| This week's arts briefs: The Mandinka Epic Opera Gala Chamber music Puccini's Turandot Bach's Lunch Hamlet revisited Symphony at Williamsport HUB-Robeson exhibits Bryce Jordan Center |
Other arts-related sites: College of Arts and Architecture
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The Center for the Performing Arts presents The Mandinka Epic at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus.
Tracing the proud history of the Mandinka tribe of West Africa during the 13th and 14th centuries, Les Ballet d'Afrique Noire tells of the struggle for power and the tribe's eventual immigration to the Americas.
Mandinka refers to a region and society located in West Africa and the common language they speak. The Mandinka (also know as Mandingo) date back to the Mali Empire (approximately 1075-1465 A.D.)
Prices are $25 for general admission; $20 for students; $15 for Penn State University Park students and $15 for ages 12 and younger.
For tickets or more information, call the Arts Ticket Center at (814) 863-0255 or (800) 278-7849.
It's a night at the opera with the Opera Gala at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, in the School of Music Recital Hall on the University Park campus.
The Opera Gala is a black-tie concert of opera arias and ensembles, sung this year by students and alumni of the opera program. The arias chosen represent operas from the 18th to the 20th centuries in four languages.
The concert is produced by Susan Boardman, associate professor of music and director of the Penn State Opera Theatre, and is accompanied by music directors John Ulrich and Ann Deighton.
Tickets are $4 and can be purchased at the door.
The School of Music will present three concerts featuring the chamber music of Richard Strauss on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. All concerts will be held in the School of Music Recital Hall on the University Park campus.
The Jan. 30 performance will feature Charles Youmans, assistant professor of music, who is an authority on Strauss. Youmans will deliver a short lecture followed by a performance featuring tenor Richard Kennedy, associate professor of music, with pianist Kathy Cinatl; and violinist James Lyon, associate professor of music, and pianist Timothy Shafer, associate professor of music. A reception will be held in the Recital Hall lobby after the concert.
The Feb. 1 concert will feature cellist Kim Cook, associate professor of music, and pianist Marylène Dosse, professor of music, with guest artist Janice Wilson, mezzo soprano.
The Feb. 3 concert will include performances by sopranos Susan Boardman, associate professor of music, and Mary Saunders, assistant professor of music, hornist Lisa Bontrager, associate professor of music, and pianist Ann Deighton.
Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. For more information, call (814) 865-0431.
The Center for the Performing Arts presents the Teatro Lirico D'Europa production of Turandot at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, in Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus.
Puccini's opera tells the story of a princess' icy reign and how it is melted with love. With more than 2,000 performances throughout Europe and Asia, the company embarks on its first American tour.
Prices are $38 and $28 for general admission; $33 and $25 for students; $28 and $20 for Penn State University Park students and $19 and $13 for ages 12 and younger.
For tickets or more information, call the Arts Ticket Center at (814) 863-0255 or (800) 278-7849.
The Penn State Chamber Singers, conducted by Douglas Miller, professor of music, will perform for the Bach's Lunch concert at 12:10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in the Helen Eakin Eisenhower Chapel on the University Park campus.
The ensemble consists of 15 singers who will share portions of their Celebration of Love repertoire at the Bach's Lunch concert.
Celebration of Love is a 14-year tradition which occurs annually near Valentine's Day. This year's Celebration of Love performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 12, in the lobby of Old Main.
The free, 20-minute Bach's Lunch concert is sponsored by the College of Arts and Architecture's School of Music and the University Lutheran Parish. After the concert, audience members may take their bag lunches to the Roy and Agnes Wilkinson Lounge in Eisenhower Chapel. Coffee and tea will be provided.
The Penn State School of Theatre presents a "contemporary classic" version of Shakespeare's timeless work, Hamlet. In this production, Hamlet's inner struggle for order is illustrated by two actors playing the two personality halves of Hamlet: one passionate, one logical -- both trying to find the balance in himself, and by doing so, restoring balance to the world around him.
Hamlet runs Feb. 16- 26 at the Pavilion Theatre on the University Park campus. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 7:30 p.m. weeknights, with a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday, Feb. 26. Tickets are available at The Bryce Jordan Center or Eisenhower Box Office. Discounted rates are available for group reservations. Call (814) 863-0255 for tickets and information.
The Williamsport Symphony Orchestra's mid-winter concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the Community Arts Center in Williamsport, part of Penn College.
Pianist Mark Wait will be the guest artist. Although he plays works by composers from Bach to the present day, he has specialized in music of the 20th century.
For tickets, call the Community Arts Center box office at (570) 326-2424.
The following exhibitions are in the HUB-Robeson Center, Robeson Gallery on the University Park campus. For more information, check the Web at http://www.psu.edu/HUB/Galleries/ or call the HUB and Kern Art Galleries at (814) 865-2563.
nPaul Robeson, photographs by Julius Lazarus, through May 14. The life and activism of the multi-talented performing artist, intellectual and social activist Paul Robeson as documented by Julius Lazarus, a photographer known for his recording of progressive social causes in the 1940s and '50s.
nLarry Jordan: pottery, through May 14.
nDori Lemeh: box art pieces, through May 14. Lemeh's childhood memories of Nigeria and Tennessee serve as the impetus for some of her autobiographical images.
nHelena Lukas Martemucci: photography, through March 19. Martemucci is a graduate student and was a Fulbright scholar in 1998-99 in the Czech Republic. While in Prague, she documented the efforts of the artistic community. She also photographed the many dance companies that visit Prague.
The following performers will appear at The Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus:
n Country female artist Reba McEntire will bring her highly successful "The Singer's Diary," to the center on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 and $55 and go on sale Saturday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m.
n MTV presents the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters at 7 p.m. on April 5 at The Bryce Jordan Center. Tickets are $30 and go on sale at 2 p.m. Jan. 29. Tickets can be purchased exclusively through http://www.mtv.com/ today and tomorrow.
Tickets can be purchased at the Jordan Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, selected Uni-Mart ticket outlets, Commonwealth campus and college ticket outlets or by calling (800) 863-3336 or (814) 865-5555.