Ferry commuters in Maine play a major role in San Francisco Opera’s world premiere of composer Tobias Picker’s opera Dolores Claiborne. That’s hardly the only reason to see it, however.
“Star Spangled Banner” earrings, ca. 1975 Gold with coral, lapis lazuli, and diamonds 3 x 2.3 cm Bulgari Heritage Collection © Antonio Barrella Studio Orizzonte
By Paul Duclos
Published: October, 2013
Ferry commuters in Maine play a major role in San Francisco Opera’s world premiere of composer Tobias Picker’s opera Dolores Claiborne. That’s hardly the only reason to see it, however.
Picker’s opera reconceives award-winning author Stephen King’s 1993 novel Dolores Claiborne for the operatic stage. The book was previously adapted into a 1995 feature film starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judy Parfitt. Spanning a time period from the spring of 1950 to the winter of 1992, the opera takes place on a working class island in rural Maine and follows its title character as she fiercely deals with the terrible adversity she is dealt by those around her. Mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook stars in the two remaining performances this month.
Last month we wrote about Feinstein’s at the Nikko, and the cabaret revival that is being staged there on an ongoing basis. Readers should also be aware that a storied venue on Nob Hill is also a destination for great live entertainment.
After several seasons of presenting shows in a variety of elegant showrooms, Bay Area Cabaret found a permanent home two years ago when it was invited to reopen the Fairmont Hotel’s historic Venetian Room, which had been dark as an entertainment venue for over 21 years. Following a gala opening (featuring Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch), the company presented its most successful season to date, featuring such musical legends as Chita Rivera, Anika Noni Rose and Lillias White and its first ever Bay Area Teen Idol competition, with judges from American Idol and Wicked. Having been awarded exclusive music booking rights to the Venetian Room, Bay Area Cabaret returned last season with another stellar line-up, and now begins its third year in residence to present Bay Area Cabaret’s Ninth Season.
From 1947 to 1989, the Venetian Room reigned supreme as the city’s premier showroom. It was here that Tony Bennett introduced his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," and show business legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Tina Turner, Peggy Lee, Nat ‘King’ Cole and many others held forth for more than four decades. Said Marilyn Levinson, founding executive producer of Bay Area Cabaret, "The City’s music patrons have given an enthusiastic reception to Bay Area Cabaret’s first two seasons in the Venetian Room, and visitors to the hotel seem thrilled that the grande dame of showrooms has been brought back to life. With performances by top caliber artists, and a renovation of the Laurel Court restaurant and its menu, San Franciscans are flocking to Nob Hill to enjoy the glamour reminiscent of the city’s golden age."
Bay Area Cabaret (BAC) is a not-for profit organization. Through its concert series and wide-ranging outreach activities, BAC aims to expand the definition of cabaret and broaden the audience for intimate entertainment, featuring Great American Songbook offerings from Harold Arlen and Stephen Sondheim to Jonathan Larson and Stevie Wonder. Past seasons have featured Sutton Foster, Barbara Cook, Christine Ebersole, jazz vocalists John Pizzarelli, Nnenna Freelon, and Jane Monheit, Rent stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, among many others.
For more information, visit www.bayareacabaret.org.
The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond 1950–1990 is an exhibition of approximately 150 pieces created by the renowned Italian jeweler over four decades. This exclusive exhibition will highlight jewelry that defined a pivotal period in Italian design, and will include many pieces from the personal collection of Elizabeth Taylor. The exhibition will be on display at the de Young Museum through February 17 of next year.
Bulgari notably began to create its own trademark in jewelry in the 1960s by embracing boldly-colored combinations of gemstones, use of heavy gold, and forms derived from Greco-Roman classicism, the Italian Renaissance and the 19th-century Roman school of goldsmiths. The company helped to develop a look that would come to be known as the Italian school of jewelry design. Pieces in the exhibition display the jeweler’s eclectic creativity and invention during this period.
Works in the exhibition also include those from the 1970s and 80s, a particularly innovative period for the jeweler and one influenced by pop art and other contemporary trends. "The hard-edged designs of the 1970s included a whole range based on the Stars-and-Stripes motif, while in the 1980s the Parentesi collection had a smoother, modular, almost architectural presence; both show how the jeweler could lead in new directions with a strong sense of design," said Martin Chapman, curator in charge of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Sautoir, 1969 Platinum with sapphires and diamonds Chain: 74 x 1 cm. Pendant/brooch: 4.9 x 4.9 cm Formerly in the collection of Elizabeth Taylor Bulgari Heritage Collection, inv. 6675 N2170 © Antonio Barrella Studio Orizzonte
“Tremblant” brooch, 1959 Platinum with fancy colored diamonds and diamonds 8 x 5.6 cm Formerly in the collection of Elizabeth Taylor Private collection © Antonio Barrella Studio Orizzonte
