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I’ve been ruined by the Met at the Mall. Despite the worn-out, industrial carpeting and the popcorn and the lack of glamor, there are great advantages in seeing opera at the movies these days with state-of-the-art technology, especially the sound. By Helen Epstein. After spending most of the last opera season at the Burlington Mall…
Read MoreParody is an art, and like any other art it calls for both imagination and technical skill. It is not enough for a parodist to detect absurdity in others. He must create something absurd himself—something deliberately, enjoyably absurd – John Gross, The Oxford Book of Parodies. The Method Gun by Kirk Lynn. Directed by Shawn…
Read MoreWe often hear about how Brahms and Mahler lived under the shadow of Beethoven’s symphonies, but I suspect many other composers had the last three sonatas in their heads, keeping them both inspired and humble. Beethoven Opus 109. 110, 111. Performed by pianist Till Fellner. At Seully Hall, Boston Conservatory, October 12, 2010. By Susan…
Read MoreBy Bill Marx Can’t we get our unjustly neglected American playwrights right? A chance to see a marvelous, overlooked American play of the 1950s. And it is not by the prosaic William Inge. “When something seems ‘the most obvious thing in the world’ it means any attempt to understand the world has been given up.”…
Read MoreHowl, the film version of the story behind the poem “Howl,” is defeated by its own messy pretensions, faring best when it reflects the unselfconscious spirit of the poet, veering into chaos when it tries to do more than pay homage to its namesake. Reviewed by Dylan Rose. Howl comes off as a mixed bag.…
Read MoreBoston has a chance to stand alongside New York as a prominent fashion capitol. In a town rife with creative brains and ideas, designers here are as eclectic and innovative as counterparts around the globe. So let’s hope next year’s Boston Fashion Week will open its doors to a wider audience of non-fashion-snob-istas. By Yumi…
Read MoreAs a musical, Rock of Ages may not be an innovative or brilliantly written work of art, but the show’s delightfully cheesy enthusiasm, self-deprecating humor, and talented cast make it very hard to resist, especially for fans of 80s rock. Rock of Ages. Book by Chris D’Arienzo. Directed by Kristin Hanggi. Music Direction by Brandon…
Read MoreLike just about everything nowadays, the word epic has been downsized, cut and packaged for the short-attention-span generation. Sure, there are ballyhooed mammoth projects, such as the recent films of James Cameron, but the director/producer pulled them off after years of preparation and with millions of dollars at his disposal. By Chantal Mendes. You want…
Read MoreThe Cantata Singers, a choral group highly esteemed for their programming and superior music making, has devoted the past few years to examining the choral music of one composer per season. The three previous composers to receive this lavish attention were Kurt Weill, Benjamin Britten, and Heinrich Schütz. This is their 47th season and their…
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Arts Feature: Best Movies (With Some Disappointments) of 2025