CLRECOMMENDS
ARTS&CULTURE
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CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT:DARIOACOSTA; RONGALELLA/GETTY IMAGES;©ESTATEOFJEAN-MICHELBASQUIAT (2014) (2)
TakingCenterStage
W
PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky
adaptedthewildlypopular
Danishplay
KingRene’sDaugh-
ter
fortheoperastage in1892,
hebroughttoelegant,melodic lifehis
1877statementthat“music is indeed
themostbeautifulofallHeaven’s
giftstohumanitywandering inthe
darkness.”TheDanishplaytellsthe
storyofaprincessstrickenatbirth
withblindness,andheronlycure is
true love;Tchaikovsky’s interpreta-
tion, titled
Iolanta
, isanunabashedly
romanticone-actoperawiththe
librettowrittenbynoneotherthan
theRussiancomposer’sbrother,
Modest.Overtheyears,
Iolanta
has
beenperformed infrequently in
NorthAmerica(mostlyonuniversity
stages),butthisJanuary, itmakes
itsNewYorkMetropolitanOpera
debut.Addtothe factthattheMet
ispairing itwithBélaBartók’s1911
eroticthriller
Bluebeard’sCastle
(also
aone-actopera),andyouhaveoneof
theMet’smostanticipatedperform-
ances inyears.
“
Bluebeard’sCastle
isscaryand
tragic,and
Iolanta
is fullofhappiness
andhope,”saysMetstarand
Iolanta
lead
ANNANETREBKO
, recently
dubbed“opera’sbiggestmegastar
sinceLucianoPavarotti”by
TheNew
YorkTimes
andnamedoneof the
most influentialpeople intheworld
by
Time
. “It’saverygoodcontrast!”
UnderthedirectionofPolishauteur
MariuszTrelinskiandmaestro
ValeryGergiev, theRussiansoprano,
whoperformedtheOlympicanthem
at lastwinter’sopeningceremonies
inSochi,Russia,delights in
Iolanta
’s
“amazing,bright, lyrical lines,”par-
ticularly inthesoaringaria, “Why
DidINotKnowThisBefore?”
“This isoneof themostbeautiful
operasTchaikovskyeverwrote,
and it’sabouthow lovechanges
everything,”Netrebkosays. “Ican
relate to that.”
Iolanta
and
Blue-
beard’sCastle
will runJan. 26
toFeb. 21, 2015; ticketsare$25 to
$200.
—¨.© ª«¬¬®
THE IMMORTAL
BASQUIAT
ANART-WORLD
prodigywhoepitomized the
downtown-NewYorkart sceneof the 1980s,
Jean-Michel Basquiat rose fromagraffiti artist
tobefriendAndyWarhol anddateMadonna—
all beforehediedat theageof 27. Hisurban-
expressionist paintings, featuringblack imagery,
graffiti-likewords and salvagedmaterials such
aspacking cratesusedas canvases, continue to
fascinateanewgenerationof collectors. Now,
the
ARTGALLERYOFONTARIO
inToronto
will stage the comprehensive retrospective
“Basquiat,” featuringmore than 140of theartist’s
pieces, fromFeb. 7 throughMay 10, 2015, before
sending it toRiode Janeiro for a summer run.
—ELAINE GLUSAC
WINTER
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