cityArts February 23, 2011

FEB. 23-MAR. 8, 2011 Volume 3, Issue 4

IN THIS ISSUE: Richard Thomas in Shakespeare’s rarely produced Timon of Athens The Real World: Baltimore, a look at Putty Hill The ripe musical enterprises of Gowanus

Catherine Deneuve in a scene from Potiche, screening as part of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema.

InthisIssue 6 Visual Art MAUREEN MULLARKEY visits the galleries at Hunter College for Objects of Devotion and Desire.

7 Dance After watching the Mariinsky, JOEL LOBENTHAL explains why American ballerinas need to learn to be noble.

8 Jazz Traveling to Gowanus, HOWARD MANDEL hears the things to come.

10 At the Galleries

Reviews: Krzysztof Wodiczko at Galerie Lelong; Ciria at Stux Gallery; “Godchildren of Enantios” at David Nolan; Jason Bard Yarmosky at Like The Spice; “Relief: Drawing in Depth” at The Hudson Guild.

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12 Film

Surveys for the first time Warhol’s enduring fascination with cars as products of American consumer society spanning his career from 1946 to 1986.

Director Matt Porterfield blends genres in his film Putty Hill; preparing for the 16th annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Festival.

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Warhol and Cars: American Icons is made possible by generous support from The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Mandee, and Annie sez.

Also on view

Will Barnet: A Centennial Celebration February 4 – July 17, 2011

13 Theater Richard Thomas speaks about performing in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens at The Public; how playwright David Hay turned politics into his dark comedy, A Perfect Future.

14 Classical Music JAY NORDLINGER on the recent Berlioz Requiem at Carnegie, as well as a recital by pianist Jonathan Biss and soprano Lori Guilbeau

Ten new works by Will Barnet on the occasion of his 100th birthday that revive his explorations of abstract form.

15 Arts Agenda

Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers: Selections from the JPMorgan Chase Collection

19 Paint the Town by Amanda Gordon

Galleries, Art Fairs, Museums, Classical Music, Opera, Theater, Out of Town.

February 4 – July 17, 2011

Eleven photographs exemplifying the same classically meticulous approach of Mapplethorpe to all his subjects.

EDITOR Jerry Portwood jportwood@manhattanmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Adam Rathe arathe@ manhattanmedia.com ASSISTANT EDITOR

Christine Werthman ART DIRECTOR Jessica Balaschak SENIOR ART CRITIC Lance Esplund

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SENIOR MUSIC CRITIC

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SENIOR DANCE CRITIC

Joel Lobenthal

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Valerie Gladstone, John Goodrich, Amanda Gordon, Howard Mandel, Maureen Mullarkey, Mario Naves, Nicholas Wells

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InBrief

Courtesy of Verdensteatret

And All the Question Marks Started to Sing, the latest work from Verdensteatret.

Answering Questions Multi-media productions are all the rage these days, but none of them are quite as multi as And All the Question Marks Started to Sing, the latest work from Norwegian art collective Verdensteatret, which will be performed at Dance Theater Workshop Feb. 24–27.

Wayne Ashley, who is co-presenting the piece under the aegis of his new initiative FuturePerfect, assures us that the familiarity of multi-media productions is turned on its head here. “You will have seen some of this in different places, but this is one of those companies that bring together really disparate media and melds them,” he says.

And All the Question Marks certainly contains more than the usual forms of media. “This is probably one of the most hybrid works I’ve seen in a long time,” Ashley says. “It brings together a whole cluster of experiences in the same space and time. It’s going to be a hard electronic music concert. It’s going to be kinetic sculpture.

It’s going to be a theater, and it’s going to be a shadow puppet experience.”

Described in the press release as “a rich landscape of kinetic and electromechanical objects, or what the company calls ‘animation-machines,’” the focal point of the evening sprawls across the stage and into the wings as it combines sound, video and sculptures into a cohesive whole.

“There are a total of 13 members in this collective, who orchestrate all the parts of this machine,” Ashley says. “There are all kinds of wheels and levers and mechanisms and pulleys [operated] by performers on stage. And there’s a whole other set of crews who are connected to sensors and computers, so they are also part of the machine.”

Judging from a clip of the show posted online, And All the Question Marks looks to be one of the more unusual and immersive pre-

sentations in recent memory. It may, in fact, manage the feat of putting Verdensteatret on the tip of your tongue. [Mark Peikert]

Broadway Boundless Experimental theater destination Dixon

Place on the Lower East Side wanted a fresh angle for its once-popular open mic, and it found an unlikely bedfellow in Broadway Speaks Out co-founder Marti Gould Cummings. A cabaret performer who orbits around the Midtown bars that cater to the musical theater scene, Cummings has brought a little bit of Broadway to a corner of the city not known for performers belting showtunes.

Since its launch this past September, the monthly performance showcase that takes place the last Monday of every month has become a night for undiscovered artists to workshop pieces alongside professionals.

“Not everything has to take place in Times Square as a forum for an open mic night or a place to give them an audience,” says Tim Ranney, the Dixon Place marketing director. “In fact, it’s so much easier to get your feet wet and get a little experience at Dixon Place because we don’t have a lot of restriction, like so many places in Times Square or Hell’s Kitchen. It’s really a nice complement to the offbeat, Downtown, underground things that we do.”

Dixon Place began as an experimental space for literary and performance artists in the living room of founder Ellie Covan’s Lower East Side apartment in 1986, and outgrew three spaces before settling in its current location on Chrystie Street in 2009. In the decades since it started, the theater has opened its doors and its stages to all forms or artistic interpretations, with Broadway as its latest.

Cummings books talent for Take the Mic—each show includes three Broadway pros and seven unknowns—as well as hosts the show, which he does dressed in drag to resemble Liza Minnelli. Hair cast member

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March 10–13, Open to the Public

March 11 & 12, Royal Oak Foundation Lectures Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street | New York City For details, show information and tickets, please visit avenueshows.com or call 646.442.1627

February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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InBrief

New York Philharmonic Alan Gilbert Music Director The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair

BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH SYMPHONY Janine Jansen

Paavo Järvi Conductor Janine Jansen Violin

Thu, Feb 24 7:30pm• TOMORROW! Fri, Feb 25 11:00am Sat, Feb 26 8:00pm Tue, Mar 1 7:30pm

“The Britten Violin Concerto is one of my favorite pieces of music, and there is just nobody who can play it with more intensity, with more insight, power, beauty, and everything you can imagine than Janine Jansen. She owns the piece!”

— Paavo Järvi

Erkki-Sven TÜÜR Aditus* BRITTEN Violin Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 nyphil.org/jansen Paavo Järvi’s appearance is made possible through the Charles A. Dana Distinguished Conductors Endowment Fund.

Major support provided by the Francis Goelet Fund.

• Open rehearsal at 9:45am * New York Premiere

Listen to our podcasts at nyphil.org/podcasts

FOR TICKETS CALL 212 875 5656 OR VISIT NYPHIL.ORG Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, Broadway at 65th Street

All programs, artists, dates, and prices subject to change. Photo by Felix Broede. © 2011 New York Philharmonic. Programs of the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council of the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, the radio station of the New York Philharmonic.

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STACEY AND ERIC MINDICH

Lauren Elder performed in October and is slated to return again Feb. 28, alongside composer Will Van Dyke, who is currently the keyboardist for The Addams Family on Broadway. Performers aren’t shy and have included choreographed dances and monologues along with songs.

“Dixon Place is a good gestation period,” Ranney says. “We’ve found a lot of new talent through it and invited them back separately to submit their play or their piece to our theater submissions. The idea really is that it’s a forum for new people to develop their work. Because we’re a developmental and experimental theater, we encourage the offbeat.” [Jordan Galloway]

Arts Club In 2007, the Scottish-born artist Peter

Doig set a record, selling his painting “White Canoe” for $11.3 million. At the time it was the highest price ever fetched by a living European artist. On Feb. 26, he’ll be making another bit of history: kicking off Somebody Arted In Here, a new series of art installations and parties in the basement of Santos Party House, a nightclub on the lower stretch of Lafayette Street.

“One of the initial ideas that we had for the club was to always be able to draw upon our friends who are artists to come in and activate the different areas with their artwork,” says Santos co-owner Spencer Sweeney. “We have a lot of resources, because a lot of the owners have contacts in creative communities. I work as an artist myself, and one of the reasons we started the club was to do things like this.”

Looking at what’s planned, it’s clear that the club’s resources are impressive. In addition to the Doig mural, the inaugural party will feature installations from Rita Ackermann, working with the artist and Gang Gang Dance member Lizzi Bougatsos, as well as a DJ set from Hilton Als, the theater critic for The New Yorker.

Sweeney says that the installations, which will sit in the club’s windows facing the street, will change quarterly, but that doesn’t mean that spontaneous work won’t pop up as well.

“We’re going to play it by ear,” says Sweeney. “But we are doing a monthly party and each time there will be another artist coming in and adding something to the club. We’re going to work with Nate Lowman, Rob Pruitt and Jonathan Horowitz, and we have plans for Lizzi and Rita to do more work in the basement.”

At the end of the day—or maybe the very beginning, knowing how time can disappear in nightclubs—what the team at Santos is looking to do is bring art, music and nightlife together and have a really, really fun time, reclaiming a bit of the scene overlap that disappeared with clubs like The Palladium, which in its heyday featured work by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, Kenny Scharf and Keith Haring.

ART BOOKS Images of America: The New York City Triangle Factory Fire

By Leigh Benin, Rob Linne, Adrienne Sosin and Joel Sosinsky, with Workers United (ILQWU) and HBO Documentary Films

On March 25, 1911, New York City pedestrians and fire and police officials alike watched in horror as 146 garment workers, mostly young Jewish and Italian immigrant women, either burned or fell to their deaths from eight to 10 stories above, onto the crowded streets below. On the top floors of the Asch Building, where garment wardens routinely dead-bolted exits, the overcrowded Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned to a crisp. This epic tragedy, the largest workplace disaster before 9/11, ushered in the dawn of a new age and the great overhaul of American policy in favor of worker’s rights. A hundred years later, this slim volume offers the comprehensive photographic and newspaper archives leading up to, during and after the infamous Triangle Factory Fire with a familiar, tasteful style.

Liza Lou Contributions by Eleanor Heartney, Arthur Lubow, Peter Schjeldahl and Lawrence Weschler

“Obsession,” Peter Schjeldahl notes, “is one damned thing over and over; The Kitchen is one damned thing after another.”

Liza Lou’s breakout art installation, The Kitchen, took her five years to finish—a relatively short period considering she covered the entire surface area of a recreated, life-sized kitchen with a rainbow of tiny glass beads. The bead is her medium, her paint. Millions upon millions of beads cover her subjects, from life-size plaster molds of the human body to a single blade of grass from a reenacted lawn. Her ink drawings, moreover, mimic the craft of her beadwork and expose the deftness and profundity of Lou’s method.

It’s no surprise the debate over Lou’s artwork tends to loop. The question “why” lingers but an instant, because the result is breathtaking.

“It’s this idea of creating a social leg for the creative community in its various forms to share a good time,” says Sweeney. “We want to give people a reason to get together and celebrate.” And it seems like they will; Sweeney recounts what contributing artist Rob Pruitt, who is known for innovative and boundary-pushing work, said when he was asked to contribute: I’m so excited to have my art hanging someplace other than a rich person’s living room. [Adam Rathe]

ArtsNews Union Square Hospitality Group announced that its cafe opening in March at the Whitney Museum will be named Untitled, and will present a contemporary take on the classic Manhattan coffee shop and feature the cooking of Chris Bradley, formerly of Gramercy Tavern… On Feb. 7, the International Center of Photography announced the winners of the 27th Infinity Awards, which will be celebrated May 10 at Chelsea Piers. Elliot Erwitt was recognized for Lifetime Achievement, and Ruth Gruber received the Cornell Capa Award…

On Feb. 9, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council announced it will take over

Show for the exhibition Dead or Alive… Asia Week New York will take place March 18–26, and will feature 34 leading Asian art dealers from around the world with lectures, auctions and other special events in conjunction with 18 museums and Asian cultural institutions… The Whitney Museum has kicked off a three-month partnership with the mobile-phone app Foursquare. Users can unlock the Whitneyphile badge and receive $5 off admission by checking in to the museum twice and at other Whitneyrelated location—such as Edward Hopper’s

former studio—once… On April 3, Wave Hill: New York Public Garden and Cultural Center in the Bronx will commence its fifth season of Sunroom Project Space at Glyndor Gallery. Emerging New York artists will create new, site-specific solo work.

