Charles Giuliano
Bio:
Publisher & Editor. Charles was the director of exhibitions for the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University where he taught art history and the humanities. He taugh tModern Art and the Avant-garde for Metropolitan College of Boston University. After many years as a contributor, columnist and editor for a range of print publications from Art New England, Art News, the Boston Phoenix, the Boston Herald Traveler and Patriot Ledger, to mention a few, he went on line with Maverick Arts which evolved into a website.
Recent Articles:
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The Golem of Havana Theatre
Oi Vey Olé
By: - Jul 24th, 2014Set in Cuba during the last gasp of the Batista regime a new musical for Barrington Stage company is a complicated balancing act between Jewish history and mythology and Cuba's Santaria tradition during the Revolution. The Golem of Havana mixes musical mataphors between Eurpoean Klezmer and Cuban Salsa
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Berliner Festspiele, Foreign Affairs - 2014 Theatre
An Attempt to Understand
By: - Jul 23rd, 2014The 2014 Berliner Festspiele continued with a July program titled 'Foreign Affairs.' Artistic Director, Matthias von Hartz, presented a third summer festival of theatre, dance, music and visual arts that lasted nearly three weeks and ended July 13. It was a quest for collaborations and finding new forms of cultural expressions.
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Jim Hodges at the ICA Fine Arts
Summer in the City
By: - Jul 23rd, 2014The artist Jim Hodges came to New York in the 1980s at a time when AIDS was decimating the arts community. Like others of his generation his work responded to a sense of devastation and loss. A retrospecitve of his eclectic conceptual work is on view at Boston's ICA until September 1.
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Jamie Wyeth at the MFA Fine Arts
Good Genes
By: - Jul 22nd, 2014Outgoing populist and vulgarian, MFA director Malcolm Rogers, has orchestrated yet another celebrity based, crowd pleasing exhibition. The traveling restrospective of paintings by Jamie, a third generation manifestation of the famous Wyeth dynasty, is actually kind of fun. Where the work fits in the canon of the art of our time, however, is another matter.
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Breaking the Code at Barrington Stage Company Theatre
Enigma of Alan Turing Brilliantly Portrayed by Mark. H. Dold
By: - Jul 21st, 2014As a member of the top secret team of 10,000 at Bletchley Park Alan Turning was key to the effort to Breaking the Code of the German enigma apparatus. With endless daily permutations it was used to send orders to the maurading U Boat fleets decimating allied shipping. In the role of a lifetime Mark H. Dold has totally inhabited the persona of the complex and tormented individual whom Churchill credited with shortening and ending the war. Time Magazine named Turing among the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. At Barrington Stage until August 2.
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Living on Love in Williamstown Theatre
Theatre Debut for Diva Renée Fleming
By: - Jul 20th, 2014The theatrical debut of Renée Fleming in the comedy Living On Love is a delight and triumph. The renowned opera diva plays, what else, a renowned opera diva. That would seem to be easy and obvious but Fleming underplays the role with a naturalism that parallels her real life persona. She is just charming and enchanting. Especially when intereacting with a superb cast directed by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall. Based on marquee bankability and an enthusiastic reception this Williamstown production has a shot of making it to Broadway.
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Composer Profile: Spotlight on Gustav Mahler Music
Performed at Tanglewood on July 26
By: - Jul 19th, 2014This is not a program note, but my “take†on Mahler’s music in toto and what I feel it represents extramusically – the backstory behind the composer’s aesthetic, if you will. The Symphony No. 2 is, to my way of thinking, the most iconic of all Mahler’s works, since everything he subsequently composed stems from this landmark hybrid of symphony, solo song and choral work.
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Group ZERO Co Founder Otto Piene at 85 Fine Arts
Guggenheim ZERO Exhibition to Open in October
By: - Jul 19th, 2014From 1974 to 1994 the German/ American artist Otto Piene was the director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT. With a farm in Groton he continued to commute to his studio in Dusseldorf. He died this week, at 85, while working on a major museum exhibition and sky art event in Berlin. While celebrated internationally, there will be an exhibition of Group ZERO this seaon at the Guggenheim, he was snubbed by the Boston art world and media.
