Arts on TV: 'Il Postino,' Angel City Jazz, 'Hamlet'

“Great Performances” 7 p.m. Thursday, KOCE; 8 p.m. Thursday, KVCR; 7 p.m. Saturday KOCE: "Andrea Bocelli and David Foster: My Christmas": David Foster joins Andrea Bocelli for a performance of seasonal favorites; guests include Natalie Cole, Mary J. Blige, Katherine Jenkins, the Muppets and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

“Great Performances” 9 p.m. Thursday, KOCE; 5:30 p.m. Saturday, KOCE; 8 p.m. Sunday, KOCE: "Jackie Evancho: Dream With Me in Concert": Jackie Evancho's solo concert supports her first full-length album, “Dream With Me.”

“Great Performances” 10 p.m. Thursday, KVCR: "The Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends": Grammy-winning composer David Foster performs with special guests at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“Orchestra Kids 2011” 10:30 p.m. Thursday, KCET; 4:30 p.m. Saturday, KCET: Behind the scenes with the All Schools Elementary Honor Orchestra as it prepares for its annual concert in renowned Schoenberg Concert Hall in UCLA.

“Movie: Shall We Dance”  (1937) Midnight Thursday, TCM: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. Ballet dancer Petrov woos a musical star at sea and in New York, despite rumors of their marriage.

“Great Performances Il Postino From L.A. Opera” 9 p.m. Friday, KOCE: Plácido Domingo performs in the L.A. Opera production of the romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán.

“The Artist Toolbox” 8:30 p.m. Saturday, KLCS: Massimo & Lella Vignelli: Italian-born designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli discuss the art of balance and problem-solving.

“Contrary Warrior: Life & Times of Adam Fortunate Eagle” 9 p.m. Monday, KLCS: Contemporary activist and artist Adam Fortunate Eagle advocates for the rights of urban Indians, eventually helping to orchestrate the American Indian takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969.

“The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg” 7 a.m. Tuesday, LOGO: The life of the poet from his early years to his role as an artist and activist.

“Live at the Ford” 9 p.m. Tuesday, KCET: The Angel City Jazz Festival -- Global Jam : This year's Global Jam is a celebration of jazz's wide cultural diversity with the Tigran Quintet.

“Discovering Hamlet” 10 p.m. Tuesday, KCET: Actors prepare for a stage performance of William Shakespeare's “Hamlet.”

“Tommy Emmanuel and Friends: Live From the Balboa Theatre” 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, KOCE: Guitarist Emmanuel performs with Pam Rose, Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo.

“Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” 9 p.m. Wednesday, Bravo: La Dolce Arte : The artists must utilize one automobile component from a Fiat 500 and transform it into a piece of art.

-- Compiled by Ed Stockly

Photo: Plácido Domingo in "Il Postino." Credit: Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times

Second acts worth noting at the L.A. Phil and L.A. Opera

We like to keep reminding ourselves that the reason to attend live performances is because they are always different, and sometimes stuff happens.

On Sunday afternoon, I returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic to hear how the orchestra was getting along with Emmanuelle Haïm, the feisty French early music specialist. The orchestra had seemed a little uptight for her debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Thursday. And I also hoped that she would include a Rameau encore that was played on Saturday but not Thursday. She did.

As it happened, the L.A. Phil program ended during intermission of the Los Angeles Opera, and stuff was happening there as well. The tenor, Vittorio Grigolo, had a head cold, and with less than a day’s notice, Charles Castronovo had agreed to substitute in the company’s penultimate performance of its production of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette.”

Opera review: 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Los Angeles Opera has done it again. Six years ago the company introduced the most promising young tenor in quite some time, Rolando Villazón, and paired him with the exquisite soprano Anna Netrebko as the dazzling new dream couple in a new production of Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Sunday afternoon that production was back at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, this time introducing the dashing Vittorio Grigolo, the most promising young tenor since, well, Villazón. His Juliet was the sultry Nino Machaidze, and – voilà! -- a brand new dazzling dream couple for opera.

PHOTOS: L.A. Opera's 'Romeo and Juliet'

And that, I’m sorry to report, means that, once more, canary fanciers and all fascinated by the future of musical theater are required to put up with Gounod’s dreary antique.

An open house at Los Angeles Opera

More than 6,000 visitors turned out Saturday for a Los Angeles Opera open house at the Music Center, taking part in activities that included listening to the company's general director, Placido Domingo, getting a closer look at opera sets and props, and dressing up for a repast at a pretend Café Momus from "La Boheme."