“Meet the Artist” gatherings are taking place through November for this year’s winners…

Robin Thompson was recently appointed artistic consultant at the American Symphony Orchestra. Thompson, who worked for the New York City Opera and L.A. Opera, will be responsible for providing the

ASO with both established and emerging talent to join musical director and conductor Leon Botstein throughout the season… The New Dance Alliance announced a 25th Anniversary Performance Mix Festival, running April 26–May 1, which will feature over 30 dance, music, video and interdisciplinary artists, including Isabel Lewis and Monstah Black. The closing night will highlight participating artists from past years, followed with tapas and dancing with DJ Winslow T. Porter III… Got a tip? Email us at cityarts@manhattanmedia.com.

LaPlacaCohen 212-675-4106

Cézanne’s Card Players

Publication: City Arts

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Sam Miller.

Insertion date: Feb 23, 2011 7.341 x 8.5, 4C NeWS

as lead partner in the annual River to River Festival, which began as a means to revitalize the area after 9/11 and features free cultural events every summer. With its 10th season set to kick off in June 2011, LMCC President Sam Miller promises to take the experience to the next level. The schedule and dates for the festival won’t be announced until April, but here’s hoping LMCC does right by the festival’s high standards… Soho paninoteca Salumè will be debuting the work of Italian painter Sylvia Forese beginning Feb. 23. Not only is this Salumè’s first inhouse art exhibit, it is also Forese’s first solo show in the city. The show, entitled Il piacere e’ tutto mio. The pleasure is all mine, will last until March 25… American Composers Orchestra is kicking off a six-month-long project, Playing it UNsafe, March 4 at Carnegie Hall. It will feature composers working to create cutting-edge, new orchestral music. Free lab workshops are open to the public March 1 and 3 at Aaron Davis Hall…

In a ceremony at Cooper Union March 14, the ACIA-USA will honor Museum of Art and Design’s Chief Curator David McFadden and curator Lowery Stokes Sims, who won Best Architecture and Design

Through May 8 The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The Courtauld Gallery, London.

MET-0057-Cezanne_CityArts_7.341x8.5(1.16)_Feb23_v4.indd 1

metmuseum.org It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Paul Cézanne, The Card Players, 1890–92, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960.

February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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VisualART

An Exhibit of Magical Thinking

By Maureen Mullarkey ow to begin addressing the exhibit Objects of Devotion and Desire? I could take the high road and start this way: “Memory of the sacred lingers even among secular moderns who proclaim themselves celebrants of a totally profane world.” Or I could be upfront about the unbearable shallowness of being (an academic in the arts) that skews its subject into a myopic caricature of religious culture.

Objects of Devotion and Desire, currently on view at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter College, concerns itself with correspondence between certain contemporary artworks and ancient reliquaries. It is a compelling subject for the very reason that points of comparison certainly do exist. But semblance—partial and halting—is not equivalence. Only a curator on intellectual holiday would mistake one for the other.

Confusions begin with a press release asserting that the status of reliquaries as art is “compromised by their link to religious superstition.” There goes the bulk of art history: the rock paintings of Altamira, the Bamiyan Buddhas, the Khymer temples of Angkor, Egyptian tomb painting and most of the Western canon until—in historic terms—quite recently. Is Giotto’s fresco cycle in the Scrovegni chapel less magnificent for its dependence on the Christian story? Are the formal properties of a 15th-century French reliquary arm diminished because it served liturgical purposes? How is the aesthetic worth of a 12th-century Limoges chasse altered by having housed scraps of some forgotten saint? That phrase “religious superstition” tells us more about curatorial bias than about reliquaries, in medieval Christendom or any other culture.

How does dust (as in “dust thou art”) “become a valuable relic?” asks curator Cynthia Hahn in the accompanying catalog. She answers herself in orthodox academese: by acts of “relic-ing” and “enframement.” Or, as she puts it, “the relic does not exist without the reliquary.”

In other words, sacrality resides in the setting, and the setting makes the relic.

This inversion of reality—of religious consciousness—does nothing to illumine the tension between matters of faith and the interpretation of symbols that imperfectly express them. But it does provide an umbrella under which every reference to the human body or mortality can crowd in. To a desacralized imagination, any keepsake or studio-fabricated imitation of one will do as a relic so long as it is packaged properly and the lighting is good. Even taxidermy fills the bill.

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A single vitrine holds five splendid Byzantine and medieval relic cases, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum. The axis on which the exhibition turns, it is a benchmark for understanding the nature and function of relics. Measured against the contents of this central display, the rest of the exhibition wanders through varieties of memorabilia before collapsing into knickknacks meant to be viewed through the lens of catalog rhetoric. Ms. Hahn’s cabinet of curiosities confuses articles of religious intention with assorted collectibles and art objects devoid of transcendent dimension.

A selection of 19th-century daguerreotypes has real charm to it. The Victorians, familiar with early death, embraced the new technology of picturemaking as a recording angel. Plush casings were made for these carefully staged photos.

Locks of hair were lovingly plaited and arranged in accompaniment to images.

Tender shrinelets, these were objects of nostalgia, mementoes of familial, not religious, devotion. Pudgy little Mary Helgeson bids her girlhood goodbye with the leavings of her first adult haircut. But her shorn curls simply memorialize a rite of passage. They are not an emblem of beatitude.

Neither is Christian Boltanski’s “Monument,” a pyramidal scheme of photographs of wrapping paper interspersed with old found photos of anonymous individuals, many of them children. The photos are re-photographed and crisscrossed with electric light cords; a few bulbs tacked to the wall light the configuration. The assemblage exists “to elicit the meaning that the viewer chooses to bestow upon it.” In short, meaning is up for grabs. This hollowness at the heart contradicts the function of reliquaries. Every reliquary asserts the sanctity of the saint—real or legendary—whose life, in turn, reflects the glory of God. But emptied of sanctity, there is no reliquary. There is only old stuff.

The shock of the pose is the point of Hannah Wilke’s “Intra-Venus Triptych” (1992-93). She sprawls across a sheet, nude but for the bandages that cover points of insertion for IV tubes. Compare, for example, traditional images of St. Roc exhibiting his own plague sores. The wounds announce his selfless ministry to the sick and dying. Wilke, by contrast, was a hapless victim of the lymphoma that eventually killed her. Her self-display, in triplicate, is an act of amour propre, hardly a hallmark of sainthood. Yet the catalog, in a burst of screwball belle-lettrism, describes her as an image of “spiritual elevation” and an evocation of “Venus, the Virgin

The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY.

A cabinet of curiosities at the Hunter College galleries confuses articles of religious intention with assorted collectibles

Arm reliquary, with silver, silver-gilt, glass and rock crystal cabochons over wood core.

Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art Mary, the Breck girl.” (Our essayist must mean the “White Rock girl” since “the Breck girl” was invisible below the neck.)

Wilke’s triptych is a witness to doomed materiality, or perhaps an object of desire for necrophiliacs.

Straining for something vulgar, Noel Brennan found it in the “Book of Samuel.”

It recounts the Battle of Ebenezer, in which Philistines degraded the Ark of the Covenant into a lucky charm in battle against the Israelites. As punishment for their impiety, God afflicts the Philistines with tumors, possibly hemorrhoids. To end the plague, the Philistines made five golden casts of the growths as votive offerings.

Brennan’s work gets its signals crossed. The biblical tale is a cautionary one of sacrilege, not of sanctity. Worse, Brennan’s flimsy, painted lattice dotted with fake hemorrhoids

is a tacky alternative to a crafted reliquary.

Acrylic gold paint itself is a blasphemy against gold leaf.

Jeffrey Mongrain’s glass vial of blood— purportedly from unknown victims of 9/11—is an eerie reminder of the slaughter of innocents. It is also a problematic tour de force, a send-up of the reliquary of St. Januarius, martyred under Diocletian, in the Naples Cathedral. Neopolitans have something close to a franchise on bleeding relics, a fact that lends a jarring tonguein-cheek quality to “Januarius and Dr. Hirsch.” Despite declarations of high seriousness, there is an element of burlesque in quoting the mold of a much-contested miracle (periodic liquefaction of Januarius’ blood). And something is off-kilter, even obscene, in putting blood from an act of war in the service of “aesthetic arousal.”

Besides, victims and martyrs are not the same. Volition is implicit in martyrdom; victimhood, however terrible, is accidental.

If anything, the blood shed on 9/11 is a call to arms, not grace.

Joseph Beuys is an icon of selfinvention, and his “Sled” (1969) is here.

What the catalog calls Beuys’ “salvational myth” is a triumph of canny theatrics.

Nothing sacred about it. Brian Zanisnik’s “Preserve” plays with taxidermied fauna in a Maine museum. Stuart Sherman photographs himself wearing eyeglasses with PhotoShopped lenses. His work is said to stir desire for “the erotic, the transcendental or the religious.” So which is it? Here, as throughout, text supplies the sound of sense where the substance of it is missing. Catalog commentary on the contemporary work illustrates that specialized illiteracy peculiar to academic artspeak.

What was the Met thinking when it lent treasures to this magpie collection of conceptual and aesthetic misfires? Historic reliquaries signal the divine glory toward which a particular life, now reduced to barren ash, points. They speak of the sacramentality of life. For all the folklore and magical thinking that accompany popular devotion to relics, they testify to a sense of the sacred rooted not in pious feelings of “spirituality” but in the blood and bone of the lived life.

Ultimately, they bear witness to trust.

Despite the sterility on view, the exhibition matters in one respect: It affirms Mircea Eliade’s contention that purely rational, nonreligious man does not exist.

Profane man descends from homo religiosus and he cannot erase his own history. < Through April 30, The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, 68th St. & Lexington Ave., 212-772-4991.

DANCE

It’s Not Easy to be Noble

the keys to Giselle’s cottage and a new car as well. Yet, while Shklyarov embodied a typology more native to the American popular zeitgeist, he stayed within the formalized balletic consciousness. In Act Two, where Albrecht is once again his own noble self, Shklyarov’s gravitas was convincing.

Vasili Scherbakov’s assumption of the pantomime role of Albrecht’s equerry was a matter of luxury casting such as we rarely get on the American ballet stage.

Scherbakov—who has himself danced an original and most definitely noble Albrecht—created a cameo portrayal of a retainer both faultlessly trained in the ways of courtly propitiation as well as accustomed to wielding power on his liege’s behalf.

Giselle herself is one of those poetic and sensitive peasants that the Romantic era loved to immortalize. So we must always feel that she too exists in a zone of spiritual loftiness, both in her village community during the first act, as well as in the second act, where she returns as one of the un-dead Wilis to rescue her betrayer from annihilation.

Nobility requires self-possession, and it’s hard to project that in ballet if you’re physically unstable. Therefore a pleasant surprise of the run was Alina Somova’s Giselle. No longer wrenching her body into extreme contortions that undermine her equilibrium, instead she used her very long and flexible limbs to create a personal as

An elegant exterior is essential for ballet to work

N.Razina

Vishneva and Fadeyev in Giselle.

By Joel Lobenthal hen St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky ballet visited the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, I looked forward to seeing how, in Giselle, it would maintain its artistic mandate not to be “just folks.”

Ballet began as entertainment performed by and for European aristocracies. After moving into professionalism, it retained the stylized physical comportment that became additionally appropriate to characters portrayed in fairy-tale narratives.

During the 1980s, I watched coach Elena Tchernichova at American Ballet Theatre break down for the company’s dancers what it was necessary to do and what it was important not to do to project this particular mode of exceptionalism. So it amazes me that American dancers continue, frequently, to not quite get it. Perhaps this type of affect clashes with the fantasy of egalitarianism that we continue to cherish even amidst our ever-increasing economic

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disparities. Confronted with these roles, I’m sorry to say that Americans often come across as strained and artificial. Or nobility often seems confused with snark; many dancers don’t seem to understand that the elegant exterior must connote a superiority that is cerebral and spiritual as well.

That’s true even with Giselle’s anti-hero, Albrecht. In Washington, I watched the Mariinsky’s Andrian Fadeyev dance the betrothed Count who betrays a village girl but then repents following her heartbroken death. Fadeyev showed you Albrecht’s aristocratic underpinnings even when disguised as a rustic in Act One. You were always aware that he was a man of parts, not to be trifled with. Even as he dallied with Giselle’s affections, he entertained serious apprehensions about where it could all lead, thus effectively setting the stage for his atonement in Act Two. Entirely different in the same role was Vladimir Shklyarov. In Act One, he was a spoiled, willful adolescent who wanted

well as idiomatic incarnation of the ballet’s Romantic style, fashioned after biomorphic impressions of wind and blossom. In her mid-twenties, Somova’s Giselle was further anchored by decade-older Evgeny Ivanchenko’s Albrecht, demonstrating again how crucial mature dancers are to a ballet company.

