Things to watch for on Orlando’s arts scene

2024-01-05 - Matthew J. Palm The Artistic Type

As we flip the calendar to 2024, here are a half dozen events I am eagerly awaiting — one in each of the various artistic genres. And how about this for New Year’s resolution: Try an arts event outside your “comfort zone.” Who knows what exciting artistic and emotional world it could open for you?

However you choose to get your arts on in 2024, it’s time to pull out the calendar and begin making plans. Here are six happenings to get you started.

Art

‘Transformations: Spirituality, Ritual and Society’: As we know, almost as soon as people started believing in some sort of higher power, they started making art about it. At Rollins Museum of Art, “Transformations: Spirituality, Ritual and Society” will delve into the role of faith in art while considering the power of belief in human behavior, society and culture. This exhibition will contain works from the 14th century through today’s contemporary era — including 10 works that have never been shown before.

At Rollins Museum of Art on the Rollins College campus, 1000 Holt Ave. in Winter Park. Jan. 20-May 12. Free. More info: rollins.edu/rma

Opera

‘Frida’: Frida Kahlo’s life story takes the stage in Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s operatic celebration of the Mexican surrealist painter. Rodríguez’s score uses mariachi-style orchestrations, classical opera and hints of Mexican folk songs for a musical reflection of Frida. Cecilia Violetta López will sing the iconic title role, and Bernardo Bermudez will make his company debut as Frida’s formidable husband, Diego Rivera.

In Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando. Jan. 26 and 28. $29 and up. More info: operaorlando.org/ frida

Film

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,’

live in concert: Composer Howard Shore brought J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythical world to musical life with his Oscar- and Grammy-winning score to “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” For this event, audiences will watch the epic film while the music is played live by the Bach Festival Orchestra. The choral numbers, which add so much to the tone of the movie, will be performed by the Bach Festival Choir and Youth Choir.

In the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Jan. 26-28. $59.50 and up. More info: drphillipscenter.org

Music

Resonate: This year’s Resonate festival from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will have a jazzy edge to it. The headliner will be artist-in-residence Aaron Diehl and his Jazz Trio. A series of six concerts will include Bach and Mozart, along with Mary Lou Williams’ “Zodiac,” Irish folk music featuring fiddler Aoife Ní Bhriain and oboe player Patrick Flanaghan, and yes, all that jazz.

At the Winter Park Events Center, 1050 W. Morse Blvd. in Winter Park. Feb. 1-5. The all-access pass is $245. Tickets to individual concerts will go on sale later if available. More info: orlandophil. org/resonate

Theater

‘Appropriate’: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Appropriate” is a hot ticket on Broadway right now.

It’s the story of family members who come together to bury their patriarch — and uncover something from the past that raises contentious questions not only about the family’s history but America’s, as well. The Ensemble Company will stage its own production with a local cast, and in the hands of this capable company that has produced such thought-provoking work as “The Inheritance” and “Speech & Debate,” it should be a doozy of a show.

At Imagine Performing Arts Center, in Oviedo Mall at 1220 Oviedo Mall Blvd. in Oviedo. May 3-12. Tickets will go on sale later. More info: theensemblecompany.com

Dance

‘Casanova’: How risque is Orlando Ballet planning on making the U.S. premiere of this work, based on the life of the legendary lover? Tickets won’t be sold to anyone under 18, and the ticketing website says IDs will be checked. You have been warned. So expect a lot of sizzle amidst the sexual tension as the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra plays composer Kerry Muzzey’s music for choreographer Kenneth Tindall’s lusty ballet.

In Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center. May 16-19. $29 and up. More info: orlandoballet.org/events/casanova

?? ORLANDO SENTINEL FILE ?? Artist Frida Kahlo is the subject of an opera to be performed by Opera Orlando. — ORLANDO SENTINEL FILE Artist Frida Kahlo is the subject of an opera to be performed by Opera Orlando.

?? ROLLINS MUSEUM OF ART ?? “Interior of a Cathedral” was painted around 1630 in the Flemish Circle of Hendrick van Steenwijck. The oil on canvas was a gift to Rollins Museum of Art from Marjorie Myers Ginn, Francis E. Myers II, John C. Myers Jr. and Everett M. Myers in memory of John C. Myers. — ROLLINS MUSEUM OF ART “Interior of a Cathedral” was painted around 1630 in the Flemish Circle of Hendrick van Steenwijck. The oil on canvas was a gift to Rollins Museum of Art from Marjorie Myers Ginn, Francis E. Myers II, John C. Myers Jr. and Everett M. Myers in memory of John C. Myers.

?? ?? This archival pigment print of “For Freedoms: Freedom of Worship,”with photos by Hank Willis Thomas and Emily Shur, is part of the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins Museum of Art. The work was the gift of Rollins College alumni Barbara and Theodore Alfond. — This archival pigment print of “For Freedoms: Freedom of Worship,”with photos by Hank Willis Thomas and Emily Shur, is part of the Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins Museum of Art. The work was the gift of Rollins College alumni Barbara and Theodore Alfond.