We are practically giving it away, as we do every summer. It’s our Live at the Met Summer Encore Series, featuring the recently-ended season’s most popular shows – each for only $15.
Not only a wonderful chance to re-enjoy many of the productions you saw at full price, this is also a great way to introduce tentative friends to the rich and fascinating world of opera.
Saturdays at 10am. Get your espresso drink at concessions, and watch in cool comfort.
Here they are, at a glance:
ANNA BOLENA Donizetti
3 hr 10 min, Sat. June 16, 10am
Anna Netrebko opened the Met’s 2011-12 season with her portrayal of the ill-fated queen driven insane by her unfaithful king, singing one of opera’s greatest mad scenes. Marco Armiliato conducts.
LE COMTE ORY Rossini
2 hr 25 min, Sat. June 23, 10am
Bel canto sensation Juan Diego Flórez sings the title role of this vocally dazzling comedy, in Bartlett Sher’s Met premiere production.
DON GIOVANNI Mozart
3 hr, Sat. June 30, 10am
Mariusz Kwiecien is the world’s most famous lover in Michael Grandage’s elegant new production, led by Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi.
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN Offenbach
3 hr, Sat. July 14, 10am
Joseph Calleja stars in the tour-de-force title role of this fictionalized take on the life and loves of the German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Met Music Director James Levine conducts.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Donizetti
2 hr 25 min, Sat. July 21, 10am
Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story. Conductor: Marco Armiliato
DER ROSENKAVALIER Strauss
3 hr 20 min, Sat. July 28, 10am
Strauss’s comic masterpiece of love and intrigue, starring Renée Fleming. Edo de Waart conducts.
It’s a mad mad mad mad post-modern world here at the Lark, where “Live” can mean different things. Often it refers to opera singers in NYC, or actors in London or on Broadway, who are performing simultaneously on their respective stages and on our screen.
Wry guy.
Sometimes, though – like when our (truly wonderful) On Stage at the Lark series is in swing – we proudly present actual performing humans, in the flesh. Producer Ellie Mednick is bringing great stuff to our stage in the coming weeks, starting with the brilliant Will Durst.
In an election year, this is the guy to see. The New York Times calls him “possibly the best political comic in the country.” Author, syndicated columnist, radio and TV commentator, stage and screen actor, radio talk show host, nominated for 6 Emmy Awards. Sample his down-to-earth outrageousness here.
We do NOT want this gentleman to show up and find us with nothing going on for St. Patricks Day. That wouldn't be good.
Next up is St. Patrick’s Day, and of course we are celebrating. On March 16 we have a great evening planned, starting with the documentary JIG. This is the first time the controlling body of competitive Irish dance has ever allowed an outsider to film this fiercely competitive world, and director Sue Bourne discovers an amazingly diverse range of characters, competing in the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships – a hot bed of dedication, hard work, obsession and passion.
Even the trailer is fascinating. View it here.
Following at 8pm are the fabulous Black Brothers, bringing Old Dublin street and music hall songs and historical ballads from the Irish, English and Scottish traditions along with songs from contemporary writers. Check them out here. Come for the music, the movie or both.
Details on our website. And there’s more coming in April (Jazz vocalist Paula West) and May (The Great Broadway Sing-Along) – so stay tuned…
I AM LOVE is back. If you believe that passion conquers all (or if you think that idea belongs in the movies); if you’re into design, food, clothes, jewelry, Italian film or anything else Italian – you will not want to miss this beautiful and juicy film.
Star and producer Tilda Swinton says it’s about the inevitability of change and the indomitable forces of human nature that drive us to change (she talks compellingly about the film, and a few other things, here). In the face of what we gladly admit is probably a golden age of television, she offers this musing on melodrama:
“It’s about noticing behavior in an atmosphere of silence, rather than this preoccupation with the idea of explicit plot and dialogue. Melodrama in cinema used to rely on the idea of atmosphere, and I don’t think it’s been relied on much in the last thirty years. Television simply cannot rely on it in the same way — it can’t play the same game that cinema can.”
I AM LOVE is long on atmosphere and sensuality, from the John Adams score (Adams also composed NIXON IN CHINA, part of our coming Met Opera season) to the lovers rolling in wild herbs – no mere hay – to those famously sexy prawns. There are multiple treats here for all your senses. Enjoy.
And, of course, the big screen comes with a big, lush and lovely sound system, which you’ll want when you see THE CONCERT, because the music is thrilling. This Russian-Romanian-French comedy has been delighting our audience. It is, “at it’s musical center, as full of ripe emotion as Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major. It’s also as darkly funny as a Slavic farce, a composition of sweet cacophony.” Yum!
Hope to see you soon for one or both of these wonderful films.