In the second act, Diana Vishneva’s Giselle spun off another element of Romantic consciousness: a taste for the bizarre, the febrile, the enraptured. As the graveyard wraith into which death has transfigured Giselle, she suggested Rimbaud’s disordering of all the senses.

Partnered by Fadeyev, the extraordinary physical control she manifested allowed feverish abandon to flourish at its most potent, most untrammeled.

Also present Giselle-wise were Viktoria Tereshkina (partnered by Shklyarov), a newcomer to the role, and Uliana Lopatkina (partnered by Daniil Korsuntsev), who dances it infrequently. Neither is entirely suited to Giselle; both were unstinting in their application of energy and artistry.

And then there was Alexandra Iosifidi and Ekaterina Kondaurova, each dominating in another key altogether as Myrtha, queen of the Stygian netherworld to which Giselle is consigned in Act Two. And so I left Washington believing in balletic nobility for what it is: not cardboard pretension, but a quality vital, individually interpreted—and indispensable. <

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February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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Jazz

Go to Gowanus

This previously shunned part of Brooklyn is the place to hear new things

By Howard Mandel onsidering New York City’s real estate patterns—always a consideration regarding everything here—it was inevitable the musically adventurous would find Gowanus. A neighborhood so toxically unlovely that the Environmental Protection Agency wants to declare it a Superfund cleanup site, Gowanus buildings are suitable mostly for storage, marginal businesses and the making of noise.

Naturally, idealistic and experimental enterprises such as Issue Project Room, IBeam Music Studio, the Douglass Street Music Collective, Littlefield Performance and Art Space and the Brooklyn Lyceum have found the area affordable, welcoming (in that there are few residents to complain about late-night volume levels) and relatively convenient, just a short walk to Park Slope and a couple of significant subway stops. There are few inviting restaurants and or cozy bars, but that hasn’t stopped people from intrepidly pursuing their creative visions.

Where else could bassist Michael Bates, for instance, try out his jazz quintet versions of Shostakovich repertoire in front of a small, rapt audience prior to recording

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them than at IBeam? For $25, anyone can buy two daytime hours for rehearsal; members ($75 monthly, six-month minimum) get eight hours as part of their benefits. OK, maybe at Douglass Street, but its “collective” of 15 genre-defiers has a lock on that space. Littlefield, which boasts “an industrial/organic aesthetic,” does presentations curated by its owners, no rentals.

The Lyceum, in a former public bathhouse, is much larger, seating 300, suitable for dog shows and crafts markets as well as theater (Woyzeck by Buchner, Feb. 24–27; The American Clock by Arthur Miller, March 3–13) and dance (House, billed as “a multi-media dance spectacle designed to get you out of your seat and on the floor,” March 25).

At IBeam a couple weeks ago, Bates’ quintet set was followed by a freeimprovising trio comprising pianist Jesse Stacken, Akiko Sasaki on Japanese koto and drummer Gerald Cleaver. They were impressively sensitive and interactive, creating music that was unpredictable but pleasing when heard up close in intimate surroundings with good acoustics. IBeam is all that.

Which studio/rehearsal rental/venue for the avant-garde is right for which project doesn’t matter so much to audience members, who are typically friends, followers or significant others of the artists themselves. And to suggest common artistic directions for the activities between Fourth Avenue and Bond Street, Ninth Street and approximately Douglass, is premature.

Experimental intermedia might cover the gamut, if that wasn’t the name of Phill Niblock’s venerable loft in Manhattan between Little Italy and Soho, still featuring presentations by international minimalists, electronic music pioneers and proponents of abstract or challenging sights and sounds.

What I’ve seen so far in Gowanus taps a refreshed take on good ol’ new music, though the wacky, gritty, fragmented, exploratory and ambitious nature of what’s going on seems pretty much like what came out of the East Village in the ’80s.

For instance, Elliott Sharp, one of our city’s most prodigious, uncompromisingly spiky and locally underappreciated multiinstrumentalist/composers—based for decades from an apartment near Tompkins Square Park—celebrates his 60th birthday in a March 4 benefit for Issue Project Room, hosted by filmmaker Jo Andres and actor Steve Buscemi. Sharp has never forsaken his roots in rock and the blues (he has a band called Terraplane, named after a Robert Johnson song and including guitarist

Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s main man), but he also writes complex pieces that revel in density, dissonance and dynamic extremes. For his birthday (actually March 1) he’ll play solo acoustic guitar, collaborate with Andres and Buscemi (narrating his own text) as well as sci-fi author Jack Womack and poet Tracie Morris, oversee “The Boreal” as played by the JACK string quartet and premiere “Occam’s Razor,” for JACK and the Sirius Quartet (also strings) together.

Ironically, the benefit is at Issue Project Room’s new place, 110 Livingston St., in downtown Brooklyn, about 4-and-a-half miles from its present home in the Old American Can Factory at 232 3rd St. and the silo right on the banks of the Gowanus Canal, which used to be its address. IPR’s big move is a bet on upscaling, supported

by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, whose office gave $1.725 million to its capital campaign in July 2009 to renovate a space designed for an Elk’s Club in 1926 by architects McKim, Mead and White. Markowitz thinks IPR and comparable arts presenting spaces will enrich future Brooklyn. Of course, when an initiative starts small and gets successful, it may need to leave its birthplace. But the other establishments in its scene remain.

If you want to hear or see something you never have before, right now Gowanus is the place to go.

Now book flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, even activities that complement the whole trip.

And the best part?

It’s all in one place at AA.com.

AmericanAirlines and AA.com are marks of American Airlines, Inc. oneworld is a mark of the oneworld Alliance, LLC. © 2011 American Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved.

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AttheGALLERIES

“Cheerleader,” by Jason Bard Yarmosky.

Jason Bard Yarmosky: Elder Kinder

With his elderly grandparents as subjects, Jason Bard Yarmosky’s Elder Kinder explores the infantilization of old age and never-forgotten fantasies that stay with us throughout our lives. At first appearing ironic and slightly mocking, the 10 paintings and eight drawings quickly reveal themselves as a sensitive look at when we “learn to unwalk.”

The paintings introduce us to Len and Elaine as they go through a series of wardrobe changes, ranging from a cowboy outfit to pipe-smoking rabbit to Brünnhilde.

Lit from above, each painting’s solitary figure is cast in shadows from their face and folds of loose skin. In “Tight End,” Len’s face is obscured by a large football helmet, and without a cane his frail body leans toward us, almost out of the canvas.

At first the pencil on paper drawings appear as studies for larger paintings, but some are dated later. Their delicate quality and deliberate compositions confirm them as standalone works of art. “Len as Superman” embraces the darkness of the material in a brooding portrait of an

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aged and distracted hero, while “Elaine’s Mugshot” displays Yarmosky’s finesse in its use of light and soft grays.

Whatever the medium, the portraits, all part of Yarmosky’s first solo show with Like the Spice Gallery, find a balance between reverence and vulnerability. Hints of irony—an old man with a toy gun and a 40oz. of malt liquor? Ha!—are overwhelmed by the honest portrayal of personal subjects and the ravages of age. Yarmosky embraces his grandparents’ withered structures with a carefully poignant brush. The paintings are not mockery, but rather earnest celebrations of the eternal ability to be a child.

[Nicholas Wells] Through March 7, Like The Spice Gallery, 224 Roebling St., Brooklyn, 718-388-5388.

Alice Maher: Godchildren of Enantios

The Irish artist Alice Maher plunges us into a mythic world, populated with fanciful and grotesque characters, as engrossing as Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.” In her recent videos—“film

drawings,” as she calls them—sculptures and prints, she shows herself to be as talented at telling stories as at making art, imagining ambiguous metaphoric scenes where good and evil are not necessarily clear-cut opposites. (“Enantios” derives from the Greek word meaning opposite.)

Going from one work to the next, from bronze sculptures to charcoal drawings to film, leaves one marveling at how so many different styles of work could have been created by one person.

In a film titled “Sleep,” a tree grows from a man’s head, and then sprouts heads at the ends of its branches. They soon fall off. An ax appears and off goes his head as well. A free-floating torso follows in the next scene, wrapped in string, then two torsos, and finally a woman, who discovers wings growing from her back. Like all Maher’s works, this film and the one titled “Godchildren of Enantios” are not only intriguing as disjointed narratives—the subjects usually finding themselves in some way closely related to nature—but as comments on our subconscious desires and instincts. They could be Jungian daydreams or nightmares. For instance, the graceful woman astride the strange, horned beast in the “Godchildren” film, reminds a viewer of the fairy tale character Rapunzel, with her long, flowing locks. But here her hair only trails over her shoulders, not down a tower wall, and the beast’s curly mane covers his eyes. Adding to the supernatural quality of the proceedings, eerie soundscapes by composer Trevor Knight accompany the films, which play on continuous loops so that visual and aural areas overlap.

Maher’s sculptures appear as weighty as her drawings appear delicate. The sensual bronze “Swimmer” is simply long black hair, which looks like it had been caught in a tide. The aluminum-cast “Diver,” of a small person on the edge of a diving board, captures the subject’s hesitancy and fear.

But then who are these other people: an unshaven man with an elaborate woman’s hairstyle? And the woman in “Caryatide,” with a lacy pattern all over her body? The only answer is that they live in Maher’s private universe, which she very generously shares with us, providing us with enough rich and fascinating imagery to tantalize for a very long time. [Valerie Gladstone] Through March 16, David Nolan Gallery, 527 W. 29th St., 212-925-6190.

an eight-minute loop projected on three of the walls of the gallery space, situates the viewer in a nondescript building in Iraq or Afghanistan. We are only able to perceive the “outside” through a few windows—too high to see street level—and sound, so as a firefight erupts outside, the viewer finds himself at a remove. As in Guests, his project for the Polish Pavilion in Venice two years ago, Wodiczko uses projection to play with the separation of the gallery visitor from the work’s subject. I get it: War veterans have experiences that, though instantly recognizable through their portrayal in the media, I am, necessarily and permanently, separated from. The problem is that while Guests used that separation directly to motivate a change, ideally the visitor was moved to connect with immigrants in Europe and attempt to understand their situation. OUT OF HERE is merely descriptive. We’re given no new information about veterans, no interesting interpretations or implications of known information, and we do nothing to interact with the work or the subject in a novel way: All we’re offered is the opportunity to listen to a too-familiar story in a slightly interesting medium.

As a result, it’s too easy to compare it to any of the panoply of war vignettes we’ve seen on TV or in film over the past decade—a comparison for which OUT OF HERE suffers. As a descriptive piece, its narrative is hackneyed and the relatively low production values, compared to Hollywood, show through, offering content so bland no real meaning can adhere.

Devoid of any functional call to action, OUT OF HERE is ultimately as powerless as its viewers. [Will Brand] Through March 19, Galerie Lelong, 528 W. 26th St., 212-315-0470.

Relief: Drawing in Depth

Sometimes a single exhibition can inspire an entire enterprise. Such is the case with Natalie Charkow Hollander’s memorable installation of relief sculptures at Lohin Geduld Gallery in 2004. These sculptures, which transposed scenes from master paintings into carved stone, moved Cynthia Harmon, Jock Ireland and Jolie

…OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project

Krzysztof Wodiczko has always been concerned with vulnerable groups; his work has fought for the homeless, for immigrants and—as now—for war veterans. In his current show at Galerie Lelong, however, the conceptual and political rigor that gave his previous activism its strength is strangely missing. …OUT OF HERE: The Veterans Project,

Still from “Godchildren of Enantios,” by Alice Maher.

Stahl to try their own hands in more pliant materials. Seven years later, the two dozen small reliefs by these three artists and Hollander create a feast of intrepidly worked stone, terra cotta, plaster and stoneware in the gallery of the Hudson Guild, Chelsea’s venerable community center.

Making a painting three-dimensional is a quirky venture. Painting and sculpting, after all, are entirely different processes. The first simulates volumes with a generated inner light; the second manipulates actual volumes under ambient light. But the peculiarities of relief sculpture—which can range from an almost drawing-like flatness to deep, in-the-round modeling—give the four artists wide latitude. Transcending dutiful copies, the strongest works here become individual expressions in their own right.

Paintings by Titian, Masaccio, El Greco and Matisse, among others, reappear in new guises. Ireland’s pieces, which resemble bronzes but in reality are painted plaster, are modeled in deep, muscular relief. His make-over of Titian’s “Diana and Actaeon” captures a good deal of the original’s grandness of gesture; Actaeon’s arm, raised in surprise, seems to arrest the twisting movements of the half-dozen other figures.

