Arts Talk

By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 2, 2001

Opera on radio resumes from the Met

Wagner's Die Meistersinger opens the 62nd season of live radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera at noon Saturday on WUSF-FM 89.7. The cast includes Karita Mattila as Eva, Ben Heppner as Walther, James Morris as Hans Sachs and Thomas Allen as Beckmesser, with James Levine conducting.

Coming to Spoleto Festival USA

A new production of The Flying Dutchman will open the Spoleto Festival USA 2002, which runs from May 24 through June 9 in Charleston, S.C. The Wagner opera will be staged by Chen Shi-Zheng, who directed an innovative production of Dido and Aeneas at last spring's festival. Other upcoming Spoleto highlights include a new production of Mozart's comic opera Cosi Fan Tutte, directed by Pierre Constant; the U.S. premiere of composer Steve Reich and video artist Beryl Kortot's Three Tales; two new plays by Brian Friel performed by Ireland's Gate Theatre; and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Subscriptions and ticket packages are now on sale. Call (843) 579-3100 or visit the festival Web site at www.spoletousa.org.

Competition for artists

Florida Individual Artist Fellowships, $5,000 cash grants in eight disciplines. Deadline: Jan. 14. Grant period: Oct. 1, 2002-Sept. 30, 2003. For application, contact Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250; call (850) 487-2980; fax (850) 922-5259; Web site www.dos.state.fl.us/dca

In 2001-2002, the division awarded fellowships to area artists Leslie L. Neumann (visual arts), Hernando County; Victoria Hirt and Theo Wujcik (both in visual arts), Hillsborough County; Elia Damianakis (folk arts), Pasco County; Gilbert Perlroth (theater), Frank T. Fetherston (media arts) and Nancy Cervenka-McLaughlin, David Williams and Rocky Bridges (all in visual arts), Pinellas County.

Art on the Web

A couple of Web sites to check out:

www.CulturallyFLAUSA.com -- This is essentially a directory of places and events throughout Florida. As a marketing tool of the Florida Department of State along with cultural groups and convention and visitors bureaus, it is a good starting point for trips outside the bay area. (For trips within, you have the St. Petersburg Times, which is easier to navigate.)

www.metmuseum.org -- Click a couple of obvious icons and you'll arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History, a work in progress that presents art from the Met's vast storehouses, organized by time and place. At present, it takes you from 20,000 B.C. to 1400 A.D. More recent periods will be activated in the future.

Fame game

Fiber artist Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island won a first place and judges choice in the annual judged show of the International Quilt Association in Houston. The show is the largest quilt show in the world.

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