What You're Missing This Week That You Didn't Know You Were Missing

State Library of New South
Wales Collection via Flickr

Regulars of this blog & friends of mine already know how much I adore Austin Lyric Opera. They did a magnificent job with Pagliacci and Marriage of Figaro. The production of Marriage of Figaro in particular stole my heart for weeks with joyous remembrances. As such I am incredibly excited for the performance of Faust this week.

Gounod's Faust tells the tale of an elderly scholar, a young woman, and the Devil in the midst of a struggle of good versus evil.

The folks at Austin Lyric Opera have yet to disappoint and I cannot endorse this performance enough. Have I seen it? No. But I have seen what these folks are capable of and they can send shivers down your spine with heart wrenching arias and bring you to tears through laughter with witty word play and situational sung humor.

Trust me. You don't want to miss seeing Mephistopheles strut his bass-baritone-wielding self across the stage.



Tickets are still on sale & this close to the opening night they have some fantastic deals. Go here now to reserve your spot in the Devil's audience.

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What You Don't Want to Miss: Austin Lyric Opera's Marriage of Figaro

I admit that I'm new to the opera scene in Austin. I've only experienced two other productions by Austin Lyric Opera, but I can merrily admit that I'm in. Hook, line, & sinker. I also freely admit that I listen to opera music, but never as a complete opera. I have those "best of" opera albums that highlight the best arias. So, basically what I'm saying here is that I go into these operas blind. I know the basic story, but the music hits me with the full force of newness.

Marriage of Figaro opened last night, Thursday January 31st at the Long Center. Go. Just drop your previous plans for this weekend, pick a day, and go. Go. Go. Go!

I walked to the Long Center from slightly north on a beautiful Austin night. Opera semi-veteran tip: walk. The parking garage is always packed & it's difficult to leave. Eat dinner downtown and wander the streets to the Long Center. You won't be disappointed when you get to experience a beautiful sunset and scenery.

Those who are familiar with the opera will know Marriage of Figaro is a comedy. I knew this. I didn't know that the humor was mainly situational and witty. The facial expressions and body language are key elements of the opera and the cast did an excellent job delivering. The music is from Mozart, the lyrics are well sung, the dramatic flair on stage is apropos, the set is crafted beautifully, and it's highly entertaining. I cannot recommend it enough & tickets are still available!

Get thee to the opera!

View from the Long Center, Austin, TX

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Guest Blogger: Barbara Lundquist

Architects of Air came to Austin! & I was unable to view it, a point of contention that will induce a frown when mentioned. However, Barbara Lundquist, a friend and fellow art historian, was able to go and kindly offered to write about her experience for us:

I was lucky enough to see Mirazozo during Architects of Air’s brief exhibition at the Long Center, and then I was silly enough to misplace my camera for a week. Now that I’ve gotten it back, I am finally able to share my experience with the help of visual aids.

First off, Mirazozo is an inflatable sculpture called a luminarium. It is made of carefully cut and spliced plastic sheets, air, and light. Opaque and translucent sections of plastic alternate, controlling the amount of sunlight filtering through the red, blue, and green sections, and creating beautiful glowing patterns on the walls and ceilings.

(with flash) 

(without flash)

I visited Mirazozo in late afternoon, with strong slanting rays of sunlight hitting the western walls of the sculpture. I was actually able to follow the path of the setting sun through the colored plastic. On the eastern walls of the sculpture, the colors were mixing brilliantly. Every surface was shining.  

 

With my own eyes, I could never make out all the distinct colors captured by cameras. Perhaps this is because the light is constantly shifting, and the plastic walls are never still, even for an instant. Perhaps it is simply the way the camera works - I am by no means an expert on photography.

The layout of Mirazozo is basically a diamond surrounding a large multicolored center dome. There is a smaller dome of green, red, or blue at each of the first three points. As you wander through the paths connecting these domes, there are small alcoves or pods off to the sides where you can sit down and relax, or people-watch like I did.

The point farthest from the entrance is a sculpture called the Tree. It has a trunk of green plastic rising up from the center of the floor toward the sky, and branches reaching out to the walls. The red and blue light coming from the walls reflects off the opaque sections of the branches, perfectly juxtaposing the different qualities of light within the sculpture. 

