June 21, 2023

Princeton Festival Presents Timeless Rossini Comic Opera

By Nancy Plum

Princeton Festival has arrived in the community, with recitals, lectures, and full concerts in a range of venues throughout town. Under the umbrella of Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the Festival has always included full operas in the performance schedule, and this past Friday night saw the opening of the first of the Festival’s two mainstage productions. Under a tented pavilion at Morven Museum & Garden, the Festival presented Gioachino Rossini’s farcical The Barber of Seville, recalling to the stage two singers who excelled last season and introducing new outstanding voices to Princet+on audiences.

Rossini’s 1816 Barber of Seville was part of an operatic tradition of composing for not much more than a handful of principal performers, with strong contrasting characters and complex and intricate ensemble numbers. Each of the singers in Princeton Festival’s production needed to be able to carry the stage and hold their own in duets and trios which could fall apart with one slip-up. Led by Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov and presented in Italian with English titles, this Barber of Seville was musically precise and clearly focused on physical comedy as well as top-notch singing. more

Princeton Festival Helps to Create “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical”; Cast Improvises the Audience’s Choice of “Phony Award” Winner

“BROADWAY’S NEXT HIT MUSICAL”: Princeton Festival has presented “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical.” George Luton was the music director and pianist for the improvised musical comedy, which played June 14 in a performance tent outside Morven Museum & Garden. Above, from left, are cast members Greg Triggs (Emcee), Deb Rabbai, Pat Swearingen, Heidi Gleichauf, and Annie Schiffmann. (Photo by Carolo Pascale)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

The Tony Awards were held earlier this month. As always, the cast and creative teams of several plays and musicals had hoped years of hard work — writing, design, rehearsals, and revision — would be rewarded with a Broadway opening, and the coveted trophy.

Broadway’s Next Hit Musical reverses that sequence of events. The improvised musical comedy, which Princeton Festival presented on June 14, begins with an awards ceremony, in which the audience votes (via applause) for their favorite imagined song and musical. In the second part, the winning show is staged. more

From Lady Gaga To Metallica

In a free performance at Nassau Park Pavilion August 19, Canadian violinist Judy Kang brings her Judy Kang Experience to the venue. With cellist Dan Kassel and drummer/guitarist Jake Valois, Kang is known for her work in pop, jazz, and hip hop as well as classical music.

PU Organist Eric Plutz Performs in Ocean Grove

Princeton University Organist Eric Plutz will kick off the guest organist recital series at the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove on Wednesday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m. It is a free concert.

At Princeton University, Plutz’s responsibilities include playing for weekly services at the University Chapel, academic ceremonies, and solo concerts, as well as accompanying the Chapel Choir in services and concerts. He coordinates the weekly Afternoon Concert Series at the chapel, is lecturer in music and instructor of organ at Princeton University, and maintains a private studio.  more

River Dance Festival Seeks Participants

Roxey Ballet will host the second annual River Dance Festival on August 18-20 at Mill Ballet in New Hope, Pa. Dancers, choreographers, and creators are invited to apply to participate in this three-day event featuring diverse talent from across the nation.

The mission of the festival is to give artists a platform to present their work with an emphasis on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) artists. The River Dance Festival provides artists with professional theatrical space to perform and rehearse, a high-quality video of their show, and get audience feedback. more

Cutting the Ribbon

On June 8, Canal Music Studios in Stockton opened its new location at 16 Bridge Street, where it moved from Lambertville after flooding from Hurricane Ida. The new studio offers more classes, more space, and new programming. From left are student Coco Brown, Stockton Council President Mike Mann, Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra Board President David DeFreese, guitar instructor George Bond, donor Dr. Rajani Walsh, founder Adrienne Walsh, and Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra Artistic Director Jessica Morel.

“Creative Collective Summer Exhibition” at Gourgaud Gallery

“FLOWERS FIELD”: This painting by Sasha  Seletskaya is part of the “Creative Collective Summer Exhibition,” on view July 3 through July 28 at Gourgaud Gallery in Cranbury. An opening reception is on Sunday, July 9 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Gourgaud Gallery, located in Town Hall, 23-A North Main Street in Cranbury, will host an art exhibit by members of the Creative Collective July 3 through July 28. The exhibit will feature a variety of mediums including oil painting, acrylic paintings, watercolor, and mixed media. An opening reception is on Sunday, July 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. more

“Aphasia Support Group Art Show” at Capital Health

On Tuesday, June 6, Capital Health held the opening of the “Aphasia Support Group Art Show” in the Investors Bank Art and Healing Gallery, located at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell in Pennington. The reception welcomed Aphasia Support Group members, their families, Capital Health providers, and administration with more than 60 people in attendance.