Nearby, another sculpture transcribes Masaccio’s “Expulsion from the Garden of Eden” with simple earthiness.

Working in shallower relief in terra cotta, Harmon re-creates the compositions of Titian, Poussin and other masters in a lively but more studied fashion. Her “Descent from the Cross (after Rubens)” vividly summarizes the drama of bodies slumping, stretching and lifting. With their intense green-blues and pinks, Stahl’s painted and glazed stoneware reliefs of paintings by Chardin, Max Beckmann and others are the most flamboyant works here.

But I found equally poignant the unpainted surfaces of her terra cotta interpretation of a Piero della Francesca, in which two figures momentously draw back the curtains before a sleeping king.

Particularly touching are Hollander’s sculptures, whose featureless figures— populating the deeply carved recesses of blocks of stone—radiate a delicate resolve.

Updating Titian’s “Bacchanal of the Andrians,” tiny, chunky figures teem and swirl in a dark stone called pyrophyllite.

Hollander clearly realizes that realistic volumes, in both painting and sculpture, aren’t very interesting in themselves; as countless academic artworks remind us, a master’s characterization of a subject depends less on shaping exact volumes than in giving them rhythmic import. Even while absorbing the masters, she follows her own star; in her double remake in limestone of Matisse’s “Carmelina”—the composition appears twice, once in deep relief and then again as a series of flattened planes—the artist has added her own

“Time eyes - Rorschach Heads III Series,” by José Manuel Ciria.

interpretation of a painting’s light. She has polished the surfaces receiving reflected light in Matisse’s original—a final, curious embellishment of her singular task. [John Goodrich] Through April 18, Hudson Guild Gallery, 441 W. 26th St., 212-760-9837.

José Manuel Ciria: The Execution of the Soul Huge congratulations to the Stux Gallery for this impressive exhibit of the remarkable Spanish painter José Manuel Ciria, who has been shown far too rarely in the United States. One of the great artists of our time, he has been avidly collected by individuals and museums in Europe, Canada and Latin America for over 20 years. In his investigations of the abstract image, he usually works in series, as he does here in the riveting “Rorschach Head Series,” consolidating different lines

of thought based on the synthesis of his concepts. He combines a striking mixture of influences, which include the American Abstract Expressionists; Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning; and painters of the Spanish baroque, exemplified by Velá zquez and Zurbarán. Coexisting uncomfortably in his paintings, they lead to a disquieting tension, which pervades all his works. But it is Miró’s influence that is most notable, particularly in this show, though his dark and tortured vision here also calls to mind Francis Bacon.

The faces evoke the inkblots that the Swiss psychologist Rorschach used to measure the human tendency to project emotions, interpretations and meaning onto seemingly neutral stimuli. Using his customary palette of red, black, gray and white, prevalent among Spanish painters, Ciria offers one aspect after another of individuals in pain or under duress. Each

has its own distinctive power, beginning with the startlingly fractured “Selfportrait,” where the eyes of the individual, wide and askew, stare out from the canvas, wild and frightened. One is also reminded of Goya, especially when looking at “Portrait,” where the subject’s mouth opens in a silent scream, or “Time eyes,” where an innocent-looking person—they appear to be more male than female— gazes quizzically into the distance, one eye violently crossed out with red lines.

“Two-face” has a hole for a mouth, his face split in two. Disturbingly recognizable as human, though without anything but the basic features, these faces rank among the most powerful portraits being exhibited today, commenting not only on the severity of personal fears and anxieties but public ones as well. [VG] Through April 2, Stux Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., 212-352-1600.

February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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FILM

Primitive Urges

Director Matt Porterfield blends genres and styles in his film Putty Hill

By Craig Hubert n the summer of 2009, director Matt Porterfield was set to embark on the production of Metal Gods, his second feature film. With a cast and crew in place, a completed script and a camera package awarded to them as part of a grant, production was suddenly halted in suburban Baltimore when the small amount of financing the group previously raised fell apart. Instead of letting the many creative and practical elements already in place go to waste, Porterfield developed a five-page treatment that created a new scenario incorporating a few of the actors from Metal Gods.

The result is Putty Hill, a stirring independent film that opened Feb. 18 at Cinema Village. Using a cast of nonprofessionals—most playing variations of themselves—the film revolves around a community on the rough edges of Baltimore dealing with the loss of a young skateboarder named Cory from a drug overdose. Despite the somber tone, Putty Hill manages never to be enervating, instead breathing life into the proceedings through a delicate combination of fiction and non-fiction techniques. Porterfield often interrupts the logic of the narrative with pensive interviews between himself (offcamera) and the main characters. A device that can normally be distancing here feels personal and intimate.

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“Putty Hill was a new way of working for me,” Porterfield says. “We didn’t have the luxury of time to write a script, and I knew I wanted to incorporate this interview construct that walks the line between the fictional story we created and the very real experience of the cast. It made sense to open it up to collaboration and improvisation.”

Working without a script, Porterfield often drew on the relationships between characters outside of the film. Most notable is Sky Ferreira who plays Jenny, a young woman who is back home in Baltimore for the funeral of her distant cousin and is reluctant to rekindle a relationship with her father. The tension that builds between the two, and constantly surrounds Jenny throughout the film, is genuine of her experience during the shoot. The casting of Ferreira, an aspiring pop singer from California, seems an inspired choice.

“I knew that I wanted her to appear in Putty Hill,” Porterfield notes. “I cast her early on for a principal role in Metal Gods, and I needed to figure out a narrative way to acknowledge the fact that she was of another place. There’s nothing about her that screams to me Baltimore. She’s an outsider.

So we exploited that relationship in place.”

The film actively rejects traditional modes of documentary realism in favor of a style that highlights contradictions.

While watching, audiences are repeatedly

A French Tryst

made aware that they are watching a film.

Porterfield seemed perplexed that the film was labeled “cinema vérité” by both champions and detractors alike. “I think the device we’re using is actually crude,” he says. “The interview device is something most documentary filmmakers try to avoid, or get around, for various reasons. I think it’s kind of rudimentary.”

In this way, Porterfield shares an affinity with other contemporary filmmakers who straddle the fiction/non-fiction divide, such as Miguel Gomes and Lisandro Alonso.

But Putty Hill also hearkens back to a more primitive form of documentary. When the genre of city symphonies is mentioned to Porterfield, he admits to the influence of Dziga Vertov, especially his 1930 film Symphony of the Donbass.

The various strands come together in the climactic scene, a funeral reception at a bar, in which various friends and members of the extended family grab the microphone for a cathartic and often emphatic session of karaoke. It’s a scene of great release that builds throughout the film, both for the characters and the audience. The scene is unsentimental but filled with human emotion, and it’s the first time the audience sees the deceased Cory (in the form of a photo), the equivocal ghost whose presence is felt in every frame.

Porterfield explains that he still hopes to make Metal Gods, but that it will ultimately

Sky Ferreria in a scene from Putty Hill. become something very different from its original conception. Whatever happens next, it’s clear Porterfield is an artist we will be hearing more from in the future.

At Cinema Village; Runtime: 87 min.

Francophiles rejoice in the annual film festival celebrating Gallic exceptionalism

By Leslie Stonebraker he word “rendezvous” may conjure ideas of secret glances, illicit affairs and sultry French accents. If you’re looking for a way to have a Parisian getaway in the midst of Manhattan, the 16th annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema seduces screens March 3–13. Many of these New York premieres will be followed by conversations with the directors and actors, so it will be impossible to miscomprehend a film because it is too, well, French.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance’s festival opens at the Paris Theatre with François Ozon’s adaptation of Potiche, a sugarcoated whirlwind for a recently empowered trophy wife played by the inimitable Catherine Deneuve.

Complete with dance numbers and slapstick comedy, the film was a critical hit and box office success in France. It also features the girthy talents of Gérard Depardieu as an ex-lover whose candle still burns. Deneuve also appears in Eric

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Lartigau’s The Big Picture (beginning March 4), alongside one of France’s hottest young star stars, Romain Duris.

March 4 is also a chance to get an advance peek at The Princess of Montpensier, which won’t be widely released stateside until April. Postscreening, director Bertrand Tavernier will answer questions about this period tale of unrequited love and intrigue.

Classical music fans will not want to miss Mozart’s Sister, a re-imagined account of the early life of Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart, who was the original musical prodigy until her younger brother usurped her spotlight. Director René Féret cast his own daughter in the lead role, and he will be in attendance at the screenings.

It’s not all fictional romps; Coline Serreau’s documentary, Think Global, Act Rural, about her quest to unearth the problem of industrialized agriculture, will screen March 4 and March 6.

On Sunday, March 6, ensconce yourself

A scene from René Féret’s film, Mozart’s Sister. in the lush visuals from Academy Awardwinner Claude Lelouch at the Walter Reade Theater. His latest release, What Love May Bring, is what Lelouch terms “a remake

of my 41 films,” and follows decades of love and loss for a movie theater usherette.

After 50 years in the business of cinema, the legend finally turns the camera upon himself in From One Film To Another.

Both screenings will be followed by a discussion with Lelouch about his career and filmmaking process.

For the nostalgic romantics, RendezVous also features a tribute to director Alain Corneau. Actress Ludivine Sagnier will be on hand to discuss screenings of his Série Noire and Love Crime. Both crime thrillers, Corneau’s films show good intentions unraveling until the only course left is murder. Though you won’t need to understand the language, you can experience a bit of that je ne sais quoi in Rendez-Vous’ comprehensive overview of the best of contemporary French cinema.

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, March 3-13. Various locations. For complete details visit www.filmlinc.com.

Theater

From Riches to Rags

CA: Timon of Athens isn’t one of Shakespeare’s best known works. Why do it now?

Thomas: It’s an extraordinarily powerful play, a little like Lear but darker. It’s a show about money, so it’s particularly relevant and apropos in this financial situation. We see it from top to bottom: having money, losing it, getting it back again. It’s a very spiky play; it’s not Romeo and Juliet. It’s a very inward, dark look at society, and I think that’s a very good reason to do it.

Why are you excited about this role?

I’ve done a few of these parts. There are a lot of beautiful speeches, the language is fabulous. It’s a very emotionally demanding role and a great challenge. It’s great to do this role and great to do it in New York.

I’ve never worked at The Public, although I’ve always wanted to. A lot of people have never seen it before. To most theatergoers, it’s a new play. It’s harsh and funny in a weird way.

How did you approach the role before rehearsals began?

I was doing a picture up in Canada—I

Richard Thomas in Timon of Athens at The Public Theater. went up there right after I was asked to do the role. I spent time learning the play there and getting to know the part. It’s not like it is with other Shakespeare roles; there aren’t all these great actors’ performances echoing in your head while you look at the line “to be or not to be.” It’s like a new part, and I come very fresh to the role.

What about before a performance: How do you prepare?

Well, there’s some physical warm-up and stretching, but eventually you just have to walk onstage and start talking. It’s like getting on a bus and riding out to the end of the line.

Timon is very much the lead of this show; what can we learn from him?

He has no family, there’s no romance.

There are no women. It’s very much a man’s world, and I think it’s a statement about what happens to the world when men run it.

How does this fit into the mission of Public LAB, which is known for producing contemporary work?

I know that when LAB was established it was with the idea that Shakespeare would be involved, although this is the first Shakespeare production there. As Oskar [Eustis, artistic director of The Public] described it: It’s very stripped down and simple, the focus is on the actors. It’s a fastmoving, physical production—very rough and tumble. It’s also only $15 a pop, which I think is great.

Through March 6, The Public, 425 Lafayette St., 212-967-7555; $15.

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JAN. 12-JAN. 25, 2011 Volume 3, Issue 1

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IN THIS ISSUE: The Met’s La traviata has JAY NORDLINGER seeing Decker.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

By. V.L. Hendrickson Richard Thomas takes great joy in playing the title character in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens—a man-of-the-hour turned misanthrope. Thomas has tackled some of Shakespeare’s big parts before, but this experience is different. Since the show is rarely staged, he hasn’t had dozens of other performances to influence his own acting.

This season’s Public LAB production is only the third staging of the play in New York in the past 40 years (a 1993 production starred Brian Bedford, currently on Broadway in The Importance of Being Earnest). This is the first Shakespeare play produced by Public LAB, which aims to provide minimalist renderings of new and relevant plays in their smaller, more intimate spaces, like the 300-seat Anspacher Theater.

