News Roundup, April 28, 2022
First, let’s wrap up National Poetry Month San Antonio.
Bihl Haus Arts presents Poetry by Veterans April 30 and May 1 at Deco Pizzeria. San Antonio is home to many veterans and some of them are poets who have had the opportunity to refine their skills through Bihl Haus Arts programs. (April 30 at 12-4 p.m.; May 1 at 12-4 p.m.; 1815 Fredericksburg Rd., 78201, 210-732-DECO)
Voices, Vibes and Visions: Artists Circle, an event presented by the unique Celebration Circle, will be an evening of readings, music and writing exercises using prompts. It will be led by Jim LaVilla-Havelin, the man who helped establish Poetry Month as a city-wide celebration of poetry in San Antonio. The Celebration Circle is an inclusive, multi-faith community that encourages a creative approach to spirituality. (Living Church at Woodlawn Pointe, 702 Donaldson Ave., 78201; 210-468-2787; free but donations welcomed)
Mega Corazon is still going on at URBAN-15, ending April 30. It’s described as a “Spoken Word Marathon” and it features many well-known San Antonio voices. (Online at https://urban15.org)
On May 7, the Bihl Haus Arts will present another poetry event, Common Ground, Open Territory, Pasts, Futures, Legacy & Promise: its annual Intergenerational Reading featuring poets from the organization’s Go! Arts Program (for older adults) and youth poets from the Young Women Leadership Academy creative writing program. (May 7, 2-5 p.m.; Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg RD.; 210-383-9723, www.bihlhausarts.org)
We move on, from poetry to music.
The big event this coming week is the return of grand opera in all its theatrical splendor! Opera San Antonio (OSA) is ready to dazzle us with Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigolettowhich will be produced with a full cast, orchestra, sets and costumes, as this operatic masterpiece deserves. (And before you jump to conclusions, this orchestra is not the San Antonio Symphony. OSA has hired its own 52-member orchestra for the occasion.) The opera premiered in Venice in 1851 and has been a favorite of audiences ever since. Rigoletto features some of the best arias in all of opera. The version we’ll see in San Antonio was originally co-produced by Boston Lyric Opera, the Atlanta Opera and Opera Omaha. It will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. To learn more about Rigoletto and Italian opera, you may want to attend a pre-show lecture. (May 5 and May 7 at 7:30 p.m.; lecture at 6:30 p.m.; Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle; Tickets start at $40; tickets@tobincenter.org or call 210-223-8624)
Speaking of composers, do you know that there are quite a few talented composers right here in San Antonio. In fact, they formed an organization called Composers Alliance of San Antonio and have become active in presenting contemporary “classical” or art music. In fact, you can get the chance to hear the works of some of them Friday at the University of the Incarnate Word. The new music will be performed by the Music Wall Duo, consisting of flutist Abigail Walsh and pianist Pei-I Wang. Listed in the program are the following composers: Kevin Salfen, Ken Metz, Dimitar Ninov, Timothy Kramer, Brian Bondari, Yvonne Freckmann, Samuel Gaskin and Misook Kim. (April 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Ingrid Seddon Recital Hall, UIW, 4301 Broadway; free)
On May 6, the always busy Agarita Chamber Players Ensemble is going to treat music lovers to an outdoor pool concert with guest composer Nadia Botello. You can watch and enjoy the music on deck or you can swim “to the sounds.” We have to give them credit for trying new things! Apparently, Botello created two new compositions: “Ojo de Agua 1” which is an underwater sound installation that will be played before and after the concert for people to swim to; and “Ojo de Agua II,” which will be heard during the performance both below and above water. Various composers will be represented, including Debussy, Dvorak, Philip Glass, Jessica Meyer, Chris Rogerson and Botello, of course. (May 6, pool opens at 6:30 with Botello’s underwater installation. Alamo Height Swimming Pool, 250 Viesca St., 78209; free like all Agarita concerts.)
San Antonio Mastersingers choir has been an institution and a chorus that everyone loved for decades, singing with the San Antonio Symphony and on other occasions. The pandemic silenced them but they just announced a new concert, “Now I Walk in Beauty” on May 1. The concert marks a bitter-sweet transition for the all-volunteer chorus that has been led by Professor John Silantien for as long as most people can remember. The concert will be a goodbye for Silantien who has decided to retire after 38 years of music making with the Mastersingers. (May 1 at 3 p.m.; Performing Arts Center, Palo Alto College, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd., 78224; free but RSVPs are required at www.samastersingers.org)
The Youth Orchestras of San Antonio – known as YOSA – will offer a day of music with its City Series 3 Festival this Sunday at the Alamo Heights High School Auditorium. It all starts at 2 p.m. and continues through the afternoon, with the last part starting at 8 p.m. A range of YOSA ensembles and conductors will be performing. (For more info go to www.yosa.org.)