According to a Capital Health press release, Aphasia can occur after a stroke or head injury and impair a person’s ability to express or understand spoken and written language. The Capital Health Aphasia Support Group started in 2017 as an idea championed by two stroke survivors and several staff members who felt the need to create a support system for people dealing with aphasia as well as their friends and family members. After many months and lots of hard work, the first support group meeting occurred in January 2018. This group gives participants the opportunity to discuss their experiences, share ideas, form friendships, and provide emotional support for one another. more

WWA Call for Art: “Ode to New Jersey”

West Windsor Arts invites artists to participate in their upcoming fall art exhibition, “Ode to New Jersey.”

New Jersey is historically unique, dynamic, and ever-changing. The heritage and vibe of the state has vastly different meanings to each one of us. West Windsor Arts invites artists to explore their connection to New Jersey by crafting art for “Ode to Jersey.” more

Works by DeFay, Jersey at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville

“DEEP OCEAN”: This acrylic work by Joseph DeFay is featured in “A World Reimagined,” his dual exhibit with Bill Jersey, on view at the Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville July 6 though August 6.

“A World Reimagined,” a new exhibit of works by Joseph DeFay and Bill Jersey, will be on view at the Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville July 6 through August 6. An opening reception is on Saturday, July 15 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Photographing subjects up close, Joseph DeFay provides the ability to see details that would not ordinarily be noticed. His intention is to compel each viewer to linger with the same vision that he enjoys behind the lens: the interplay between vibrant colors and that special quality of light. DeFay spends a great deal of time with composition, searching for the precise arrangement of the subject. The work allows him to preserve these moments and share these valuable experiences with others.  more

June 14, 2023

Letting in the Light — Françoise Gilot’s Picasso

By Stuart Mitchner

When I paint smoke, I want you to be able to drive a nail into it.

—Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), from Life With Picasso

When Pablo Picasso died 50 Aprils ago, Paul McCartney and Wings recorded “Picasso’s Last Words,” a tribute to the “grand old painter,” the chorus based on what were purportedly his last words: “Drink to me, drink to my health / You know I can’t drink any more.” However, TIME (April 23, 1973) claims he went on to say, “And now I must go back to work,” which he did, painting until 3 a.m. After suffering a heart attack in his sleep, he died at 11:40 a.m.

Orange Skies

The week of orange skies from Canadian forest fires coincided with the June 6 death of artist Françoise Gilot (1921-2023), whose 1964 memoir Life With Picasso (New York Review Classics 2019) “is crucial” to an understanding of him, according to his biographer John Richardson. A June 6, 2019 NJPR piece by Lily Meyer calls it “an invaluable work of art history and a revealing precursor to the literature of #MeToo.”  more

Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra Shows Off its Ensembles in Season Finale

By Nancy Plum

The Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra (GPYO) is justifiably proud of its 63-year history, and especially in rebounding from the instability of the past three years. In the midst of the pandemic, GPYO hired a new music director, who wasted no time in bringing the ensembles within GPYO back to full strength. The four ensembles within the Youth Orchestra organization presented their final concerts of the season this past Sunday afternoon and evening in Richardson Auditorium, solidly demonstrating their mission of providing young musicians with challenging musical experience while cultivating a lifelong love of the arts.

Sunday night’s concert at Richardson featured the Concert and Symphonic Orchestras, both conducted by Jessica Morel, in works which were both operatic and programmatic (the Chamber Winds and Preparatory String Ensembles performed in the afternoon). With more than 80 players, the Concert Orchestra presented two opera overtures and a contemporary work which showed how far the Orchestra had come in a season. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio Overture, Op. 72 is full of contrasts between rich orchestral passages and solo instrumental playing. The Concert Orchestra has an army of strings and fewer wind and brass players, but the solo instrumentalists were well up to the challenges of the music, especially horn player Kamila Ouadah. Conductor Morel kept the tempos steady; another orchestra might have played this work faster, but the tempos selected worked for this ensemble.  more

Ballet and Music at Princeton Festival

COLLABORATION: American Repertory Ballet and the Attacca Quartet share a program at the Princeton Festival on Saturday, June 17. (Photo by Eduardo Patino NYC)

On Saturday, June 17, at 7 p.m., the Grammy Award-Winning Attacca Quartet pairs with dancers from the American Repertory Ballet for an Evening of Contemporary Ballet at the Princeton Festival, held in a performance pavilion on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street.

On the program are ballet excerpts from Circadia, choreographed by Caili Quan to the music of Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution; and Wood Work, choreographed by Ethan Stiefel to Nordic folk tunes arranged by the Danish String Quartet. Attacca Quartet will also be performing compositions by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers John Adams and Caroline Shaw.  more

Internationally Known Trio Opens Annual Chamber Series

CHAMBER SERIES: The Horszowski Trio is the first of the Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts series on Friday, June 23.