Domingo performed with Jdanai Brugger, a young soprano from the Domingo-Thornton Young Artists program, with James Conlon conducting the LA Opera orchestra in a program of selections from "The Marriage of Figaro," "Cosi fan Tutte," "Madama Butterfly" and "Romeo et Juliette." Younger opera fans nestled on floor cushions in the Eva and Mark Stern Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for the children’s opera "The Prospector."

The open house was part of the company's celebration of its 25th anniversary. For more photos, click here.

— Kelly Scott

Above: Eleanor McInnes, 4, and mother Kristin Peace, 39, don hats and other accessories at a photo booth at the LA Opera's open house Saturday. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times.

Monster Mash: More on movie museum plan; 'Funny Girl' on Broadway

Action: More details on the planned movie museum, a partnership between the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Los Angeles Times)

High hopes: The upcoming revival of "Funny Girl" will land on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre, with an opening set for some time in April. (Los Angeles Times)

Looking ahead: The Philadelphia Orchestra, still in bankruptcy proceedings, could be close to a contract with its musicians. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Helping hand: Placido Domingo is making a large donation toward earthquake relief in Christchurch, New Zealand, as part of a benefit concert this week. (Radio New Zealand)

Honored: Modern-dance choreographer Trisha Brown has been selected to receive a lifetime achievement honor from the New York Dance and Performance awards. (New York Times)

Commanding presence: A review of actor John Lithgow's new memoir by theater critic Charles McNulty. (Los Angeles Times)

Fixer-upper: Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron are working on the restoration of the Park Avenue Armory in New York. (New York Times)

Brand new: A closer look at the new Soka Performing Arts Center in Orange County. (Los Angeles Times)

Dropped: An orchestra in Israel has removed a female singer from its lineup after pressure from Orthodox subscribers. (Haaretz)

In the works: Two new museums are being planned for the cities of Bihar and Kolkata in India. (The Art Newspaper)

Shut in: A Chicago resident has been selected to spend 30 days living at the city's Museum of Science and Industry. (Chicago Tribune)

Moving ahead: The San Antonio Symphony has decided to start the 2011-12 performance season without a contract with its musicians. (San Antonio Express-News)

Also in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed reviews composer Georg Friedrich Haas' Green Umbrella premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall; theater critic Charles McNulty reviews "Somewhere" at the Old Globe in San Diego.

-- David Ng

Photo: LACMA West, the site of the planned movie museum. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Placido Domingo takes issue with Washington Post critic

On Saturday, the Post published a letter from Domingo in which the famed tenor takes issue with the newspaper's music critic, Anne Midgette. In the letter, Domingo objects to the way Midgette criticized his conducting in a recent production of "Tosca" at the Washington National Opera.

Domingo wrote: "For the first time in my life, I am sending a letter to the editor of a newspaper, because your music critic Anne Midgette has crossed the line between reasonably objective criticism and what appears to be open animosity."

In her review, Midgette wrote that "all the performances [in 'Tosca'] were hampered, indeed sabotaged, by the conducting ... rather than supporting the singers, his conducting either drowned them out or tripped them up. He got warm applause, but I'm not sure his presence sells enough tickets to make up for spoiling the evening."

In his letter, Domingo asserted that Midgette's criticisms were "offensive and defamatory."

Monster Mash: Holocaust Museum gets big gift; Wallis Annenberg and MOCA

Donation: The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum said it received its largest single gift ever -- $17.2 million from the estate of Eric F. Ross. (Washington Post)

Philanthropist: Wallis Annenberg has joined the board of L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art. (Los Angeles Times)

Sign on the dotted line: Plácido Domingo has signed his first exclusive recording contract in 40 years with Sony Classical. (The Classical Review)

Work in progress: A revised version of the musical "Little Miss Sunshine" had a reading in New York with Raul Esparza and Sherie Rene Scott. (Broadway World)

Dysfunctional family: Laurie Metcalf and David Suchet will star in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" in London. (Playbill)

Have the lambs stopped screaming?: "Silence! The Musical" -- a stage parody of "The Silence of the Lambs" -- has settled in for an open-ended run at New York's P.S. 122. (Theatermania)

Honored: "The Book of Mormon" and "Follies" on Broadway were among the honorees of the 27th Annual Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America. (Broadway World)

Big sound: The Kennedy Center is getting a new organ as a gift worth an estimated $2 million. (Washington Post)

Leading lady: Australian actress Robyn Nevin will play the title role in Shakespeare's "King Lear" next season in Melbourne. (The Australian)

Also in the L.A. Times: Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reviews the new public library in West Hollywood.

