Best Bets for the 2007-2008 Season: Tips from folks "in the know"

MUSIC

Several Classical KING FM radio hosts have provided these recommendations for upcoming musical performances:

Brad Eaton, Mornings, 6-10am

The season ahead is rich with musical treasure. It was extremely difficult to pare down my recommendations, but here goes: As a lifelong science fiction fan I simply have to choose Seattle Symphony’s Sci-Fi Favorites (narrated by George Takei, “Sulu” of Star Trek fame), complete with a laser show, September 20-23 at the Mark Taper Forum, Benaroya Hall. On Friday, November 30, the Early Music Guild brings the marvelous Norwegian Trio Mediaeval to Town Hall for an evening of French and English carols. Then, March 15th and 16th, at Benaroya Hall, Seattle Baroque Orchestra will join forces with Susan Pascal’s brilliant jazz quartet for “Uncommon Grounds,” saluting the ground bass pattern in music from Pachelbel’s “Canon” to contemporary jazz.

Steve Reeder, Mid-Day, 10am-3pm

We have such an extraordinary variety of live music opportunities in the coming season. One of the world’s most distinguished pianists, Murray Perahia, gives a solo recital at Benaroya Hall in mid-October, and the renowned Saint Petersburg Philharmonic appears there in late November. A must-hear! This October, you can enjoy Seattle Opera’s first-ever collaboration with the Met, Gluck’s “Iphigenia in Tauris.” You can help start your New Year in style with our very own Seattle Symphony playing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in early January. One of my favorite period instrument groups, England’s Academy of Ancient Music, performs at Town Hall in mid-February. As a certified film fanatic, I’d also call your attention to the Seattle Symphony’s June performances of Prokofiev’s thrilling and deeply moving score to the 1938 Russian masterpiece, “Alexander Nevsky,” one of the greatest movies of all time. Meanwhile, hope you can join me for a steady diet of wonderful music every weekday from 10am to 3pm, including our Bach’s Lunch at noon, online at king.org.

Sean McLean, Afternoons, 3-7pm

The Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad may not be Siamese twins, but one could wonder if they’re not anatomically grafted to their guitars. Most of us speak without translating - the word just comes. Same for them with music. I’ve heard them make flute sounds from their plucked instruments. See them October 23 at Benaroya Hall. I remember my surprise when a Balinese friend told me how “full of holes” our Western music sounded to him. They have notes in between two keys on our piano. Like jazz musicians who squeeze a ‘blue note’ from the place-of-in-between, the 25 musicians and dancers of Gamelan Çudamani will open your ears and thrill your eyes November 9 & 10. Celebrations of an Indonesian village, colorful costumes and all, should make you forget where you live. At the UW World Series - I die for Baltic choral music. Latvia, Estonia, & Lithuania live and breathe — and produce today — some of the most magical soundscapes for mixed voices. How to describe? Think opposite of gospel choir: ice clouds and endless indigo horizons, with one warm candle burning in the midst of it. Seattle Pro Musica, who brought 400 voices to Seattle this summer, presents Northern Lights II just in time for the Yuletide, at Town Hall in downtown Seattle.

ART

Brenda Tipton, publisher of Art Guide NW, provides these ‘best bets” for the northwest arts world:

If you haven’t been to the all-new Seattle Art Museum downtown yet, then I insist that you put it at the very top of your list. Frankly, I had no idea what a lousy museum the Robert Venturi building was until the new one opened. While the First and University building is still there, it is now just a part of the new museum, and a small part at that. Seattle has finally arrived as a first-class museum city with the opening of the new SAM extension. If you get the opportunity, take your grandchildren or children with you as they will marvel at the jazzy cars suspended from the ceiling in the entry. The restaurant is much larger and has a few items on the menu kids might like too.

SAM’s big and fabulous exhibit this winter is three stunning panels from Lorenzo Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise,” one of the most celebrated works of the Italian Renaissance, on view at SAM Downtown. This exhibition marks the first time that the gilded bronze panels have traveled to the United States since their creation over 550 years ago. Generations of admirers have praised the monumental doors of the Florence baptistery for their compelling portrayal of scenes from the Old Testament and their innovative treatment of architectural space. After they tour four cities in the United States, including Seattle, the panels will return to Florence to be reassembled within the original doors and kept in an oxygen-free environment at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, never to leave Florence again. If everything goes as planned, the exhibit opens January 26 and will be on view through April 6.