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Johnny Winter at 70 Music
White Hot Blues
By: - Jul 17th, 2014Signed to a record breaking advance of $600,000 Columbia released the debut album" Johnny Winter" in 1969. Born an albino he was hyped as the whitest blues player. He produced several Grammy winners for Muddy Waters and a few for his own blues albums but his career faltered when he refused to record guitar rock albums. He ended out of the running 63rd on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest guitarists.
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Preserving Mother Cabrini Fine Arts
The Religious Art of Mummification
By: - Jul 14th, 2014Once inside the Mother Cabrini sanctuary I found myself transfixed by her mummified corpse. I wondered: How does anyone worship God in this space? What is it like to take communion with a mummified corpse in the same room? Then I noticed the late afternoon light pouring through the stain glass representation of her on the back wall of the sanctuary. The light poured across the room with the full spectrum of color, it flooded the pews, and led my eye back to her remains.
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Conductors; The Pharoahs of Music Music
Changing of the Guard for Orchestras
By: - Jul 14th, 2014James Levine’s travails because of persistent illnesses several years ago, became a liability for the Metropolitan Opera and Boston Symphony, despite his great musical gifts. By contrast, the Los Angeles Philharmonic had good fortune in nabbing the talented young superstar Gustavo Dudamel in 2008. Levine, now confined to a wheelchair, has begun the long road back to conducting at the Met, but it’s unlikely, at 72, that he’ll regain his former energy and commanding presence in opera and symphony concerts.
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Michael Frayn’s Benefactors Theatre
Skyscrapers for 1%ers at Berkshire Theatre Group
By: - Jul 13th, 2014The triumph of the one percent and destruction of the middle class is underscored by the soaring speculation of urban real estate and resultant skyscraper residences. The 1984 play Benefactors by Michael Frayn focused on this topic which is being given a superb production at Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge
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Dance Theatre of Harlem at Jacob’s Pillow Dance
Conflating Classical Ballet and Post Modernism
By: - Jul 12th, 2014When Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook diverted from major careers in dance to teach classical ballet in Harlem there was a complex mandate. That was 1968 in the midst of civil rights and social/ political change. In 1970 Dance Theatre of Harlem first performed at Jacob's Pillow. They have returned many times as they have this week with a program of three diverse works.
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A Great Wilderness in Williamstown Theatre
Drama Launches Nikos Season for WTF
By: - Jul 11th, 2014In a mountaintop retreat in Samuel D. Hunter's, A Great Wilderness, through prayer, scripture and intent listening Walt counsels young men struggling with identity, confusion and the "sin" of homosexuality. This intense and thought provoking drama opens the Nikos Stage season for the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
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Sondheim's A Little Night Music at Colonial Music
Enchanting Production from Berkshire Theatre Group
By: - Jul 09th, 2014Not surprisingly the richly dark and complez A Little Night Music by the always challenging and insightful Stephen Sondheim is performed by opera companies. Berkshire Theatre Group is commended for having mounted a production with an amazing cast and superb orchestra. This otherwise fabulous musical, however, has been undermined by cutting corners on a second rate set. That hardly matters, however, with chills up the spine when Maureen O'Flynn sings the riveting and iconic "Send in the Clowns."
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Renée Fleming Living on Love Theatre
First Career Dramatic Role at Williamstown Theatre Festival
By: - Jul 07th, 2014Over the Fourth of July weekend Renée Fleming was the featured soloist for the opening night performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer season in Tanglewood. On July 16, for the first time in her career, Fleming will appear in a play Living on Love at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Depending upon its success at WTF the production may be bound for Broadway.