 

It took me about 15 minutes to reach the tree, not because the sculpture is large, but because I was moving very slowly, walking each path forwards and then backwards, making complete circles from each corner dome to the center dome, and then reversing them. I was mesmerized by the shadows of clover leaves playing across the base of a pod, and by tiny patched holes where a bright point of light would shoot through. Seeing children throwing themselves against the walls and sliding down, I couldn’t help wondering how much it would take for the plastic to rip and send the whole thing deflating onto our heads. 

 

I was part of the last group admitted into the luminarium, and it was quite crowded, a little noisy, and occasionally smelly. Children were running and shouting, couples were snuggling in pods, photographers were sprawled on the floor - contorting themselves to get the perfect shot. I saw one man moving from dome to dome to add the music of his singing bowls to the ambient music by David Bickley. I will admit, the first time I saw him I naively thought he was about to have his supper.

My absolutely ideal way to experience a luminarium would be as a place to gather with my friends, one of whom described it as “a moon bounce for adults, without the bounce, yet with all the otherworldliness.” I need to gather some materials and try my hand at crafting a small backyard dome just for this purpose.

For more photos and details about Mirazozo and Architects of Air check out:
http://www.architects-of-air.com/luminaria/mirazozo.html

The rest of my photos are here.

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Halloween

This turned out to be a popular costume in Austin:

Happy Halloween from Lichtenstein

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Blanton Student Fest

Today is the Blanton Museum of Art's Student Fest in which University of Texas students receive free admission and can take part in various activities throughout the day. Have an hour or two between classes? Then stop on by!


A list of the day's activities:
10am-12pm: breakfast tacos & coffee specials at the Cafe
12pm-2pm: Choose Your Own Adventure Tours
2pm-7:30pm: Free-drawing activity
2pm-4pm: Scavenger Hunt through the Galleries (how cool?!) - with a participation prize at the end, too!
2pm-4pm: Retro cartoon time
4pm-5:30pm: Trivia Game - "Geeks Who Drink" style - winning team receives prizes
5:30pm-6:15pm: Monde Green Performance in the outdoor plaza
5:30pm-7:30pm: Snacks from Whole Foods
6:15pm-7:15pm: Student led tours of El Anatsui
6pm-8pm: El Anatsui inspired art making activity
7pm-7:45pm: Searching for Signal Performance


At times like these I am envious of students at large universities with fantastic resources and large museums affiliated with the schools. So many of those activities sound FUN.

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Dirty. Rotten! SCOUNDRELS!

Georgetown Palace Theater's production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Mary Ellen Butler, is a non-stop belly-laugh inducing musical with marvelous acting and fantastic singing. Not only will I be humming the songs for the next week, I will not be able to get some of those scenes out of my head for the rest of my life - they were that entertaining and long term memory worthy.

The musical centers around two con men in France carrying out multiple cons on unsuspecting wealthy women. Of course, not everything can go according to plan...

The play is currently running at the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin until August 28th. For a complete synopsis of the play, visit the Paramount's website. You can also buy your tickets online...which you should do because everyone needs a dirty rotten scoundrel in their life ;)

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Attention Fashion Devotees

It's almost that time of year. That's right: Fashionista domination. August 20-27 is Austin Fashion Week! Tickets are currently on sale for VIP Packages or Badges that enable access to certain events, or fashion hungry folk can attend multiple free events all week long. Each day has a theme (ex: edgy & eclectic and classic couture) and promises to provide innovative looks from designers. If the fashion isn't enough to get you in the door, many events will provide live music and drinks as well!

If you're on the fence, check out these photos from Austin Fashion Week 2010.


For a complete list events and details see AFW's site.

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AMOA for Free

Art lovers with empty pockets...rejoice! Through September 6th Tuesdays will be FREE at Austin Museum of Art (downtown location). This will enable you to take advantage of their current exhibition, Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller, which focuses on the marriage of art and architecture.

If you're looking for a fun weekend activity for the family, AMOA is offering a Mini Art Furniture event from 1-4pm August 13th as a part of their program geared toward families on the second Saturday of the month. You and the family get to create your own artistic miniature furniture and/or take part in a family yoga class at 1pm.

For more info, check out AMOA's site

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