The Horszowski Trio will open Princeton University Summer Chamber Concerts’ 56th Season in Richardson Auditorium on the Princeton University campus on Friday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m. Works by Bernstein, Schubert, and a piece commissioned for their 10th anniversary are on the program.

Formed in 2011 and based in New York City, the Horszowski Trio made its London debut eight years later in a sold-out concert presented by Wigmore Hall. Their success led into a 21-concert-tour in Germany in 2022. During the pandemic, the trio managed to keep performing, including a special project in several performances of Morton Feldman’s epic, two-hour-long Piano Trio. more

Princeton Summer Theater Announces 2023 Shows

Princeton Summer Theater’s 2023 season opens June 15-August 4, featuring three mainstage works and the presentation of two new works including the annual children’s show.

Founded in 1968, Princeton Summer Theater is a semi-professional summer stock theater company located in Princeton University’s Hamilton-Murray Theater. It recently won the 2019 JerseyArts.com People’s Choice Award for “Best Small Theater.” Notable alumni include Tony Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago), Tony Award-winning producer Geoff Rich (Avenue Q), and actor William Hootkins (Star Wars, Batman). more

Nathan Bishop Plays At Monthly Java Jam

Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, will feature Nathan Bishop at its monthly Java Jam on Sunday, June 18 at 4 p.m. at its artist studios and art market in the Princeton Shopping Center.

Bishop is a traditional Irish fiddler, classical violinist, and teacher based in New Jersey. A 2019 graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, he teaches and plays in a variety of groups including as the baroque violinist of La Fiocca. His program is titled “Farms and Fathers and My Father the Farmer.” more

TAWA and Trenton Library Present “First Friday Curators”

“AVE”: This work by Jonathan Conner (LANK) is part of “First Friday Curators,” on view at the Trenton Free Public Library through July 29. An opening reception is on June 15 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Trenton Artists Workshop Association (TAWA) and the Trenton Free Public Library present “First Friday Curators” at the Trenton Free Public Library through July 29. An opening reception is on Thursday, June 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit celebrates the talent of people that have brought art to the downtown Trenton community on the first Friday of each month. more

West Windsor Arts Presents “Faculty and Student Show”

“DIFFERENT APPLES: GREEN, RED, YELLOW”: This oil pastel work by 7-year-old Inigo Hodge is featured in the annual “Faculty and Student Show,” on view through July 15 at West Windsor Arts in Princeton Junction.

The “Faculty and Student Show” at West Windsor Arts (WWA) celebrates the work of teaching artists and their students created in a class or workshop at WWA during 2022 summer camps, and the fall, winter, or spring sessions of the 2022-2023 class year. The exhibition runs through July 15. more

June 7, 2023

Brian Cox and “Succession” — It’s About Displacement

By Stuart Mitchner

Midway through actor Brian Cox’s memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat (Grand Central $29), someone asks if he ever thought of playing Donald Trump. After a quick emphatic “No” (“It’s such a bad script”), he explains why he prefers playing Logan Roy, the profane patriarch in HBO’s hit series Succession, which just completed its fourth and final season. “Roy is more interesting because he’s a darker character … He does villainous things but he’s not really a villain. And another thing that interests me about him is that we have this in common: we’re both disappointed in how the human experiment has turned out.”

Cox returns to the same theme in the book’s final chapter, admitting that sometimes “it can be distressingly easy to put on my Logan Roy skin” because besides being about wealth and entitlement, Succession is “about displacement,” about how Logan is “classically displaced, taken from his childhood home when he was very young.” At this point, Cox makes it clear that he’s talking about himself: “I know somebody else who feels displaced, who left Scotland at a young age. Somebody who feels a certain disgust with the rest of the human race, who feels that humanity is a failed experiment.”

Why This Image?

The feeling of displacement Cox mentions may offer a clue to the photograph he picked for the cover of his memoir. Celebrity book jackets generally accentuate the positive. This unguarded image makes you curious about the author’s choice and how it might relate to the show that made him famous. Given Cox’s personal triumph in Succession, his woebegone expression is striking when contrasted to the interior photo of him as Logan Roy, where he looks every bit the confident, all-powerful ruler of a media empire who would have nothing but contempt for an actor who seems to be barely containing a world of sorrow. And although Cox’s narrative is marked by slights, losses, tragedies, failures, absurdities, embarrassing accidents, missed opportunities, and disappointments, it’s also enlivened by humorous turns of phrase and  numerous amusing incidents. more

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Closes Princeton Season with Fiery Soloist

By Nancy Plum

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) introduced a new violin star to Princeton audiences this past weekend in a performance also including a world premiere. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, the Orchestra presented a concert in Richardson Auditorium Friday night featuring music commissioned for the Orchestra’s Centennial celebration, well as a beloved violin concerto performed by an up-and-coming superstar.

