Arts Orbit

“It takes a lot for a piece of theater to genuinely surprise me any more. I’ve seen so much theater, and get involved in the nuts and bolts of storytelling and production myself with my own scripts. So when a theater production puts one over on me, and actually has me enjoying being pysched out, that’s a rare and pretty neat trick. The national touring company of the Tony- and Pulitzer-Prize-winning musical Next to Normal surprised me not once but repeatedly throughout the evening.”

Rave review by Matthew Everett.

"Minnesota Opera is giving away a limited number of free tickets to the Thursday, April 21, 2011, 7:30pm performance of Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights to followers of the bloggers who attended the Opera’s ‘Blogger Preview Night.’ Be a part of Minnesota Opera history as we record this new production in HD video for a future national and international release. Call the Ticket Office at 612-333-6669, M-F, 9am-6pm, and reference ‘Wuthering Heights Blogger Preview.’"

Offer from the Minnesota Opera. If you take advantage, mention the Twin Cities Daily Planet. Our bloggers’ posts from the blogger preview night are:
• Minnesota Opera’s Wuthering Heights: I could love a Linton by Courtney Algeo
• Tragic tales of loss via the Minnesota Opera and the Minnesota Twins by Jean Gabler

“Wuthering Heights recalls Oscar Wilde’s famous criticism of Richard Wagner’s operas: it has ‘great moments and very dull quarters of an hour.’”

“Recently, I received an invitation to the classiest event known to mankind: the opera. At least, it was the classiest event I had ever been invited to.”

Courtney Algeo recounts her experience at a dress rehearsal of the Minnesota Opera’s Wuthering Heights.

Baseball blogger Jean Gabler previews Wuthering Heights. “Take a chance and read about my experience at the opera.  I promise baseball discussion will follow.”

“20 years after its intial inception, Stomp is most definitely a feat accompli. What began as a Fringe production in London is now a global brand with multiple touring productions, movies, and appearances everywhere from Coke commercials to the Oscars. The show works. The audience I saw it with on Tuesday night seemed to love it. My attention, though, drifted—and by ‘drifted,’ I mean ‘in my head, I wrote this entire review as well as two blog entries on unrelated subjects.’”

“Even if you don’t know much about classical music, you can appreciate opera because it features situations everyone can relate to. For example, Gaetano Donizetti’s Mary Stuart: you know you need to sign your cousin’s death warrant because she was party to treasonous plots against you, and furthermore has been sending mash notes from her prison cell to your lover, who was once hers. But you keep putting it off and putting it off because you’re busy being queen and, after all, she is your cousin (albeit once removed). I mean, who hasn’t been there?”

Angélique Kidjo at the Ordway: Better than Springsteen, says Betsy Gabler. (And she would know!)