Bits And Pieces 01.17.13
‘Maria Stuarda’ in HD
Guild Hall will present The Met: Live in HD’s screening of Donizetti’s “Maria Stuarda” on Saturday at 1 p.m. Joyce DiDonato stars as Mary, Queen of Scots, in the first-ever Met production of Donizetti’s dramatic historical opera. Elza van den Heever, a South African soprano, makes her Met debut as Mary’s rival, Queen Elizabeth I, and Matthew Polenzani sings Leicester, the nobleman caught between the dueling monarchs.
Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that also includes Matthew Rose as Talbot, Mary’s jailer, and Joshua Hopkins as Cecil, Elizabeth’s adviser. The production is by David McVicar, who also staged last season’s production of Donizetti’s Tudor drama “Anna Bolena.” Deborah Voigt, a soprano, hosts the transmission and conducts backstage interviews with the stars. Running time is approximately 166 minutes, and there is one intermission.
General admission tickets cost $22, $20 for members, and $15 for students. Those supporting the screening with a gift in addition to a ticket purchase have been invited to attend Guild Hall’s Operatif series of talks by Victoria Bond, an accomplished composer and speaker. The 30-minute talk begins at noon on Saturday.
Auditions at Bridge
The Hamptons Independent Theatre Fest will hold auditions for “In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play),” directed by Joshua Perl, on Feb. 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bridge, at 2357 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton.
“In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)” marked the playwright Sarah Ruhl’s Broadway debut. The play, a Pulitzer finalist and Tony nominee for best play in 2010, is an exploration of how we connect with those we love, emotionally as well as physically. Inspired by 19th-century medical science, “In the Next Room” includes medical discussions of the human body and the administration of “the vibrating treatment” to fully clothed patients.
Performances will run May 10 to May 26.
HIFF’s Oscar Nods
Films screened at the 20th Hamptons International Film Festival in October have received 32 Oscar nominations. The total represents the most in the festival’s history.
“Silver Linings Playbook,” the Southampton opening film and Audience Award recipient, received eight nominations — for best picture, directing, actor in a leading role, actress in a leading role, actor in a supporting role, actress in a supporting role, editing, and writing.
“Argo” was nominated for seven awards: best picture, actor in a supporting role, film editing, music, sound editing, sound mixing, and writing. “Amour” received nominations for best picture, foreign language film, actress in a leading role, directing, and writing.
Four of the five nominees for best foreign language film were screened at the festival last year: “Kon-Tiki,” “War Witch,” “A Royal Affair,” and “Amour.” “How to Survive a Plague” and “Searching for Sugar Man,” both nominated for best documentary feature, were part of the festival’s SummerDocs series in 2012, and six of the shorts presented during the festival have also received nominations.
Neoteric Symposium
“Neoteric Symposium,” a show-and-tell of multiple presentations by local people on a variety of topics, has been rescheduled. Originally planned for last Friday, it will now be held on Friday, Jan. 25, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Neoteric Fine Art in Amagansett.
Based on the popular PechaKucha format (as presented by the Parrish Art Museum), the symposium aims to provide a forum for ideas and introduce the people behind them. A listing of presenters is available on the gallery’s Web site, neotericfineart.com.
From 9 to 10:30 that night, San Joaquin (a k a Dan Asselin), a singer and songwriter, will perform from his new album, “Zeroisms.” The combined event is a fund-raiser for Hurricane Sandy charities, with a suggested donation of $10. More information can be had by calling Scott Bluedorn at 838-7518 or e-mailing [email protected].
Moran Gift
At the beginning of the year, the Thomas Moran Trust announced that it had received a $477,000 grant from New York State to further along its restoration efforts for The Studio, the Moran house and work space overlooking Town Pond.
The money will also meet the matching gift requirement for a $250,000 grant from the Sylvia and Joseph Slifka Foundation.
Peter M. Wolf, the founder of the trust, said Arthur Graham took over his duties as chairman in mid-December.