Prepping for an Opera

Photo of the Week

Voice students from the School of Music -- including Nicole Snyder, Sarah Rhorer, Ching-Yi Chen and Dennis Bassett -- rehearse for the upcoming OSU Opera production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The classic coming-of-age fairytale, first performed in 1791, gets a fresh focus under the direction of Peter Kozma. The updated version includes a cast of 12 principal vocalists, an opera chorus of 20 and an orchestra of 40, all from the School of Music. They will be joined by eight dancers from the Department of Dance and nearly 90 members of the Men’s Glee Club. The unique production – with a multi-level set, video and multimedia elements – will be presented at 8 pm Friday, Jan 25, and Saturday, Jan 26, and at 3 pm Sunday, Jan 27, in Thurber Theatre, Drake Performance Center on campus. For tickets, call the Theatre box office 292-2295. Photo by David Heasly.

Notable News

Damian Bowerman (Theatre) will perform his show John D Rockefeller: Divine Philanthropist or Cold-Blooded Oil Tycoon on Jan 26 at the Ohio Historical Society's Conestoga Conference in Columbus. The production starts at 10 am at the Ohio Historical Center's Auditorium, 1982 Velma Ave. It's free for Ohio Historical Center members with a nominal fee for guests. The next day Bowerman performs his one man show at the Allen County Historical Society, 620 W Market St, in Lima at 2 pm. For info about the Lima show, call (419) 222-9426

Akron native Ladd McIntosh (Music alumnus) was awarded an Ohioana Citation for distinguished servince in the arts and humanities, for his work in music. Since working on the 1992 film A League of Their Own, McIntosh has orchestrated more than 100 major movies, including all three Shrek films and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Art and Tech alumna Lauren Kalman is having a one-person show at the Sculpture Center, 1834 E 123rd St in Cleveland, opening Jan 19, 6:30-8:30 pm. The exhibition, A Pretty Little Trick, is the first of the 2008 Window to Sculpture Emerging Artist Series. The show continues through Feb 16 in the Main and Euclid Avenue Galleries.

The Department of Art's Visiting Artist Series presents Laetitia Sonami at 4:30 Tues, Jan 15 in the Wexner Film and Video Theatre. Sonami is a composer, performer and installation artist who "builds instruments, writes computer software, records and sculpts sound elements and then, in haunting live performances, simultaneouosly controls her compositions and transcends technology through the use of gestural manipulators." For more, see her website.

The Wexner Center for the Arts presents the film The Rape of Europa at 7 pm Sat, Jan 26, and 2 pm Sun, Jan 27, in the Wexner Film/Video Theatre. The film tells the epic story of the Nazis' systematic theft of Europe's artistic heritage (it's estimated they stole one-fifth of all known artworks from the countries they conquered) and its miraculous survival. Based on Lynn Nicholas's groundbreaking study, the film shows that although the Allies restored some of the displaced art in the decade after WWII, much still remains unaccounted for.