James Levine returns to one of his signature Wagner works conducting this epic comedy—back at the Met for the first time in eight years—about a group of Renaissance “master singers” whose song contest unites a city.
This event WILL be held as scheduled. With the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II coming up on May 8, 2015, Monmouth University is pleased to present five films on the life-and-death decisions that people made in the invaded countries to survive in the war, defend their homeland and beliefs, and protect their families. “In the Fog” is about the Western frontiers of the USSR, 1942. The region is under German occupation.
With Tchaikovsky’s famous, lyrical score, Swan Lake depicts the tragic love between Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried, and will no doubt be performed to perfection by the unparalleled virtuosity of Russia’s great Bolshoi Ballet. This universal and enchanting masterpiece of love, deception and drama is a must.
Throughout his long and distinguished career David Lindley has performed music that redefines the word “eclectic.” He founded and lead the first world music rock band, the Kaleidoscope, has collaborated with artists such as Jackson Browne, Henry Kaiser and Ry Cooder and is leader of his own band El Rayo-X, that integrates American roots music and world beat with a heavy reggae influence. Lindley has been one of Hollywood’s most in demand session musicians playing with Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby and Nash, Warren Zevon, and many others. His live performances incorporate an incredible array of stringed instruments into a unique concert experience. John Hammond, Jr. is one of a handful of white blues musicians who was on the scene at the beginning of the first blues renaissance of the mid-’60s. A Grammy winner whose 50-year career has seen successful collaborations with the likes of Tom Waits, Dr. John, Duane Allman, Robbie Robertson, and G. Love and who once boasted both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band; Hammond does justice to classic blues by combining powerful guitar and harmonica playing with expressive vocals and a dignified stage presence.
The magnetic tenor Vittorio Grigolo takes on the tortured poet and unwitting adventurer of the title of Offenbach’s operatic masterpiece, in the Met’s wild, kaleidoscopic production.
Long before Asbury Park became known for rock music, the city’s African American community rocked on Springwood Avenue. Between 1910 and 1970, the city’s West Side pioneered the sounds of jazz, gospel and rhythm & blues. This exhibit explores, chronicles and highlights Asbury Park’s black music scene from Count Basie to Billy Brown, through an impressive collection of rare photos and memorabilia. Opening Reception: February 4, from 6-8 pm
Award winning playwright /TV writer Jennifer Haley will conduct an interactive artist demonstration. Her cutting edge work delves into ethics in virtual reality and the impact of technology on our human relationships, identity, and desire. She won the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a Los Angeles Ovation Award and Drama Critics Circle Award for her play, The Nether, which is a haunting exploration of the consequences of living out our darkest desires online. She is a member of New Dramatists (NYC) and lives in LA, where she founded the Playwrights Union. Jennifer currently writes for the Netflix original series, Hemlock Grove.
John Ball’s 1965 novel, In the Heat of the Night, which was adapted into a five time Academy Award-winning film starring Sidney Poitier and a hugely popular television series, tells the story of black police detective Virgil Tibbs passing through the small town in the Carolinas on a hot August night in an America during the 1960s grappling with integration and an evolving acceptance of the Civil Rights Movement. Now in conjunction with LA Theatre Works, the foremost radio theatre company in the United States, playwright and screenwriter Matt Pelfrey’s riveting stage adaptation of this classic American thriller comes to life in a “live-in-performance” radio drama.
A former member of the Southern rock outfit Drive by Truckers, Jason Isbell’s solo career has seemed effortless, from Sirens of the Ditch (2007) to Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (2009), through Here We Rest (2011) and last year’s Live From Alabama. He writes open -hearted songs full of storm and drama, bursting with personal truths, and echoing with the southern sound of his Alabama upbringing. Embracing his newfound sobriety, Isbell next produced an album of haunting atonement and redemption, the sparse and impressive Southeastern, which was a critical success and commercial breakthrough. Tickets on sale Friday, August 22 at 10 am.