Thanksgiving is coming and we are grateful as ever for our diverse, engaged, appreciative audience, for our loyal volunteers, and for the wonderful local community of merchants that are supporting us most recently as part of our new Business Membership program.
We’re also thankful for the brand spankin’ new live music sound system that makes us truly a must-visit venue for live music and performance – you’ll see as we continue our Onstage at the Lark performance series in January with legendary jazz vocalist Kenny Washington. Oh, and to Google for supporting us with a generous grant. And to Women’s Initiative for honoring Executive Director Bernice Baeza with a 2009 Woman-owned Business of the Year Award. And to the people who so kindly nominated us for Heart of Marin Awards in three categories: Excellence in Leadership for Bernice Baeza; Volunteer of the Year for Arthur Corbin; and Achievement in Nonprofit Excellence for the Lark Theater.
Enjoy your holiday!
Do you have tweens? Then you know Twilight, the teenage vampire romance series that has invaded the adolescent psyche like some kind of rampant cross between Harry Potter and Titanic (the movie). Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown). One critic calls it “a cloudburst mood piece filled with stormy skies, rippling hormones… Hardwicke stirs this teen pulp to a pleasing simmer.” To die over if you’re a teenage girl, and a guilty, lightly cheesy pleasure for grown-ups. Starts April 10, rated PG 13. Dress up! Here’s how.
For grown-ups who prefer more complication and less cheese with their steamy romance thrillers, we have Duplicity, with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, starting 4/10. On 4/16 at 1:00pm we’ll offer a Cinemama screening: bring your little baby, up to two years old, at no extra charge. Changing table provided.
Music lovers who don’t yet love Peter Rowan have their chance on Thursday, 4/16. A venerable, grammy-winning artist who has played with Bill Monroe, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and countless others, Rowan serves up bluegrass with flavors of folk, rock and reggae. Simple, distilled melodies, thoughtful lyrics and smooth, nimble pickin’ that will expand your musical horizons even as they make you feel right at home.
Daters! Bring that charming person you are hoping so desperately to impress to our Big Night dinner-and-a-movie event on Saturday, 4/18. We’re serving an Italian dinner at 7:00pm followed by the fun and fabulous food movie, directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott with a great ensemble cast. Tickets for all this are only $20, so the pressure’s off, plus you’ll be supporting your local independent cultural center, which will make you look, well, local, independent, cultural and centered. As the tagline goes, “In love and life, one big night can change everything.” Fingers crossed!
We celebrate the future of local filmmaking with our annual Youth Film Festival on 4/26, 12:00 – 3:30pm. Please buy your tickets soon, especially if your kid has a film in the festival. They sell out fast. This year we are especially impressed by the resourcefulness, creativity and care these student filmmakers have brought to their work. Awards announced at the event.
If you missed last week’s post, please scroll down to see the rest of what we’re doing in April.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Lark Theater! Try not to eat too many green things that aren’t green on any other day of the year.
Unless you’re tapped into it, you might not know that there’s a huge bluegrass/new grass/roots/acoustic music scene going on all over the greater Bay Area – and the Lark is a frequent stop on the circuit for some very exciting local musicians. Coming up we’ve got the Waybacks, with special guests the Wronglers, on Friday 3/27; and the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band on Thursday, 4/16. (As ever, details are on our site: www.larktheater.net.)
We do a lot of live music at the Lark. The bluegrass folks are right at home here; but with lush velvet curtains, tasteful art deco murals and cushy reclining seats – not to mention cup-holders for your wine! – we’re also an elegant and intimate concert setting for such local vocal legends as Maria Muldaur and Jon Hendricks, both of whom have recently graced our stage.
And for those of you who like your music served up with a little crime fiction: on Friday, 4/3, Harlan Coben (Hold Tight, Tell No One) presents his new book Long Lost, together with the sensational Australian singer/songwriter Missy Higgins. See, this is just the kind of eclectic, free-associative thing we like around here. A co-presentation with Book Passage. (They don’t know either just how these two talented people from disparate fields got themselves paired up together. Hopefully all will be revealed on the night!)
We continue to be excited about our association with Book Passage. They’re a book store and much more, offering an amazing array of classes and workshops and luring some very influential thinkers and doers to speak at their Corte Madera store. (We remember their great beginnings, as a little travel bookstore just up the other end of Magnolia Avenue. Heck, we remember when the lovely Ward Street Cafe was Dexter’s T.V. Repair!). In a similar spirit, the Lark is a place not just for film but for experiencing culture in a variety of ways, and for the vibrant exchange of ideas.
And so, a St. Patrick’s Day toast: To the arts in Marin! To our local independent businesses! And to the good people who value and support us. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
