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Russian Winter is part mystery and part love story, drawing on the (overly) familiar tropes of each: the missing jewels, the deceived lovers, and so on. The material is not original, but it is workable and proffers plenty of Hollywood glamor. Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay. Harper Perennial, 496 pages, $14.99. By Nora Delany It…
Read MoreMinor translation issues aside, The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama‘s excellent selection, colloquial and stage-friendly translations, and illuminating introduction undoubtedly make the volume the authoritative choice in teaching and reading modern Chinese drama for the foreseeable future. The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama. Edited and with an introduction by Xiaomei Chen. Columbia University…
Read MoreThe audience went wild; Chopin’s Ballades do that to people. Cheering broke out after Dubravka Tomsic played the second ballade, and by the fourth, which starts out quietly like a lullaby and builds up to an all-out, rhapsodic, virtuosic tour de force, the entire audience seemed smitten. Dubravka Tomsic. Presented by the Celebrity Series at…
Read MoreThis volume of one-act plays may gather up the whiffs and dregs of Tennessee Williams’ achievement, but their flashes of brilliance are valuable reminders of an artist who kept at his craft, come hell and high water, critical as well as popular.
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Composer/pianist Carla Bley and bassist Steve Swallow visit NEC as artists-in-residence, Brazilian guitarist Filó Machado and violinist/oudist Simon Shaheen wrap up their residencies at Berklee, outstanding musicians raise funds for Boston’s homeless and to fight climate change, Club d’Elf releases a long-awaited new double CD, and you get your pick of a string of guitarists.
Read More“Palaces of Time” is a exquisitely illustrated, elegantly written account of the history of Jewish calendars in early modern Europe, as well as a meditation on what they represented — profound reflections of the Jewish experience as it passed through time.
Read MoreTo look back and forth from “Las Meninas (after Velázquez)” to the mirror that reflects it is to experience, simultaneously, a joy in David Ording’s accomplishment and a longing based in recognition of its source, which is love—of Velázquez, of labor, of painting.
Read MoreWhile there are some holes in “Hanna”, director Joe Wright doesn’t let them interrupt the overall enjoyable experience of the film. Known for period movies where he dotes on scenic landscapes, he takes this opportunity to prove himself a thoroughly modern director here. Hanna. Directed by Joe Wright. The cast includes Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan,…
Read MoreWilliam King is a loving, self-sacrificing, salt-of-the-earth character mooning over the vanished past; Sonia is a saintly wife yearning for hubby to join her in Heaven; the sons care for each other and for their father—time to pull out your hankies. Broke-ology by Nathan Louis Jackson. Directed by Benny Sato Ambush. Staged by the Lyric…
Read MoreSo let’s steady that swaying hive, put down the poking stick, and take a deep breath. Games continue to evolve in creative, unexpected ways, and the mechanics of gameplay can form the basis of intriguing and thought-provoking works of art.
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