades in the Big Apple and beyond. This is your last week to catch them at the Joyce in a programme of old and new works. Runs till August 8.

Did you know that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s maestro, Peter Oundjian, is a cousin of British comic Eric Idle? The Toronto native and the TSO accompanied cousin Eric at the premiere of Not The Messiah an oratorio based on the Monty Python film Life of Brian that was commissioned by LuminaTO Festival and toured North America.

More name dropping - I had the pleasure recently of meeting another Toronto blogger, Sarah B. Hood, at a cocktail party at the Drake (I had to throw that in somewhere!) She blogs at Unknown Toronto, a very interesting take on life in the city, her Toronto theatre and dance listings, which is a great reference, and Toronto Tastings, a food blog.

To my women readers - you can get an easy reference to these and other events, event reviews and more by joining the group at ShesConnected.com Let’s get together and go out!

Sophie Barthes’ Cold Souls is a surreal comedy that stars able actor Paul Giamatti as himself. I’ve never been fond of movies that stars actors as themselves, acting; I’m also typically phobic when it comes to films that attempt to talk about metaphysics, but in this case I was quick to forget the bad memories and enjoy this gently comedic story. Giamatti burns out during endless rehearsals of Chekov’s Uncle Vanya - Russianness, I should note, that is dour, depressive, sinister and criminal Russianness, is a bit of a subtheme in this flick. Based on his agent’s advice and an ad in The New Yorker (also playing itself,) he ends up at Soul Storage, where the process of “de-souling” is given an innocuous and enliberating corporate spin - the cold soul of corporate capitalism being yet another running thread in the film.

It all sounds so easy, but of course it’s not, and soon Giamatti finds his cheery unemotionality at odds with the rest of the world, and, in fact, his own life. When he finds that his soul has been stolen, his fate, and the story, get murkier. Enter a gang of Russian soul traffickers, a Russian poet, a beautiful blonde mule and Giamatti watches as the fate of his soul, of himself, spins out of control. Emily Watson does what she can with the mostly thankless role of long suffering wife, but this is very much Paul Giamatti’s film, and his performance carries the piece entirely. It’s hard to convey existential angst on camera, but he manages it with an uncomfortable squirm and twist of his expressive features.

You could call this film existentialism lite. It succeeds by not attempting too much, just a wryly satirical musing on the nature of humankind with a few tragic echoes to add depth. Its take is bemused rather than handwringing, and it doesn’t grasp at explanations glib or otherwise, as David Strathairn gleefully explains in this scene:

Scene from Cold Souls

It makes you think, and, it dares to leave some questions unanswered. Opens August 7 in a limited release - check for a listing near you soon.

Majlis Multidisciplinary Arts bills itself as “a crossroads culture arts incubator” - you can find out what that means at figure of speech, their summer evening celebrations of poetry, dance and live music. Join the artsy crowd in an urban garden in Queen West West (if you’re from Toronto, you know what that means!), in a sheltered venue, on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm. Next up, July 31 & August 1, evenings of tango. Check the website for details, sounds like a cool night out.

The Ice Factory summer theatre festival at the Ohio Theater is getting rave reviews all around. In fact, the company has probably saved the landmark SoHo theatre space for another year and a bit - what with the whole neighbourhood going gentrified, they need the retail space don’t you know. Enjoy the fab architecture for all the right reasons while you still can!

More stars on Broadway - Carrie Fisher returns to the stage this fall in Wishful Drinking, a stage adaptation of her 2008 non fiction memoir of the same name.

Carrie Fisher (2007)

The novel chronicles her journey through celebrity, stardom, bipolar disease, alcoholism and addiction with the same clear eyed view and sense of humour you may be familiar with from her novels. According to the book, if you call and get her answering machine message you’ll hear, “Hello and welcome to Carrie’s voice mail. Due to recent Electro Convulsive Therapy, please pay close attention to the following options. Leave your name, number and a brief history as to how Carrie knows you, and she’ll get back to you if this jogs what’s left of her memory.” Previews start September 22 at the Studio 54 Theatre. (image of Carrie Fisher by Jenny Elwick, 2007)

After her surprise heart surgery, celebrated Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman returns to the stage August 9 as part of the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a one night only performance on the grounds of Fort George. Rain or shine, it’s bound to be a special evening, (and welcome back Measha!)

Looking for a cute gift for a young ‘un (or the young at heart) that’s eco friendly too? check out miru’s friends for an adorable selection of handmade animal friends made with recycled wool and cashmere sweaters, vintage buttons and a real sense of fun. She’s got stores in Yorkville and Harbourfront, and a full catalogue online.

To my women readers - you can get an easy reference to these and more events by joining the group at ShesConnected.com Let’s get together and go out!

Film strip

Exciting news for Canadian comedy writer and producers, just in: Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Film Centre and Just For Laughs are teaming up to create a comedy feature factory, the Telefilm Canada Features Comedy Lab. It will be Canada’s first advanced training program designed specifically to develop theatrical feature-length comedies, and will commence in November 2009 with the stated goal of developing five successful original feature comedies both for domestic and international audiences.

Image by Brian Solis

Filmmakers take note: the deadline for submissions for the Features Comedy Lab is September 18, 2009.

This professional development program will bring Canadian film producers, along with their writer and/or director teams and scripts with the best comedic minds in the world. The teams that form will work on the scripts to further develop and package five English language theatrical productions by 2010. The three year program is proceeding with funding through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Feature Film Fund.

“While Canada has made some great comedies, such as Strange Brew, Porky’s and Bon Cop Bad Cop, for a country that is recognized globally for its sense of humour, we have not fully exploited our potential to make funny and commercially successful feature films,” said Sheila de La Varende, Director of National & International Business Development for the Federal cultural investment agency. “This is a gap in how we tell our stories to each other and the world and the Telefilm Canada Features Comedy Lab was created to fill this gap.”

Here’s hoping for big things to come!

Gladstone Hotel

Speakeasy has been connecting Toronto’s creative community for the last decade with a monthly night out for us creative types, involving group shows and what sounds like cool and well attended events. Combining art and socializing sounds like a brilliant idea to me - check out their website for details.

Call for submissions:

For the artists, here’s a brief rundown of fall’s upcoming shows you can particpate in - and even if you’re not, come join the party at the monthly show - all of them held at the Gladstone Hotel:

- the Illustration Show - show date is Thursday, September 3, with a submission deadline of August 6, showcasing some of the city’s finest illustrators
- the Design Show, including graphic, web, product, industrial, furniture, what have you - show date os Thursday, October 1, submission deadline is Thursday, September 3
- the Comic Book Show - show date Thursday, November 5, submission deadline Thursday, October 1
- the Holiday Show & Sale - check out the work of 40 local artists ranging from quirky ceramics to jewellery and handpainted Christmas cards - Thursday, December 3 with a submission deadline of Thursday, October 8.

Looks like a great networking/socializing opp and also a great way to get your work out there to the public.