Another great exhibit at SAM this winter is “Roman Art from the Louvre,” opening February 21 and on view until May 11. This extraordinary selection of ancient art from Paris’s famed Musée du Louvre portrays nearly 300 years of imperial Roman life and history. The exhibition includes approximately 180 pieces, many that have never before traveled to the United States, from one of the richest collections of ancient Roman art in the world.

The only museum in town open to the public at no charge is the Frye, located at 704 Terry Avenue. Opening November 3 and showing through April 6 is “Dreaming the Emerald City: The Collections of Charles and Emma Frye and Horace C. Henry.” The Henrys and the Fryes are old Seattle families who were responsible for donating two important museums to this town in the days when they didn’t get a tax deduction to do it. In the case of the Henry family, Horace Henry fi rst invited the public into his own home to see his art collection. Can you image a rich person doing that today?

If you’re in Tacoma, be sure to see “Threads that Bind: Works by Pacific Northwest African American Quilters,” on view at the Tacoma Art Museum from December 18 to February 18. If you love glass, make sure you go to the Museum of Glass while you’re in Tacoma as there are always great glass exhibits.

As far as the individual galleries go, remember First Thursday in Pioneer Square. There is no charge to wander from gallery to gallery to see new exhibits. East of the lake, Kirkland has a fun gallery walk on second Thursday, and Tacoma has one on third Thursday. The Puget Sound region abounds with fabulous choices for people who are art lovers! For a complete list of all galleries in Western Washington, check out www.artguidenw. com on the web. Don’t forget to log onto www.seattleartblog.com for daily art exhibit information. Enjoy!

THEATRE

Karen J. Zeller Lane, Executive Director of Theatre Puget Sound, an organization dedicated to nurturing a healthy theater community, provided a “Best Bets” list of theatre events:

With over 135 theatres in the Puget Sound region, it’s nearly impossible to pick just a few. A glance at www.seattleperforms. com shows that it’s the season for musicals and the classics:

• Brigadoon, Lyric Light Opera of the NW, 9/7-9/16
• Godspell, Bellevue Civic Theatre, 9/7- 9/22
• Into the Woods, 5th Ave Theatre, 10/19- 11/10
• Jekyll & Hyde, Bainbridge Performing Arts, 10/11-10/28
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Taproot Theatre, 9/26-10/27
• Twelfth Night, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 9/13-10/20
• Pericles, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 10/26-11/18
• The Women, ACT Theatre, 10/5-11/19 ...for a slice of Americana:
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Intiman Theatre, 9/14-10/21
• Snow Falling on Cedars, Book-It Repertory Theatre, 9/27-10/21
• Halcyon Days, Seattle Public Theater, 9/27-10/21
• Moon Over Buffalo, Olympia Little Theatre, 9/14-10/7
• Birdie Blue, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 11/15-12/16 ...for the adventurous?
• Crime and Punishment, Theatre Under Ground at CHAC, closes 9/30
• Bat Boy: The Musical, ArtsWest, 10/3- 11/10
• Life of Galileo, Strawberry Theatre Workshop with Seattle University

Theatre Puget Sound supports local theatre all around the Sound with the most comprehensive calendar of live theatre performance at www.seattleperforms.com. The Puget Sound theatre community provides a depth and wealth of diverse experiences just waiting to be shared with you! Don’t miss your opportunity to tour a theatre, catch a free performance, or meet new artists during Live Theatre Week, Oct 15 –21st. Find out what it’s all about at our Kick-Off Event on Oct 7 from 12-3pm at Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center.

Theatre Puget Sound (TPS) is a leadership and service organization founded in 1997 to advocate for the region’s growing theatre community’s causes and administer much-needed services. TPS is now the Northwest’s premiere arts advocacy and leadership organization. TPS has a two-fold mission: To promote the spiritual and economic necessity of theatre to the public, and to unify and strengthen the theatre community through programs, resources, and services. TPS serves more than 1,400 theatre artists and organizations within our region.

This article appeared in the September 2008 issue of Northwest Prime Time, the Puget Sound region’s monthly publication celebrating life after 50.