Celebrity Series of Boston Blog

Our 2006-2007 Season is on sale to subscribers NOW

Our 06-07 season is now shrink-wrapped on your doorstep. A multitude of performances in many genres are on our annual buffet. Visit www.celebrityseries.org, peruse the season offerings and subscribe via secure server, or send us an email and order a free brochure sent by mail. You can also download the brochure as a .pdf file, print it out and look it over that way. Options abound.

Sure, I work in marketing at the Celebrity Series, but I'm sincere when I say, now is the time to get in and get good seats - or at least start to consider your options. Individual tickets don't go on sale until early in the Fall so the only way to secure your tickets over the summer is to subscribe. Check out the subscriber benefits, too, and learn just how good our subs have it.

"Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere"

The Center for Marketing Research at University of Massachussetts Dartmouth has released an extensive survey of more than seventy corporate weblogs plus several chapters of analysis on business use of weblogs. Behind the Scenes in the Blogosphere: Advice From Established Bloggers is available on this page as a pdf file.

John Amodeo on Kapilow and The Songs of Sondheim

John Amodeo has reviewed the final What Makes It Great? of the 2005-06 season, The Songs of Stephen Sondheim, with Rob Kapilow, Michael Winther and Terri Klausner:

"Kapilow, a skilled pianist, performed this musical deconstruction at the piano, playing each line of music himself, twisted at the waist to face the audience directly, completely engaging us with his bubbling enthusiasm and cornucopia of knowledge. If sometimes he seemed too eager, moving to and fro non-stop, like a hummingbird on a caffeine rush, he could be easily forgiven when we learned what he had to teach us."

Read the full text on EDGEBoston.com.

Pres Hall, Ellis Marsalis, Bonnaroo and The Edge

   
The resurgence of New Orleans' Preservation Hall following Hurricane Katrina is just one of the stories taking place daily in that ravaged but resilient region. But the fate of Preservation Hall is of particular concern to Boston and the Celebrity Series because of the relationships developed over their many years of performing here. We are pleased to say things have been going well at Pres Hall, though there is, of course, so much more to be done in New Orleans...

The folks at Gibson Guitars have provided a kind of a progress report from the opening of Pres Hall back in May. It features photos, video and an article on the event, which included the appearance of U2's The Edge. Take a look at What A Wonderful World.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has also taken its performing/fundraising operation on the road. This article chronicles their presence at Tennessee's Bonaroo 2006 music festival.

The Celebrity Series 2006-2007 season opens with very special evening at Symphony Hall this coming October 15. Preservation Hall will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a benefit performance by The Preservation Hall Jazz Band with special guest Ellis Marsalis (the wonderful, pianist patriarch of the Marsalis clan). The show is called "The New Orleans Revue" which will feature, in addition to the aforementioned, a bevy of musicians, vocalists, fan dancers, comedians, circus performers and an MC to lead it all. Proceeds from the event will go to the New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Relief Fund and the Celebrity Series, Arts, Education and Communtiy Program.

Gantz reviews "Manon" for The Phoenix

Jeffrey Gantz reviewed The Royal Ballet and Manon for the June 22 Boston Phoenix:

"Speaking to the New Yorker in 1974, [Kenneth] MacMillan boasted, 'You have a sixteen-year-old heroine who is beautiful and absolutely amoral, and a hero who is corrupted by her and becomes a cheat, a liar, and a murderer. Not exactly our conventional ballet plot, is it?'"

Read the full text of Stacked Deck.

And in this corner...

John Rockwell compares the two versions of Kenneth MacMillan's Manon production seen on the East Coast this month; ours, of course, co-presented with The Wang Center last week at The Wang Theatre (and reviewed solo in the NY Times by Rockwell) and the American Ballet Theatre's version which opened at The Met two days after it closed here. Here's a snippet:

"New York uses the same set by Nicholas Georgiadis, but in a larger version originally built for La Scala in Milan. The props and costumes in Boston seemed more finely wrought, more elegant, as in Manon's fur coat, versus the plainer affair seen at the Met. The lighting in New York (by Thomas R. Skelton) looked more effectively moody and atmospheric (i.e., dimmer)."

Read the full text of  The Competing Visions of 'Manon,' a Tale of Sweet Seduction (requires login)

Royal Ballet packs off to the Nation's Capitol...

Royal Ballet "Manon" reviews

The first crop of Manon reviews are in:

Debra Cash on WBUR.org

Iris Fanger for The Patriot Ledger

Sally Cragin for The Boston Globe

Theodore Bale for The Boston Herald

There are lots more to come, check this blog for more review links.

UPDATE: More Manon reviews...

John Rockwell for The New York Times (login required)

Sue Katz for EDGENewYork.com

And more...

Jeffrey Gantz for The Boston Phoenix

Bale talks with Lamb about Royal Ballet

The Boston Herald's dance critic, Theodore Bale, tracked down Royal Ballet principal and Boston native Sarah Lamb between commitments in a busy schedule. Bale's article runs in today's Herald and several TAB/CNC papers this week. Here's a bit:

"It took some doing to speak with former Boston Ballet principal dancer Sarah Lamb about her U.S. tour with London’s Royal Ballet. She was occupied last week with the final rehearsals of a premiere by Christopher Wheeldon, and thoughts of the royal audience about to watch it: England’s Queen Elizabeth II and her entourage."  Read the full text.

Royal Ballet's Ballet Mistress teaches class at Boston Ballet

 
Royal Ballet Ballet Mistress Ursula Hageli demonstrates steps for her master class students

The Royal Ballet's Ballet Mistress, Ursula Hageli, led a free master class for intermediate level adult students at Boston Ballet studios yesterday afternoon (June 13). The Celebrity Series and The Wang Center sponsored the event, in association with Boston Ballet.



Not being one to frequent ballet class (I suppose I could, as comic relief), I was struck by Ms. Hageli's gentleness, patience and poise (it was beastly hot in the studio). Not that the steps she was putting the students through were easy, mind you. She challenged the dancers, certainly, but all the while she warned them not to overdo it if they did not take class regularly. Are all ballet mistresses so nice?