-- David Ng

Photo: The Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times

L.A. Opera and Placido Domingo to throw anniversary open house

Los Angeles Opera will throw open the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s doors for a daylong open house of free programs, tours and displays on Nov. 5 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Billing it as “our largest community outreach event,” General Director Placido Domingo said Wednesday in an announcement that the aim is to “introduce new friends to our work” while giving established opera buffs “a closer look at all of the elements that combine to create world-class opera.”

The company, then known as Music Center Opera, debuted Oct. 7, 1986, with Domingo starring in Verdi's "Otello" and Lawrence Foster conducting. The director was Goetz Friedrich.

For the anniversary celebration, Domingo and L.A. Opera’s music director, James Conlon, will jointly conduct two concerts (11 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.) featuring soloists from the company’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program, accompanied by the L.A. Opera orchestra. Domingo and Conlon will answer questions after each concert.  At 2 p.m., they will meet the public in the lobby, to autograph programs and other paraphernalia, including CDs and DVDs that will be on sale.

Also onstage in the main auditorium, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., will be “The Prospector,” a half-hour opera geared toward children aged 4 to 10 and their families.  The work by composer Lee Holdridge and librettist Richard Sparks is inspired by Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West” (The Girl of the Golden West).

Michelle Kwan meets Placido Domingo backstage at L.A. Opera

 

Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan has performed to numerous classical music pieces during her career on the ice. But until this weekend, she had never attended a live opera performance.

Kwan was on hand Saturday for L.A. Opera's season-opening production of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Kwan seemed particularly impressed by the ice-skating sequence in "Onegin" that takes place in the final act. For the scene, the crew has created several pairs of in-line roller skates that are decorated to resemble old-fashioned ice skates from 19th century Russia. The scene takes place on a wintry lake and features performers skating solo and in pairs.

After the performance, the Olympic medalist met backstage with Plácido Domingo,  conductor James Conlon and some of the cast and crew.

The 31-year-old Kwan -- a Southern California native -- said Saturday evening's performance was the first time she had seen an opera live. Kwan was the guest of Barry Sanders, a board member of L.A. Opera.

The staging of "Onegin" is an imported co-production from London's Royal Opera House and the Finnish National Opera.

"Onegin" continues performances through Oct. 9.

RELATED:

Opera review: Los Angeles Opera's 'Eugene Onegin'

L.A. Opera canceling Hungarian 'Bank Ban' production

L.A. Opera announces a 'conservative' 2011-12 season

-- David Ng

Photo: Plácido Domingo, left, Michelle Kwan and James Conlon backstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Credit: © Steve Cohn / Steve Cohn Photography

Monster Mash: Rembrandt found; details on Shepard Fairey assault

Got it: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says it has recovered in Encino the Rembrandt sketch valued at $250,000 that was snatched over the weekend from a hotel. (Los Angeles Times)

Brave face: Artist Shepard Fairey has posted a photograph of himself after he was assaulted recently in Denmark. Details about the attack continue to emerge. (Obey Giant and Art Info)

Worthy cause: Plácido Domingo will sing in an October concert in Christchuch, New Zealand, to benefit the city that was hit by an earthquake this year. (New Zealand Herald)

Emmy nominee: Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman, will answer questions in a live chat Wednesday at noon PT. (Los Angeles Times)

Making a statement: Conductor Daniel Barenboim led a recent peace-themed concert in South Korea, near the border with North Korea. (Voice of America)

Imminent departure? Reeve Carney, who is starring in Broadway's "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," has landed a movie role as singer Jeff Buckley. (E! Online)

Settlement: The Hague city government has agreed to pay the equivalent of $1.4 million to the heir of a Jewish art dealer whose gallery was looted for part of a Jan Steen painting. (Bloomberg)

Pay cut: The music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announced he would take a 10% salary reduction, on the heels of musicians' taking a 9.7% pay cut under their new contract. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Leading man: Hugh Dancy will star in the upcoming Broadway production of David Ives' "Venus in Fur." (Broadway World)

Academic drama: Tony Kushner talks about the controversy surrounding his honorary degree from the City University of New York. (Guardian)

Moving forward: A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the Louisville Orchestra's plan to restructure its finances. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

Ensemble cast: Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater will join Alan Rickman in the Broadway cast of Teresa Rebeck's "Seminar." (Theatermania)

Helping hand: Andrew Lloyd Webber is funding a theater project for disadvantaged youth in Scotland. (Guardian)

New audiences: Classical opera continues to find audiences in China as its popularity declines in the West. (Time)

Religious art: The city of Mumbai, India, is set to get its first museum of Christian art, slated to open next month. (Time of India)

And in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed on conductor Marin Alsop, who is marking her 20th season heading the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

-- David Ng

Photo:  Rembrandt's "The Judgment" shown at sheriff's news conference Tuesday morning. Credit: KTLA News