As part of its Centennial Anniversary, NJSO commissioned an orchestral piece from Chinese-American composer Chen Yi. Yi’s compositions are rooted in her upbringing during China’s Cultural Revolution, and she describes her works as a fusion of Chinese lore and Western form and techniques. The one-movement Landscape Impression, commissioned by NJSO and premiered in this past weekend’s concert, was inspired by two poems by the 11th-century writer Su Dong-Po.  more

Shakespeare 1960s Style with ActorsNET Production

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PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY: In ActorsNET’s production of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Cat Miller, left, and Shelli Penitmall Bookler discover Falstaff’s scheme and come up with their own plan to teach him a lesson.

ActorsNET finishes its 26th season with a 1960s sitcom reboot of The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare, a comedy of sexual jealousy and overbearing egos set against a landscape of summer resort leisure and the “dirty dancing” music trend.

The play follows Shakespeare’s well-known old scoundrel, John “Sinjin” Falstaff, who has become a nightclub entertainer, headlining at the Garter Restaurant in the Windsor Resort. Down on his luck, Falstaff schemes to seduce the titular merry wives, Mrs. Alice Ford and Mrs. Margaret Page, in an attempt to restore his fortunes. He sends them identical love letters, but his double-dealing ruse is discovered, and the two ladies are determined to teach him a lesson. There are disguises, misdirected letters, a “duel,” and a midnight denouement before the tangle is unraveled, the men get their comeuppance, and the good prevails. more

Opera is on Roster at Princeton Festival

VIRTUOSO VOCALIZING: Will Liverman, a Metropolitan Opera star and Grammy winner, sings works by Black composers at the Princeton Festival, on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden, on June 19 at 7 p.m. (Photo by Adam Ewing)

Opera is the focus June 16-20 at the Princeton Festival, being held in an outdoor performance pavilion on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden. In addition to a new production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville on June 16, 18, and 20, the festival will also present Metropolitan Opera star Will Liverman in a recital on June 19 at 7 p.m.

James Marvel directs The Barber of Seville, which pits the clever wit of the barber Figaro, portrayed by Andrew Garland, against a bumbling and greedy guardian, Dr. Bartolo, played by Steven Condy. The story is centered on Count Almaviva’s love for the beautiful Rosina, roles filled by popular returning Festival artists Nicholas Nestorak and Kelly Guerra. Remaining cast members include Festival veterans Eric Delagrange and Cody Müller, as well as Kaitlyn Costello-Fain and the Festival Opera Chorus. Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts. more

Trio of New Works on Ballet Company Program

THREE PREMIERES: American Repertory Ballet will present a new work by Amy Seiwert as part of the Premiere3 program at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, June 10-11.Shown are Annie Johnson, Shaye Firer, and Erikka Reenstierna-Cates in Amy Seiwert’s 2021 premiere “World, Interrupted.” (Photo by Eduardo Patino, NYC)

American Repertory Ballet (ARB) returns to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center June 10-11 with Premiere3, two new works by choreographers Ethan Stiefel and Amy Seiwert, and the company premiere of the Arthur Mitchell classic, Holberg Suite.

“Premiere3 offers our audiences three novel and assorted works that showcase the immense talents and heart of our dancers,” said Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel.  more

Family Show Planned at Balloon Festival

MUSIC FOR KIDS: Musician Laurie Berkner gives an encore performance at the 40th Annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning on July 28. (Photo by Jayme Thornton)

Princeton native Laurie Berkner will return for an encore performance at the 40th Annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning.

Berkner will give a family show at 1:30 p.m. on the festival’s opening day, Friday, July 28, at Solberg Airport, 39 Thor Solberg Road, Whitehouse Station.

“I am so honored to have been asked to perform at the NJ Lottery Festival of Ballooning this year as part of the 40th Anniversary Celebration,” said Berkner. “It is always such an amazing event and I’m sure this year is going to be particularly fantastic as we all celebrate this impressive milestone together.” more

Classical Series Continues at Nassau Presbyterian Church

MUSIC TO THE RESCUE: “Culture for Understanding and Tolerance” is the theme of the June 17 concert by Collegium Musicum NJ featuring pianist Phyllis Lehrer, left, and violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich at Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Collegium Musicum NJ continues its 2023 classical concert series at Nassau Presbyterian Church on June 17 at 5 p.m. The fifth concert in the series, it will feature violinist Alexei Yavtuhovich and pianist Phyllis Lehrer performing works by Mozart, Franck, Bartok, and other composers.

“We strongly believe our 2023 concert series ‘Culture for Understanding and Tolerance’ will enable our communities to better understand and enjoy each other’s unique national culture, traditions, and historical development through the performance of music along with presentations of other art forms,” said Yavtuhovich, who is president of the organization. more