Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis / St. Paul. A 10-year retrospective
This year again, the Italian Cultural Center, in partnership with the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, is happy to bring the best of Italian cinema to the Twin Cities. 2019 will be a special edition celebrating the best movies of the past 10 years of the Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis / St. Paul (IFF). The 10 movies selected by our commi...
Hall closes, DiMaggio statue removal creates a stir
The Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame has closed its museum at 1431 W. Taylor St., with George Randazzo, Hall of Fame founder and president, promising a “premier” new location that will include the Joe DiMaggio statue that has stood across the street since 1999. The Hall of Fame organization took the $150,000 Joe DiMaggio statue with it when it...
MSU Opera Theatre presents two one-act Italian operas and lots of laughs
The MSU Opera Theatre presents two comedic one-act operas to round out its 2018-2019 season. Gioacchino Rossini’s La Scala di Seta and Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi will present hilarious stories of thwarted lovers and dysfunctional family affairs. La Scala di Seta tells the story of a young couple, married in secret, who see each other every n...
At Lyric, a ‘La Traviata’ of Great Intimacy Amid the Social Whirl of Paris
In one form or another, most of the great opera classics are about two things: love and death. While some explore these interlocking themes by looking at the lives of the gods and other mythic creatures, the Italian masters most often focused on the fates of ordinary human beings, even if many were royalty and aristocrats. And few did it as powerfu...
RPS Hall of Fame: Jean Cione didn’t know she was a pioneer
High school graduation is a big deal for the vast majority of people, but it wasn’t for Rockford’s Jean Cione. “She skipped it,” Cione’s sister, Linda Gillespie, said of the East High School graduation ceremony in 1946. “She took her finals, and then she left to play ball. It was spring training.” Cione was one of the very youngest of the pioneers...
Commedia maestro Antonio Fava to perform at the Casa
The Italian American Theater of Chicago will present world-renowned commedia dell’arte maestro Antonio Fava in a performance of “Speechless Pulcinella” from 6 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 23 in the Ballroom of the Community Center at Casa Italia in Stone Park. On his way to claim a lottery jackpot, Pulcinella is struck dumb when a black cat crosses his path....
"Speechless Pulcinella", a commedia by Antonio Fava
Saturday, February 23rd from 6-9pm. Casa Italia Community Center, The Ballroom. 3800 Division Street, Stone Park, IL Presented by the Italian American Theatre of Chicago and Studio Z, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago. In this once-in-a-lifetime treat, Antonio Fava, Italy’s world-renowned maestro of Commedia dell’Arte,...
Italian opera 'Giulio Cesare' coming to IU's Musical Arts Center
A seductive love story, political drama and a mix of historical figures will all come together 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1-2 and 8-9 in the Musical Arts Center’s first opera of the semester, “Giulio Cesare.” This Italian opera, set in 48 B.C. ancient Egypt, tells the story of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Caesar is attempting to add Egypt to the Roman Empire....
Joe DiMaggio statue ‘safe’ after removal from Taylor St.—but residents want answers
Play ball! Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? He’s safe, but he’s not where you think. The $150,000 statue of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, which was abruptly removed from a plaza across the street from the closed National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame — leading to an uproar from some Little Italy residents — is now being housed in Elk Grove...
Italian Heritage Group Questions ‘Godfather II’ Legacy
The Pickwick Film Classics series plans to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s film, “The Godfather II,” with special showings on the Pickwick’s new Megatheatre screen on Jan. 19 at 5 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge. Show times will be at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. The evening show will include a 6:30 p.m. performance on the Wurlitzer orga...
Theater RED Invites Milwaukee To 'Be Italian' With NINE The Musical
Che bello! Theater RED proudly announces a new addition to the company! Eric Welch joins Theater RED as Artistic Associate following his collaboration with the company in June of 2018 for the Wisconsin premiere of I'LL EAT YOU LAST: A CHAT WITH SUE MENGERS. Eric Welch directed this one-woman comedic romp as a co-production with his theater company,...
Italian guitarist and vocalist Beppe Gambetta performs at old town school of music
Wednesday January 30, 8:30pm. Old Town School of Music, 4545 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago (IL). Entrance: Free. For tickets and more information, visit https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/2019/01-30-2019-wmw-beppe-gambetta/ Presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute. Beppe Gambetta is a guitarist, vocalist, researcher and composer...