There are good choices in popular music as well.
The famous Wailers will be in San Antonio Friday at Sams’s Burger Joint. The band’s “culture-defining” music has pretty much made reggae what it is. In 2020, they released the single “One World, One Prayer” which is a message of unity, love and inclusion, produced by Emilio Estefan. It was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award in the best Reggae Album Category. (April 29 at 9 p.m., doors open at 8 p.m.; Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., 78215; 210-223-2830, tickets $35-$40; www.samsburgerjoint.com)
On the same day, the Majestic Theater will host Tori Amos’ “Ocean to Ocean Tour’ with a guest appearance by COMPANION. (April 29 at 8 p.m.; $35+; Majestic Theater, 224 E. Houston; box office 210-226-3333, info@majesticempire.com). On April 30, the Bronco Mexican band will get the audience dancing in the seats with their version of the cumbia, norteno, grupera, Latin ballads and more. (April 30 at 8 p.m.; $55.50+; Majestic Theater – see above)
There’s a new venue for large pop concerts in town and it’s located in Port San Antonio. Called Tech Port Arena, the 3,200-seat arena will be welcoming its first audiences with a performance of rockers Smashing Pumpkins. According to one report, however, the concert is already sold out but that’s not what is says on the Arena’s site. So double check. (May 2 at 7:30 p.m. doors 6:30; Tech Port Arena, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, 210-600-3699, www.techportcenter.com/events)
On the visual arts front, the big event is the 26th Annual McNay Print Fair, which is the largest event of its kind in the Southwest. And unlike last year’s this will be a live, in-person event in the museum’s Leeper Auditorium. The two-day event will feature ten dealers from across the U.S., and hundreds of works of art for show and sale, from old masters’ prints to contemporary seawings and photography. The only participating gallery from San Antonio is Ruiz Healy Art that has spread its wings into New York and Chicago. Austin is represented by the Coronado Print Studio, and that’s about it when it comes to Texas dealers. The others are from New York, Chicago, Santa Fe, Santa Monica, Durham, NC and Riderwood, MD. The fair is open to the public on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 1, from noon to 5 p.m. Print Fair and general admission are free on Sunday. (April 30 & May 1; McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., 210-824-5368, www.mcnayart.org)
We already told you about the cleverly named exhibit, “Mars Needs More Women,” at the Centro Cultural Aztlan, which will be on view through June 10. On May 4, there will be a catalog release gathering of the exhibit. The participating artists use science fiction, science and social/political satire to deal with themes of social justice and inclusiveness. (May 4, 6-9 p.m.; Centro Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg Rd., Suite 103, 78201; the exhibit is always free and open to the public, Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is having a Family Day this Sunday, celebrating the Asian +Pacific Islanders Heritage, with lots of folk dancing and activities for kids. You’ll be able to see Chinese Fan Dancers, Lion Dancers, Vietnamese Dancers, Hawaiian Dancers and more. Children’s activities include porcelain painting, mask making, calligraphy instruction, a scavenger hunt, outdoor toys, etc. (May 1, 11a.m. – 3 p.m.; Bexar County residents who show up early, between 10a.m. and noon, will enjoy free admission; kids under 12 are free; food trucks will be on the premises. SAMA, 200 W.Jones Ave.; 210-978-8140, www.samuseum.org)
The team at the Public Theater has just announced the company’s 2022-23 season, which will be the first – inaugural – season for new executive-artistic director Claudia De Vasco. The lineup for the upstairs Russell Hill Rogers Theater lists the following shows: American Mariachi; A Christmas Carol, the Musical; the regional premiere of Nina Simone: Four Women; The Pajama Game; Footloose, and Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. The season will also bring a return of shows in the Cellar Theater with the state premiere of A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes (That’s a mouthful!), and the world premiere of Fabulous Monsters. The season will start Sept.9 with American Mariachi by Jose Cruz Gonzalez. (to see subscription options go to www.thepublicsa.org; to purchase season tickets: boxoffice@thepublicsa.org or call 210-733-7258)
The Classic Theater of San Antonio is inviting actors to audition for roles in Roosters, a play by Milcha Sanchez Scott that will be directed by Jose Ruben de Leon. All performers will receive a stipend. If interested, send a video to Ruben@ClassicTheatre.org. The deadline is April 29 but maybe they’ll be somewhat flexible about that. Call Ruben at 210-468-3900. The play is slated to open in September.
We recently received an invitation from an unnamed entity to an event announcing the Sterling Houston Festival. There has been talk in thespian circles in San Antonio about such a fest that would honor the late San Antonio playwright. We support the idea but we’ll have to find out more about it.