Director Barry Edelstein, who also heads up The Public’s Shakespeare Initiative, uses video footage of It’s a Wonderful Life and vintage porn to set a festive mood, but the orange scaffolding and extension cords belie the fleeting nature of wealth. Those elements move seamlessly into the second half of the twohour performance when Timon has moved from his expensive home in the city to a hovel in the woods. And Timon’s journey is underscored by costumes that change from velvet evening jackets to duct-taped shoes when he can’t pay his creditors—with hardrock guitar riffs in the background for added emphasis. Thomas talks to CityArts about this somewhat “spiky” show.

Joan Marcus

A little-seen Shakespeare play cautions the wealthy to be wary

JOEL LOBENTHAL refutes Black Swan backstage behavior.

Marina Poplavskaya starring in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Traviata.

LANCE ESPLUND praises Noguchi renovation & show.

www.cityarts.info | 212.268.8600 February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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ClassicalMUSIC&Opera

Surround-Sound Spectacular A Berlioz Requiem, a pianist and a soprano

By Jay Nordlinger he stage of Carnegie Hall—which we are asked to call the Ronald O. Perelman Stage—was about as full as it could be. There was a healthy orchestra, with gleaming timpani on either side. Behind the orchestra, there was a massive chorus. What were they all gathered for, Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand? Close: the Berlioz Requiem.

This work was written in the 1830s and still seems from outer space. Composers try to be novel today, but they are positively mundane compared with Berlioz. The Requiem is wild and woolly, sometimes sounding like a religious Benvenuto Cellini (one of Berlioz’s operas, a highly colorful affair).

Our conductor was Robert Spano, the Midwest native who spent many years here in New York: He was music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Since 2001, he has been music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In Carnegie Hall, he was leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

And what about that chorus? It was a combination of choruses, billed as the Carnegie Hall Festival Anniversary Chorus.

The hall was completing its 20th annual choral workshop.

Spano used big, broad gestures, so that all could see. He had players, not just on the stage, but up in the box seats. This resulted in a “surround-sound” effect. Spano proved a good manager of the Requiem.

This may seem like faint praise, but it’s quite strong praise: The Requiem demands good management. Also, Spano conducted with common sense. Again, the praise here may seem faint, but no: You don’t need to add anything to the Requiem. It comes with all the bells and whistles. You don’t need to gild the lily. It is gilded already. Spano’s common sense was just what the doctor, and the composer, ordered.

One of the best moments of this performance was the fugue that Berlioz includes in the Sanctus. It flowed naturally, inevitably, as though following some divine order. The tenor soloist in the Sanctus was Thomas Cooley. He was way up in the hall, on a high, high tier, which I thought was just slightly gimmicky. A voice from on high and all that. But it was also a nice idea. Cooley had a very tough assignment: Everyone waits for this solo moment. And the singer is very exposed. Cooley seemed nervous, and his pitch was uncertain. But he owns a beautiful instrument, and sang touchingly.

The orchestra was serviceable, and the chorus impressive: alert, disciplined and enthusiastic. When the Requiem was over, the audience exploded in applause, and

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Chris Lee

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A view of the brass in the mezzanine at Carnegie Hall for the Berlioz Requiem. it was sustained applause. I suspect that many relatives of chorus members were in that audience. Still: It had been a gratifying performance.

What’s true about a lot of Berlioz is true about the Requiem: If you give in to it—its unorthodoxy, its individuality, its Romantic logic—you are pleased, possibly enthralled.

If you do not give in, you say of the work, “What’s the big deal?” A perplexing and fascinating genius, Berlioz.

Beethoven in the Morning Jonathan Biss is a youngish American pianist—30—enjoying a major career. He is the son of Miriam Fried, the violinist. In January, he played a recital in Carnegie Hall.

Three weeks later, he appeared with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Andris Nelsons, the excellent Latvian who is music director in Birmingham, England. They did their program three times, and I caught it on a Friday morning. What a civilized time for a concert, 11 o’clock in the morning.

Biss played a Beethoven concerto, the one in C minor, Op. 37. In the first movement, he made some bony and clattering sounds, as he often does. Also, he rushed his passagework, as any fifth-grader will do. That passagework tended to be muddy, too. And yet he is a pianist with formidable gifts.

He played some relaxed and wonderful arpeggios and trills. He is a smart pedaler (as not even some of the top pianists are).

He made some big, beautiful, rounded sounds with his left hand. His cadenza had

just the right dosage of bravura. And his musical commitment is not to be gainsaid: It is obvious, whether we like what the pianist is doing or not.

Beethoven’s middle movement sounded like a Chopin nocturne in E major. It was slow, dreamy and expansive—a bit too Chopinesque for my taste, but defensible and beautiful. In the Rondo, Biss was jauntily correct, although some of his figures were flippant. He did some more rushing, and some more muddying, although not as much as in the first movement. Some notes were clipped, some accents were jarring.

And I found the concluding C-major section a puzzle: super-fast and mousy— without the solidity or substance that I believe the music calls for.

By the way, Biss is a head-shaker—one of those pianists who shake the head. There are head-nodders too. (Evgeny Kissin is probably the most prominent of them.)

Usually the head-shakers and head-nodders are no good. But there are exceptions, clearly.

I would also like to mention audience members who pick the quietest parts of a piece to unwrap their candies and lozenges.

Their timing is uncanny; the noise is deafening. If they must unwrap their sucky things during the music, can’t they wait for fortissimos—or at least mezzo-fortes?

A Royal Ocean Liner of a Voice There is a young soprano whom a lot of people are excited about. What people?

People in the music business, and in particular the voice business. She is Lori

Guilbeau, a Louisiana girl fresh out of the Manhattan School of Music. She made an impression on the city in late 2009, when she starred in her school’s production of Pénélope, an opera by Fauré. And earlier this month, she sang a recital in the Advent Lutheran Church, on the Upper West Side.

This event was part of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series—and it was free of charge. Guilbeau is one of those young singers whom Marilyn Horne, the legendary mezzo, has watched over.

She has a great big voice, Guilbeau does, and a lush, creamy, beautiful one.

“Stimme City,” someone said. (“Stimme” means “voice” in German.) I have heard her voice compared to the young Deborah Voigt’s; someone else mentioned Eileen Farrell. The world is awash in small lyric voices. It’s a pleasure to sink our teeth, or ears, into a big one.

Guilbeau sang a nicely mixed program, including a set of Joseph Marx, whom Leontyne Price introduced so many of us to. The young soprano had problems, of course. (Who doesn’t?) In Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido,” she flatted repeatedly. To her credit, she flatted in the same place. And there was some interpretive monotony: Songs sounded too much the same.

But so what? Lori Guilbeau is a winning and rare singer, a talent to hail.

And one of the best things about the afternoon was that Horne was there, looking vital. She made some remarks to the audience. Her speaking voice sounded so good, I felt she could have sung. <

ArtsAGENDA Exhibition Openings

Art Fairs

Abrons Art Center: Jane Benson: “The Splits.”

The Armory Show: The Armory Show - Contem-

Opens March 6, 466 Grand St., 212-598-0400.

Affirmation Arts: Meghan Boody: “The Lighthouse Project II: Visitation.” Opens March 1, 523 W. 37th St., 212-925-0092.

Axelle Fine Arts Galerie Soho: Michel Delacroix: “Michel Delacroix at 78: The Paris of My Dreams.” Opens Feb. 26, 472 W. Broadway, 212-226-2262.

Blue Mountain Gallery: Erica Child Prud’homme: “Earth/Water.” Opens March 1, 530 W. 25th St., 4th Fl., 646-486-4730.

Bruce Silverstein Gallery: Frederick Sommer: “Choice & Chance Structure Art & Nature.”

Opens Feb. 24, 529 W. 20th St., 3rd Fl., 646695-2900.

Easy Street Gallery: David Colton: “Get Bent!”

Opens Feb. 26, 155 Grand St., Brooklyn, 718388-8257.

Edwynn Houk Gallery: Sebastiaan Bremer. Opens March 3, 745 5th Ave., 212-750-7070.

Forum Gallery: Robert Cottingham: “The Empire Theater.” Opens Feb. 24, 730 5th Ave., 212355-4545.

Hauser & Wirth: Berlinde De Bruyckere: “Into OneAnother to P.P.P.” Opens March 1, 32 E. 69th St., 212-794-4070.

Hirschl & Adler Modern: John Moore: “Elements.”

Opens Feb. 24, 730 5th Ave., 212-535-8810.

Ivy Brown Gallery: Tim Groen: “Captions.” Opens March 3, 675 Hudson St., 4th Fl., 212-925-1111.

June Kelly Gallery: Joyce Melander-Dayton: “Extravagant Constructions.” Opens Feb. 25, 166 Mercer St., 212-226-1660.

Laurence Miller Gallery: Bruce Wrighton: “At Home.” Opens March 3, 20 W. 57th St., 212397-3930.

Lesley Heller Workspace: Daniel Wiener: “Making Is Thinking.” Opens March 2. “The Incipient Image.” Opens March 2. Justin Amrhein, Scott Campbell & Sarah Hotchkiss: “Resource.”

Opens March 2, 54 Orchard St., 212-410-6120.

Magnan Metz Gallery: Duke Riley: “Two Riparian Tales of Undoing.” Opens Feb. 26, 521 W. 26th St., 212-244-2344.

Milton J. Weill Art Gallery: Yael Ben-Zion: “5683 miles away.” Opens March 2, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500.

Morgan Lehman: Jaq Chartier: “Slow Color.” Opens Feb. 24, 535 W. 22nd St., 212-268-6699.

Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery: Robert Barry, Peer Bode, Nikolas Gambaroff, Raymond Hains & Ryan Sullivan. Opens Feb. 25, 526 W. 26th St., No. 213, 212-243-3335.

Purumé Gallery: “Landscape Re-Imagined.” Opens March 2, 11 E. 13th St., 212-206-0411.

Rick Wester Fine Art: Sandi Haber Fifield: “Between Planting & Picking.” Opens March 3, 511 W. 25th St., Ste. 205, 212-255-5560.

Salmagundi Club: Georgette Sinclair & Alyce Peifer.

Opens March 4, 47 5th Ave., 212-255-7740.

Sidney Mishkin Gallery: “Spirit Rock, Sacred Mountain: A Chinese View of Nature.” Opens Feb. 25, 135 E. 22nd St., 646-660-6652.

Soho20 Gallery Chelsea: Elizabeth Bisbing: “writ small.” Opens March 1, 547 W. 27th St., Ste. 301, 212-367-8994.

St. Peter’s Church: Michael Gold: “An Exhibition of Photographs.” Opens March 3, 619 Lexington Ave., 212-935-2200.

Stephen Haller Gallery: Gregory Johnston: “XV.” Opens Feb. 24, 542 W. 26th St., 212-741-7777.

Stux Gallery: Ciria: “The Execution of the Soul.”

Opens Feb. 24, 530 W. 25th St., 212-352-1600.

Susan Eley Fine Art: Allison Green: “Deeply

porary on Pier 94 is dedicated to premiering new works by living artists, while the Armory Show - Modern on Pier 92 features a selection of renowned galleries specializing in historically significant modern & secondary market material. March 3–6, Piers 92 & 94, West 55th Street & 12th Avenue, 212-645-6440, thearmoryshow.com; 12, $10+.

Fountain Art Fair: Fountain returns for its sixth year to exhibit avant-garde artwork in New York during Armory Arts Week. This year’s presentation includes a collaborative installation by some of the country’s top street artists.

March 3–6, Pier 66 Maritime, West 26th Street & 12th Avenue, fountainexhibit.com; 12–7, $10.

Independent: The Independent, now in its second year, features more than 40 international participants presenting solo & group exhibitions as well as collaborative works. March 3–6, 548 W. 22nd St., independentnewyork.com; times vary, free.

PooL Art Fair: Frère Independent presents its eighth edition of the PooL Art Fair New York.

The fair, a prominent supporter of independent artists, features national & international artists, art collectives, curators & selected galleries, using hotel guest rooms as exhibition spaces.

March 4-6, Gershwin Hotel, 7 E. 27th St., 212-604-0519, poolartfair.com; 3-10, $10.

PULSE: The PULSE Contemporary Art Fair provides approximately 50 contemporary art galleries with the chance to present new works to a growing audience of collectors, art professionals & art lovers. March 3-6, Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., 212-255-2327, pulse-art.com; times vary, $12+.

Red Dot Art Fair: The Red Dot Art Fair creates a venue for art galleries seeking to present work.

This year brings approximately 50 international modern & contemporary galleries to present Rooted.” Opens March 2, 46 W. 90th St., 2nd Fl., 917-952-7641.

Tyler Rollins Fine Art: Agus Suwage. Opens March 3, 529 W. 20th St., 10W, 212-229-9100.