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The Cosmology of Classical Concerts Music
Music Light Years Beyond the Comfort Zone
By: - Jul 07th, 2014You can be an avid concertgoer and never once hear a string quartet or a symphony by such as Arnold Bax, Walter Piston, Roger Sessions, Vincent Persichetti, Vittorio Rieti, Peter Mennin or Ernst Toch; the piano sonatas of Dussek, Clementi or Griffes; the piano concertos of Hummel, Field, Tippett, Malipiero, Palmgren, Busoni or Lutoslawski.
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Renée Fleming Launches BSO’s Tanglewood Season Music
Stars in Williamstown Play Opening July 16
By: - Jul 06th, 2014It’s been an inclement week in the Berkshires but last night was just glorious for the launch of the BSO’s Tanglewood season featuring the ever magnificent soprano “The People’s Diva†Renée Fleming. From July 16 through 26 she will make her dramatic debut at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Living On Love. As she told us last night she is enjoying her extended time in the Berkshires. But it's a working holiday.
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Hubbard Street at Jacob’s Pillow Dance
Eclectic Chicago Dance Company
By: - Jul 05th, 2014A Jacob's Pillow favorite Hubbard Street Dance Chicago returned to Becket with an eclectic program of four pieces by different choreographers. The music ranged from minimalist, Steve Reich, North African, and can you believe it, hilariously, Dean Martin.
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June Moon Brightens Williamstown Theatre
Vintage Lardner / Kaufman Comedy Launches WTF Season
By: - Jul 04th, 2014Mostly a moldy fig, the vintage, 1929 comedy June Moon about Tin Pan Alley, by Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman, seems like an oddly conservative choice to launch the Williamstown Theatre Festival season. With tedious plot exposition the play slogged through the first act but under the adept direction of Jessica Stone came alive hilariously in the second act.
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Raw Color: The Circles of David Smith Fine Arts
Special Exhibition for The Clark Art Institute
By: - Jul 03rd, 2014As a part of its expansion and renovation, taking advantage of appropriately scaled new special exhibition space, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Insitute is progressing beyond its tradition roots by showcasing modern and contemporary art. Currently there is Raw Color: The Circles of David Smith. In August the museum will feature Make It New master works of American modernism from the National Gallery.
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The Mount in Lenox Suffers Storm Damage Architecture
Encouraging Response from the Community
By: - Jul 02nd, 2014The Mount, Edith Wharton’s country estate in Lenox, Mass suffered severe damage from last week’s record-breaking storm that dropped six and a half inches of rain over a five-hour period. Thanks to a quick response from the organization and financial support from the community, the damage to The Mount’s flower gardens and access road has, to a large extent, been addressed and the house has been able to reopen.
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Dog and Pony at Old Globe Theatre
Wolrd Premiere Musical by Rick Elice and Michael Patrick Walker
By: - Jul 02nd, 2014California's Old Globe premiered a musical Dog and Pony by writer Rick Elice and composer Michael Patrick Walker. The wobbly story that Elice and Walker have fashioned comes from a meeting the two had discussing the idea of a workplace romantic comedy. It has been directed by Roger Rees.
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Jessica Stone Returns to Williamstown Theatre Festival Theatre
Remembering Her Mentor and Friend Nicholas Martin
By: - Jul 02nd, 2014Jessica Stone made her debut as a director when through a hunch her mentor and friend, Nicholas Martin, tapped her for an all male production of Sondheim's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." That first effort was a smash hit for Williamstown Theatre Festival. It was followed by "Last of the Red Hot Lovers." She returns to the main stage this season directing "June Moon." Poignantly she discussed WTF as a family and the legacy of Martin.
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Trey McIntyre Project’s Final Bows Dance
Company Disbands at Jacob’s Pillow
By: - Jul 01st, 2014The final performance of the now disbanded, Iowa based, Trey McIntyre Project was followed by one of the longest and most raucous ovations we have ever encountered at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Theatre. The audiece was thrilled by a two part peformance based on the macabre innustrations of Edward Gorey and the magnificent music of the British rock group Queen. What a fitting send off for a superb dance company.
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