Visual Arts Gallery: “Exit.” Opens Feb. 25, 601 W. 26th St., 15th Fl., 212-725-3587.

Exhibition Closings A.I.R. Gallery: Megan Biddle, Emily Harris & Bea-

trice Wolert: “Impermanent Fixtures.” Ends Feb. 27. Elisabeth Munro Smith: “Going From Here to There.” Ends Feb. 27, 111 Front St. #228, Brooklyn, 212-255-6651.

Ameringer|McEnery|Yohe: Michael Reafsnyder: “Feast.” Ends March 5, 525 W. 22nd St., 212445-0051.

Andrea Rosen Gallery: “Flemish Masters, That’s Life.” Ends March 5. Gillian Carnegie. Ends March 5, 525 W. 24th St., 212-627-6000.

The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park: “Heritage of Innovation: Celebrating Black History Month.”

Ends Feb. 28, Fifth Avenue & East 64th Street, 3rd Fl., 212-360-8163.

Art Gallery: “60 from the ’60s.” Ends Feb. 28, 1285 6th Ave., no phone.

Atlantic Gallery: “Responsive Readings: Art & Con(text).” Ends Feb. 25, 135 W. 29th St., Ste. 601, 212-219-3183.

Bernarducci Meisel Gallery: Gus Heinze: “A Ten Year Survey: 2001-2010.” Ends Feb. 26. Ber-

Work by Bob Clyatt at the PooL Art Fair 2010. paintings, photography, sculpture & works on paper in Red Dot’s renovated Soho location.

March 3–6, 82 Mercer St., 917-273-8621, reddotfair.com; 11 a.m., $10.

SCOPE: SCOPE New York unites galleries, artists & curators in a program of solo & thematic group shows presented alongside museumquality exhibitions, collector tours, screenings & special events. March 2–6, 320 West St. (West Side Highway), 212-268-1522; scopeart.com; 12, $10+.

SITE Fest: Arts in Bushwick presents SITE Fest ’11, the third-annual interdisciplinary event held in the burgeoning arts scene of Bushwick, Brooklyn. This year’s SITE features performance artists, dancers & musicians presenting nardo Torrens: “Paintings of Melania & Jesi.”

Ends Feb. 26, 37 W. 57th St., 212-593-3757.

Blue Mountain Gallery: Barbara Segal: “On Gardiner’s Bay - Paintings & Drawings.” Ends Feb. 26, 530 W. 25th St., 4th Fl., 646-486-4730.

Chashama 461 Gallery: Daina Shobrys: “Plastic Flowers.” Ends Feb. 26, 461 W. 126th St., 212391-8151.

David Findlay Jr. Fine Art: Chuang Che: “The Dream Cycle Series.” Ends Feb. 26, 41 E. 57th St., 11th Fl., 212-486-7660.

David Zwirner: Philip-Lorca Dicorcia: “Eleven.”

Ends March 5, 525 W. 19th St., 212-517-8677.

Denise Bibro Fine Art: Carol Jacobsen: “Mistrial.”

Ends March 5. “Sinister Play.” Ends March 5, 529 W. 20th St., #4W, 212-647-7030.

Edwynn Houk Gallery: “Process.” Ends Feb. 26, 745 5th Ave., 212-750-7070.

Gagosian Gallery: Ellen Gallagher. Ends Feb. 26, 555 W. 24th St., 212-741-1111.

George Billis Gallery: Tom Gregg. Ends March 5, 521 W. 26th St., B1, 212-645-2621.

Icosahedron Gallery: Reanna Francis: “Revitalization.” Ends Feb. 25. “The Golden Age.” Ends Feb. 25, 606 W. 26th St., 212-966-3897.

Keith de Lellis Gallery: Flip Schulke: “Witness to Our Times - Masterworks of Photojournalism.”

Ends Feb. 26, 1045 Madison Ave. #3, 212-3271482.

Laurence Miller Gallery: Ray K. Metzker: “Intimations.” Ends Feb. 26, 20 W. 57th St., 212-397-

in a collaborative environment. March 5 & 6, locations vary, Bushwick, Brooklyn, artsinbushwick.org; times vary, $5+.

Verge: Verge returns to New York during Armory Week with the inaugural Art Brooklyn, a historic, first-ever art fair to take place in multiple locations throughout DUMBO. The fair intends to promote Brooklyn as a cultural trendsetter & to present the best works by living artists. March 3–6, DUMBO, Brooklyn, locations vary, brooklynartfair.com; 12, free.

VOLTA NY: Conceived by art critic & fair director Amanda Coulson, VOLTA NY is an invitational, tightly focused boutique show of solo artists’ projects. March 3–6, 7W, 7 W. 34th St., 11th Fl., ny.voltashow.com; times vary, $10+.

3930.

Marlborough Gallery: Juan Navarro Baldeweg:

“Pintar, pintar.” Ends Feb. 26. Steven Siegel: “Biography.” Ends Feb. 26, 545 W. 25th St., 212-463-8634.

Marvelli Gallery: John Finneran: “If I Had My Way In This Wicked World.” Ends Feb. 26, 526 W. 26th St., 2nd Fl., 212-627-3363.

Michael Mut Gallery: “In Love We Trust.” Ends March 5, 97 Ave. C, 212-677-7868.

Milton J. Weill Art Gallery: David Akiba: “In Plain Sight.” Ends Feb. 28, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500.

Open Source Gallery: Allison Read Smith: “Thugs & Others.” Ends Feb. 28, 255 17th St., Brooklyn, 718-877-5712.

The Pace Gallery: Jennifer Bartlett. Ends Feb. 26, 545 W. 22nd St., 212-989-4258.

Pace/MacGill Gallery: “Hai Bo.” Ends Feb. 26, 32 E. 57th St., 212-759-7999.

Pandemic Gallery: “Vivid Summit.” Ends March 6, 37 Broadway, Brooklyn, 917-727-3466.

Paul Kasmin Gallery: Kenny Scharf: “Naturafutura.”

Ends Feb. 26, 293 10th Ave., 212-563-4474.

Phoenix Gallery: Winn Rea: “Topo 2: Displacement.” Ends Feb. 26. Pamela Flynn: “Barriers.”

Ends Feb. 26, 210 11th Ave., 212-226-8711.

Printed Matter: “After Reasonable Research.” Ends Feb. 26, 195 10th Ave., 212-925-0325.

Purumé Gallery: “Renewal.” Ends Feb. 26, 11 E. 13th St., 212-206-0411.

February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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ArtsAGENDA

Detail from a river baptism in Pibel, Neb., 1913, by an unknown photographer at the International Center of Photography. rhv fine art: James Cullinane. Ends Feb. 27, 683

6th Ave., Brooklyn, 718-473-0819.

Salmagundi Club: “The Eternal Landscape Exhibition.” Ends Feb. 25. “Art About Art.” Ends Feb. 25, 47 5th Ave., 212-255-7740.

Salomon Contemporary: Michelle Stuart: “Works from the 1960s to the Present.” Ends Feb. 26, 526 W. 26th St., #519, 212-727-0607.

Soho Photo Gallery: “Small Works.” Ends Feb. 26, 15 White St., 212-226-8571.

Soho20 Gallery Chelsea: Elaine Show: “Attraction & Reaction.” Ends Feb. 26, 547 W. 27th St., Ste. 301, 212-367-8994.

Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects: “Pairings: Gandy Brodie/Bob Thompson - The Ecstasy of Influence.” Ends Feb. 28, 24 E. 73rd St., #2F, 917-861-7312.

Sue Scott Gallery: Katy Heinlein, Sheila Pepe & Halsey Rodman: “A Room, in Three Movements.” Ends Feb. 27, 1 Rivington St., 212-3588767.

Tyler Rollins Fine Art: Tracey Moffatt: “Still & Moving.” Ends Feb. 26, 529 W. 20th St., 10W, 212-229-9100.

Museums American Folk Art Museum: “Perspectives: Forming

the Figure.” Ends Aug. 21. “Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum.” Ends Oct. 16, 45 W. 53rd St., 212-265-1040.

American Museum of Natural History: “Brain: The Inside Story.” Ends Aug. 15, Central Park West at West 79th Street, 212-769-5100.

Asia Society & Museum: “A Prince’s Manuscript Unbound: Muhammad Juki’s ‘Shahnamah.’” Ends May 1. “A Longing for Luxury.” Ends Sept. 11, 725 Park Ave., 212-288-6400.

Austrian Cultural Forum: “Alpine Desire.” Ends May 8, 11 E. 52nd St., 212-319-5300.

Bronx Museum: “Stargazers: Elizabeth Catlett in Conversation With 21 Contemporary Artists.”

Ends May 29. Alexandre Arrechea. Ends June 6, 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, 718-681-6000.

Brooklyn Historical Society: “Home Base: Memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.”

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City Arts | www.cityartsnyc.com

Ends Apr. 24. “It Happened in Brooklyn.”

Ongoing, 128 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn, 718222-4111.

Brooklyn Museum: “reOrder: An Architectural Environment by Situ Studio.” March 4-Jan. 15.

“Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera.” Ends Apr. 10. “Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains.”

Ends May 15. Sam Taylor-Wood: “Ghosts.”

Ends Aug. 14. “Lorna Simpson: Gathered.”

Ends Aug. 21, 200 Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn, 718-638-5000.

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum: “Color Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay.”

March 18-June 5. “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels.” Ends June 5, 2 E. 91st St., 212-849-8400.

Frick Collection: “Rembrandt & His School: Masterworks from the Frick & Lugt Collections.”

Ends May 15, 1 E. 70th St., 212-288-0700.

International Center of Photography: “Wang Qingsong: When Worlds Collide.” Ends May 8.

“Jasper, Texas: The Community Photographs of Alonzo Jordan.” Ends May 8. “Take Me to the Water: Photographs of River Baptisms.” Ends May 8. “The Mexican Suitcase: Rediscovered Spanish Civil War Negatives by Capa, Chim & Taro.” Ends May 8, 1133 6th Ave., 212-8570000.

Japan Society: “Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven & Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art.” March 18-June 12, 333 E. 47th St., 212-832-1155.

Jewish Museum: “Houdini: Art & Magic.” Ends March 27. “The Line & the Circle: Video by Sharone Lifschitz.” Ends Aug. 21, 1109 5th Ave., 212-423-3200.

Merchant’s House Museum: “19th-Century Valentines: Confections of Affection.” Ends Feb. 28, 29 E. 4th St., 212-777-1089.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: “The Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel.” Ends Apr. 3. “Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand.” Ends Apr. 10. “Our Future Is in the Air: Photographs from the 1910s.” Ends Apr. 10. “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City.” Ends May 1.

“Cézanne’s Card Players.” Ends May 8. “Katrin Sigurdardottir at the Met.” Ends May 30. “Rugs

& Ritual in Tibetan Buddhism.” Ends June 26.

“Haremhab, The General Who Became King.”

Ends July 4. “Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York.” Ends July 4, 1000 5th Ave., 212-535-7710.

Montclair Art Museum: “Warhol & Cars: American Icons.” March 6-June 19. “Engaging with Nature: American & Native American Artists (A.D. 1200-2004).” May 16-Sept. 25. “Will Barnet: A Centennial Celebration.” Ends July 17. “Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers.” Ends July 17. “What Is Portraiture?” Ends Nov. 4, 3 S. Mountain Ave., Montclair, N.J., 973-746-5555.

The Morgan Library & Museum: “Mannerism & Modernism: The Kasper Collection of Drawings & Photographs.” Ends May 1. “The Changing Face of William Shakespeare.” Ends May 1. “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives.” Ends May 22, 225 Madison Ave., 212-685-0008.

El Museo del Barrio: “Luis Camnitzer.” Ends May 29, 1230 5th Ave., 212-831-7272.

Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology: “Japan Fashion Now.” Ends Apr. 2. “His & Hers.”

Ends May 10, Seventh Avenue at West 27th Street, 212-217-4558.

Museum of American Finance: “America’s First IPO.” Ends March. “Scandal! Financial Crime, Chicanery & Corruption That Rocked America.” Apr. 29-Oct. 29, 48 Wall St., 212-908-4110.

Museum of Arts & Design: “Think Again: New Latin American Jewelry.” Ends Feb. 27. Patrick Jouin: “Design & Gesture.” Ends Apr. 17. “The Global Africa Project.” Ends May 15, 2 Columbus Cir., 212-299-7777.

Museum of Jewish Heritage: “Project Mah Jongg.”

Ends Feb. 27. “Last Folio: A Photographic Journey with Yuri Dojc.” Opens March 25. “Fire in My Heart: The Story of Hannah Senesh.”

Ends Aug. 7. “The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service.” Ends Sept. 5, 36 Battery Pl., 646-4374200.

Museum of Modern Art: “Weimar Cinema, 19191933: Daydreams & Nightmares.” Ends March 7. “Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures.” Ends March 21. “Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography.” Ends Apr. 4. “Paula Hayes, Nocturne of the Limax maximus.” Ends Apr. 18. “On to Pop.” Ends Apr. 25. “Abstract Expressionist New York.” Ends Apr. 25. “Counter Space: Design & the Modern Kitchen.” Ends May 2.

“Contemporary Art from the Collection.” Ends May 9. “Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914.” Ends June 6. “Looking at Music 3.0.” Ends June 6, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9400.

Museum of the City of New York: “Denys Wortman Rediscovered: Drawings for the World-Telegram & Sun, 1930-1953.” Ends March 20. “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment.” Ends May 1, 1220 5th Ave., 212-534-1672.

New Museum: “Museum as Hub: The Accords.”

Ends May 1. “George Condo: Mental States.”

Ends May 8. “Lynda Benglis.” Ends June 19, 235 Bowery, 212-219-1222.

New York Public Library: “Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.” Ends Feb. 27. “Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love & Fallout.” Ends Apr. 17, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Print Gallery & Stokes Gallery, East 42nd Street & Fifth Avenue, 917-275-6975.

Noguchi Museum: “On Becoming An Artist: Isamu Noguchi & His Contemporaries, 1922-1960.”

Ends Apr. 24, 33rd Road at Vernon Boulevard, Queens, 718-721-2308.

Rubin Museum of Art: “Embodying the Holy.” Ends March 7. “Grain of Emptiness.” Ends Apr. 11.

“The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting.”

Ends May 23. “Body Language: The Yogis of

India & Nepal.” Ends July 4, 150 W. 17th St., 212-620-5000.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: “The Deutsche Bank Series at the Guggenheim: Found in Translation.” Ends May 1. “The Great Upheaval: Modern Art from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910-1918.” Ends June 1. “Kandinsky at the Bauhaus, 1922-1933.” Ongoing, 1071 5th Ave., 212-423-3500.

Studio Museum: “VideoStudio: Changing Same.”

Ends March 13. “The Production of Space.”

Ends March 13. “StudioSound: Matana Roberts.” Ends March 13. “Harlem Postcards: Fall/ Winter 2010-11.” Ends March 13. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: “Any Number of Preoccupations.”

Ends March 13. Mark Bradford: “Alphabet.”

Ends March 13, 144 W. 125th St., 212-864-4500.

Whitney Museum of American Art: Karthik Pandian: “Unearth.” Ends March 27. “Modern Life: Edward Hopper & His Time.” Ends Apr. 10.

Slater Bradley & Ed Lachman: “Shadow.” Ends Apr. 10. “Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection.” Ends May 1, 945 Madison Ave., 212-570-3600.

Auctions Christie’s: Christie’s Interiors. March 1 & 2, 10

a.m. & 2. Fine American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture. March 3, 10 a.m. Impressionist & Modern. March 9, 10 a.m., 20 Rockefeller Plz., 212-636-2000.

Doyle New York: The Estate of Lena Horne. Feb. 23, 10 a.m. Doyle at Home. March 9, 10 a.m., 175 E. 87th St., 212-427-2730.

ROGALLERY.com: Fine art buyers & sellers in online live art auctions. 800-888-1063, www.rogallery. com.

Swann Auction Galleries: Industry & Innovation: A Century of American Prints. March 3, 10:30 a.m., 104 E. 25th St., 212-254-4710.

Art Events The Roses: Paul Kasmin Gallery, in conjunction

with New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation & the Fund for the Park Avenue Sculpture Committee, announces Will Ryman’s “The Roses,” a new site-specific installation of towering rose blossoms. Ends May 31, Park Avenue Mall betw. East 57th & East 67th Streets, paulkasmingallery.com.

Santos Party House: Santos debuts “Somebody Arted in Here!,” an ongoing rotation of diverse art installations, with a kickoff night featuring Peter Doig, Lizzi Bougatsos & Rita Ackermann.

Feb. 26, 96 Lafayette St., 212-584-5492; 11.

Upper East Side Gallery Tour: Take in a guided tour of the week’s top seven art exhibits in the upscale Upper East Side galleries. Feb. 26, 1018 Madison Ave., 212-946-1548, nygallerytours.com; 1, $20.

West Village/Soho Art Gallery Tour: The guided tour visits the week’s top seven gallery exhibits in two adjoining downtown neighborhoods. March 5, 71 Morton St., 212-946-1548, nygallerytours. com; 1, $20.

Music & Opera Abrons Art Center: In conjunction with Jane Ben-

son’s “The Splits” exhibition, musicians will play an original score by Matt Schickele on cleaved instruments. Feb. 27, 466 Grand St., 212-5980400; 7, free.

Alice Tully Hall: New York Choral Society presents Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle.” Feb. 25, 1941 Broadway, 212-247-3878; 8, $35+.

Avery Fisher Hall: Paavo Järvi conducts the New

York Philharmonic in the New York premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s “Aditus,” Britten’s Violin Concerto & Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Feb. 24-26 & March 1, 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212875-5656; times vary, $35+.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts: The United States Military Academy Band, the U.S. Army’s oldest active band, performs. Feb. 27, Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Rd., Brooklyn, 718-951-4500; 2, free.

Elebash Recital Hall: Music in Midtown continues its spring season with “Chamber Music on Fifth II,” featuring chamber players enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Feb. 24, 365 5th Ave., 212-868-4444; 1, $8.

Gershwin Hotel: Director Jessica Sibelman & the New York Chamber Virtuosi present “Love Bitten,” an intimate concert featuring the music of Schubert, Rossini, Saint-Saëns & more, as part of the “Soiree Series.” Feb. 23, 7 E. 27th St., 212545-8000; 8, $10+.

Immanuel Lutheran Church: ARTEK performs “Rosenmüller Cantatas I,” Feb. 23, 122 E. 88th St., 212-967-9157; 1:15, free.

Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church: Pianist Victoria Mushkatkol performs works by Liszt & Schubert as part of the “Music on Madison!” series. March 6, 921 Madison Ave., 212-2888920; 3, $10+.

Merkin Concert Hall: As part of the New Sounds Live series, the eight-piece electric chamber ensemble Newspeak performs a commissioned work by Darcy James Argue, while Argue’s own Secret Society performs new works by pianist & composer Vijay Iyer, composer Nicole Lizée & David T. Little, Newspeak’s founder. Feb. 24,

Kaufman Center, 129 W. 67th St., 212-501-3300; 7:30, $25.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Violinist Itzhak Perlman performs with members of the Perlman Music Program. Feb. 24, 1000 5th Ave., 212535-7710; 7, $70.

Second Presbyterian Church: The Empire Viols ensemble performs music from the eldest sons of Johann Sebastian Bach. March 4, West 96th Street & Central Park West, 212-749-1700; 8, $10.

Stern Auditorium: Musica Sacra performs Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.” Feb. 23, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 8, $12.50+.

Stern Auditorium: Music director Osmo Vänskä & the Minnesota Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall with a program featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major with Lisa Batiashvili & Sibelius’s Symphony No. 6 in D Minor & Symphony No. 7 in C Major. Feb. 28, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 8, $16.50+.

St. Ignatius of Antioch Church: The Canticum Novum Singers present an all-Bach concert. Feb. 26, West End Avenue at West 87th Street, 212279-4200; 8, $15+.

Weill Recital Hall: Pianist & composer Gregg Kallor performs. Feb. 23, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 8, $15+.

Yale Club of New York: The new music ensemble loadbang performs works by Yale composers.

Feb. 23, 50 Vanderbilt Ave., 212-716-2100; 7, free.

Zankel Hall: Singer & pianist Michael Feinstein kicks off his annual three-part series “Standard Time with Michael Feinstein.” Feb. 23, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 7:30, $90+.

Zankel Hall: Italian early music ensemble Il Giardino Armonico & conductor Giovanni

Out of Town EVENTS & ATTRACTIONS ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM: The Aldrich

presents “Love Letters,” the first solo exhibition by New York City artist Hope Gangloff.

Her portraits seek to intensify the subject’s defining features, turning them from subject of a painting to an object of love. Ends June 5, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, Conn., 203-4384519, aldrichart.org.

BRUCE MUSEUM: The Bruce presents, “Cindy Sherman: Works from Friends of the Bruce Museum,” featuring approximately 30 works that include large-scale black-&-white & color photographs. Ends April 23, 1 Museum Dr., Greenwich, Conn., 203-869-0376, www. brucemuseum.org.

FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB ART CENTER: “150 Years Later: New Photography from Tina Barney, Tim Davis & Katherine Newbegin” presents the commissioned work of three renowned photographers illustrating the people, environment & hidden side of life at Vassar. Ends March 27, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 845-437-5237, fllac.vassar.edu.

MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUM: Montclair presents “Will Barnet: A Centennial Celebration.” Barnet’s recent works build on his Native-Americaninspired pieces from the 1950s. Fusing organic & geometric forms with seamless space, Barnet uses color & feeling to demonstrate new perspectives as he nears 100 years of age. Ends July 17, 3 S. Mountain Ave., Montclair, N.J., 973-746-5555, montclair-art.com.

NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM: “Elwood’s World: The Art & Animations of Elwood H. Smith” showcases Smith’s high-grade comical illustra-

tions. This is the first in a series of exhibitions honoring renowned contemporary illustrators.

Ends May 15, 9 Rte. 183, Stockbridge, Mass., 413-298-4100, nrm.org.

STERLING & FRANCINE CLARK ART INSTITUTE: The Clark Art Institute presents “Eye to Eye: European Portraits 1450-1850,” a 30-piece collection that exhibits European portraiture across five centuries. Ends March 27, 225 South St., Williamstown, Mass.,413-4582303, clarkart.edu.

WADSWORTH ATHENEUM: Part II of III of “The Upholstered Woman: Women’s Fashions of the 1870s & 1880s” focuses on the period of 1880-1885, when women’s clothing was an important part of establishing social & economic status. Ends March 20. “Monet’s Water Lilies: An Artist’s Obsession” displays 10 paintings from private & public collections that present Monet’s final period of development in his depiction of Japanese-inspired gardens. Ends June 12, 600 Main St., Hartford, Conn., 860-278-2670, wadsworthatheneum.org.

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART: After spending six years living & working in Japan as a ceramicist, Rebecca Salter returned to England & took up drawing, woodblock printing & painting. An unconventional retrospective, “‘into the light of things’: Rebecca Salter, works 1981-2010” journeys through Salter’s work & creates a dialogue between Western & Japanese aesthetics, artistic practice & architecture.

Ends May 1, 1080 Chapel St.‚ New Haven‚ Conn., 203-432-2800, ycba.yale.edu.

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ArtsAGENDA

Tokyo Bound

Antonini perform works by Castello, Merula, Buonamente, Legrenzi, Galuppi & Vivaldi. Feb. 24, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 7:30, $58+.

Zankel Hall: Carnegie Hall presents a concert by Nassima, a vocalist who specializes in the Arab Andalusian music of Algeria. Feb. 25, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 10, $38+.

Zankel Hall: Shinik Hahm conducts the Yale Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra. Feb. 28, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 7:30, $15+.

Celebrate spring in Japan’s cosmopolitan capital

By C. Eichna Getting cabin fever as this particularly harsh winter winds to a close? There are few better ways to shake those seasonal blues than a trip to Tokyo, where year-round cultural staples are supplemented by the warmth of spring and bursting cherry blossoms.

And, whether it’s for business or fun, getting to and from Tokyo is now easier than ever. Beginning Feb. 18, American Airlines began flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Haneda is just 30 minutes from downtown Tokyo, as opposed to the usual hour and a half from Narita International Airport. The current departure time for Flight 135 from JFK Terminal 8 is at 6:10 p.m.

There’s no way around the time change, which puts New Yorkers 14 hours ahead of their natural clocks, but Tokyo’s 24-hour schedule of diversions can help ease the transition for weary travelers.

If you arrive out of synch and ready for activity at 4 a.m., find your way to Tsukiji Central Fish Market, where all manner of sea creatures are being flung, chopped, filleted, stacked and packaged in the wee hours of the morning. Although you must stay alert for speeding freight vehicles and frantic fishmongers, the spectacle and freshest sushi you’ll ever have is worth the ungodly hour, even if you aren’t jet lagged. A word of advice: leave your Jimmy Choos at the hotel, unless you want them anointed with tuna innards.

Speaking of fancy footwear, New Yorkers will feel right at home browsing Japan’s fashionable shopping district, Ginza, which offers all the high-end couture you’d expect from this cosmopolitan city. Even if the latest Dior is out of your budget, Japanese department stores like Matsuya are worth checking out for their avant-garde houseware offerings and classic kimono shops. Fun gifts, playthings and tchotchkes can also be found at Hakuhinkan Toy Park, sure to make even the most cranky and cynical New Yorker crack a smile.

No trip to Japan would be complete without multiple samplings of ramen, the noodle soup that most Americans associate with stu-

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dent budgets and Styrofoam containers. Ramen joints in Tokyo can be found tucked into narrow storefronts throughout the city, and it’s hard to find a bad bowl: what could possibly go wrong when comingling pork, egg, seaweed, noodles and a rich meaty broth? Check out one of the original Ippudos, which can be no-fuss comfortable lunch spots—a far cry from the sleek, design-conscious outpost in the East Village. The Tonkotsu, or original pork broth ramen, is a no-fail order.

To get a sense of Tokyo’s ancient and war-torn history, pay a visit to the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida River neighborhood.

Incredibly detailed dioramas and beautiful artifacts give visitors a vivid glimpse of the past.

Pretend you’re Japanese nobility by climbing into a replica kago, one of those old-style cabs positioned atop long poles that were toted around the city by a pair of servants.

Late March and early April are ideal times to visit Tokyo and enjoy hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. Japanese celebrate these iconic signs of spring around the clock, often with a beer (or four) in hand. Ideal viewing spots include Ueno Park, where there are more than 1,000 trees in blossom, and Sumida Park, along the eponymous river.

The end of March also marks the beginning of another major Japanese season: baseball.

Yes, Americans invented the game, but the Japanese perfected the art of cheering. Tickets to see Yomiuri Giants—often called the Yankees of Japanese baseball (Hideki Matsui is in fact a former player)—are fairly affordable.

Come for the sport, stay for the stadium-wide coordinated chants that fans have customized for each player.

Finally, if you are feeling a little displaced, à la Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation, get yourself gussied up and head to the New York Grill at the Park Hyatt hotel in Shinjuku.

Scenes from the 2003 Sofia Coppola film, starring Bill Murray, were shot at the 52ndfloor bar, where floor-to-ceiling windows offer sweeping views of Tokyo’s twinkling lights, glistening skyscrapers and pulsing traffic. A couple of stiff drinks are the perfect way to cap your visit and ensure a good night’s rest before your flight home.

The most convenient way home will be on American Airline’s return flight from Haneda to JFK. American is serving the new route with 247-seat Boeing 777 aircraft, which can carry 16 passengers in First Class, 37 in Business Class, and 194 in Economy Class.

Jazz Jazz Gallery: Fernando Otero Sextet. Feb. 24.

Gregg August. Feb. 25. Shane Endsley’s Music Band CD release concert. Feb. 26, 290 Hudson St., 212-242-1063; times vary, $10+.

Jazz Standard: Pianist Fred Hersch performs shortly after the release of his new live album, “Alone at the Vanguard.” March 2-6, 116 E. 27th St., 212576-2232; times vary, $25+.

Miles Café: The Jane Stuart Trio performs. March 3, 212 E. 52nd St., 212-371-7657; times vary, $17+.

Miller Theatre: Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt performs with saxophonist Jimmy Greene, pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Lewis Nash & bassist Peter Washington as part of the season’s jazz series.

Feb. 26, Philosophy Hall at Columbia University, 212-854-7799; 8, $25.

Smoke: David Berkman Quintet. Feb. 25 & 26, 2751 Broadway, 212-864-6662; times vary, $30.

The Triad Theatre: Vocalist Dorothy Leigh & pianist Alva Nelson perform. March 4, 158 W. 72nd St., 800-838-3006; 9:30, $10+.

University of the Streets: The Dom Minasi String Quartet performs. Feb. 27, 130 E. 7th St., 212254-9300; 8, $10.

Dance Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre: ASDT presents the

benefit gala “White Night - a Movable Performance Soiree.” The black-&-white affair includes a performance previewing Selwyn’s developing work “Five Minutes,” video installation, a silent auction, gambling, cocktails, costume exhibits & more. Feb. 26, Space on White, 81 White St., 212-995-9446; 7, $100+.

American Dance Guild: Performance Festival 2011 offers five programs with work by 35 choreographers from around the globe, in addition to a tribute to dance legend Jane Dudley & choreographer Paul Sanasardo. Feb. 24-27, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 248 W. 60th St., 646-385-8493; times vary, $15+.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet: The company celebrates its 15 anniversary season in a program of contemporary dance. Ends Feb. 27, The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave., 212-242-0800; times vary, $10+.

Paul Taylor Dance Company: Paul Taylor presents two New York premieres & time-honored masterworks. Ends March 6, New York City Center, 130 W. 56th St., 212-581-1212; times vary, $10+.

Rude Mechs: The Austin-based ensemble presents “The Method Gun,” which explores the life & techniques of Stella Burden. March 2-5 & 8-12, Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., 212691-6500; times vary, $30.

SPLICE: Mana Kawamura presents “Pandora,” inspired by the myth of “Pandora’s Box,” while Makiko Tamura & the small apple co. perform “Order made-6-.” Feb 24-26, Dance New Amsterdam, 280 Broadway, 2nd Fl., 212-625-8369; 8, $12+.

Tango Buenos Aires: Tango Buenos Aires presents “Fuego Tango y Pasión,” a seductive journey through the history of modern tango. Feb. 26, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Walt

Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Rd., Brooklyn, 718-951-4500; 8, $36+.

Verdensteatret: The Norway-based company returns to New York City with “And All the Question Marks Started to Sing,” marking the inaugural event of FuturePerfect 2011, a new performance, art & technology initiative. Feb. 24-27, Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., 212-691-6500; times vary, $20.

Wind-Up Circus: Emily Faulkner’s latest work couples acrobatics with delicate movement. March 4-6, 12 & 13, Triskelion Arts’ Aldous Theater, 118 N. 11th St., Brooklyn, 718-599-3577; times vary, $10.

Works & Process: Choreographers Donald Byrd & Pam Tanowitz present their new works set to the music of composer John Zorn. Feb. 27 & 28, 1071 5th Ave., 212-423-3500; 7:30, $10+.

Theater Billy Elliot: This Tony-winning adaptation of the

2000 film chronicles a young British boy’s desire to dance ballet in a poverty-choked, coal-mining town. Open run, Imperial Theatre, 249 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200.

La Casa de Bernarda Alba: Tyrannical mother Bernarda Alba attempts to dominate her five unmarried daughters, all of whom harbor a secret passion for the same man. Ends May 27, Repertorio Español, 138 E. 27th St., 212-225-9999.

Chicago: The long-running revival of Kander & Ebb’s musical about sex, murder & celebrity continues to razzle-dazzle. Open run, Ambassador Theatre, 219 W. 49th St., 212-239-6200.

Company: The New York Philharmonic’s four staged performances of Stephen Sondheim’s musical star Stephen Colbert, Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose & Jim Walton. Apr. 7-9, Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212-875-5656.

Diary of a Madman: Geoffrey Rush stars in the adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s comic 1853 short story centered on the life of a minor civil servant in Russia. Ends March 12, BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St., 718-636-4129.

Driving Miss Daisy: James Earl Jones & Vanessa Redgrave star in Alfred Uhry’s play. Ends Apr. 9, Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200.

Fuerza Bruta - Look Up: A visual dance-rave, technoride, Latino walking-on-the-ceiling fiesta from Buenos Aires. Open run, Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E. 15th St., 212-239-2600.

Memphis - A New Musical: Set in the titular city during the segregated 1950s, this musical charts the romance between a white DJ & a black singer as rock & roll begins to emerge. Open run, Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., 212-239-6200.

Merchant of Venice: Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham reprises his role as Shylock in the Theatre for a New Audience’s production. Feb. 27-March 13, The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University, 3 Spruce St., 212-346-1589.

The Rover: Arts World Financial Center presents New York Classical Theatre’s production of Aphra Behn’s 17th-century feminist comedy in the panoramic space of the World Financial Center. March 2-20, One World Financial Center, 200 Liberty St., 212-945-0505.

Spider-Man - Turn Off the Dark: Julie Taymor directs while Bono & The Edge provide the score as the comic-book classic hits Broadway. Opens March 15, Foxwoods Theatre, 213 W. 42nd St., 877-250-2929.

Vieux Carré: The Wooster Group presents its version of Tennessee Williams’s play, set in a New Orleans boarding house in the 1930s. Ends March 13, Jerome Robbins Theater, 450 W. 37th St., 212-868-4444.

PainttheTOWN

By Amanda Gordon

The Frick Cleans Up

All photos Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg News

At top: Chelsea Clinton and Mark Mevinsky; Chinese supermodel Du Juan. Below: Van Cleef & Arpels creative director Nicholas Bos with Emmanuell Alt of French Vogue and exhibit designer Patrick Jouin.

Cate The Great The famous neck of Cate Blanchett looked especially regal in a yellow-gold serpent chain with rubies and sapphires, while Chelsea Clinton’s neck was bare (and her husband looked as if he hadn’t shaved).

The occasion was a Feb. 16 black-tie party for the exhibition Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels at the CooperHewitt National Design Museum.

In the wood-paneled foyer, waiters offered champagne, foie gras with pineapple and lobster spring rolls to guests.

The tall, Chinese supermodel Du Juan wore a necklace of diamonds shaped into flowers. “In Chinese, my name means azalea,” she said.

“I keep checking to make sure they haven’t fallen off,” said actor Piper Perabo of her Birds of Paradise earrings. She’ll next play a can-can dancer opposite Bruce Willis in the film Looper.

Standing near jewels worn by Marlene Dietrich, Kelly Rutherford of the Gossip Girl television series said her most prized jewelry is the plastic ring her son bought for her at Cozy Cuts.

Cate Blanchett, right, at a Feb. 16 event celebrating Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels.

Some celebrities need stylists; others need a good cleaning.

Rembrandt got the latter for his 1658 “Self-Portrait,” the results of which were unveiled Feb. 14 at the opening of Rembrandt and His School: Masterworks from the Frick and Lugt Collections.

The exhibition presents work from the collections of Henry Clay Frick, who was drawn to Rembrandt’s paintings, and Frederik Johannes Lugt, who favored the drawings.

The “Self-Portrait,” with multiple layers of varnish removed, has the spotlight in the Oval Room at The Frick Collection on Fifth Avenue.

“What’s different is the legibility of the background and the way the hat is much more clearly defined,” said Frick Director Anne Poulet of the portrait.

“You can now see all the nuances of light; the fabric, the hands and the face, they’re all glowing.”

Downstairs, visitors put their noses right up to the drawings—studies of At top: Catherine Jenkins, Metropolitan Museum a dog lying down, a woman having her of Art curator, Colin Bailey, Frick Collection ashair combed. sociate director and curator of Rembrandt and His “There is a simplicity to it,” said School and Charlotte Vignon, Frick Collection asJean-Marie Eveillard, a trustee at the sociate curator. Below: William Griswold, director Frick and a senior adviser to First Eagle of the Morgan Library & Museum, with Elizabeth Eveillard and Jean-Marie Eveillard.

Investment Management LLC. He and his wife, Elizabeth Eveillard, a consultant and former senior managing director at Bear Stearns & Co., are principal sponsors of the exhibition.

Some guests found something to be desired in the cleaned self-portrait. “I must say, he looks very old for a 52-year- old,” said Britt Tidelius, an art critic.

The Baroness The loafer-and-pumps crowd gathered on Feb. 15 at the Center for Fiction in Midtown to celebrate the patronage of an Italian baroness with an inspirational property near Florence.

Since 2000, Beatrice Monti della Corte, the widow of author Gregor von Rezzori, has welcomed writers and botanists to Santa Maddalena.

At the retreat, writers enjoy Italian cooking, scenic accommodations and the encouraging company of the baroness, now into her eighties and not inclined to waste time.

Zadie Smith.

“Don’t be stupid: You’re a great writer and you’ll write a great book,” Andrew Sean Greer remembered her saying when he was dithering about a new novel.

The event, hosted by Edmund White, included readings by such other past fellows as Michael Cunningham, Zadie Smith, Mary Gaitskill, Colm Toibin and Gary Shteyngart, who said he only learned to really bathe when confronted by his immense tub.

The evening attracted potential donors, super-agent Lynne Nesbit and author Wallace Shawn, who refused to disclose what book he was reading. “That’s too personal. I don’t tell people what I read,” he said.

Courtesy of Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News; agordon01@bloomberg.net February 23, 2011 | City Arts

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