‘Camping’ in the forest

NORTHAMPTON — Valley Light Opera is returning to the Academy of Music with a new Gilbert & Sullivan production, though it’s one the community-based troupe has not tackled in many years: “Iolanthe.”

Gilbert & Sullivan created a long list of comic operas that featured broad humor, satire of the Victorian era, and a certain amount of camp and absurdity. But “Iolanthe” might be the duo’s most fanciful creation, a story that brings together fairies, members of the British Parliament, and an enchanted forest.

The storyline in “Iolanthe,” which debuted in London in 1882, follows the title character, a fairy who committed the sin of marrying a mortal man. Iolanthe now has a son, Strephon, who’s in love with a mortal woman, Phyllis. But the Lord Chancellor of England, Phyllis’ guardian, dismisses their love.

That prompts the Fairy Queen to send Strephon into Parliament in retaliation, ensuring that “complete chaos” ensues, as production notes put it.

Ted Blaisdell, stage director for VLO’s “Iolanthe,” says the operetta is a “perfect vehicle” for the production’s chorus “both musically and dramatically … These folks combine a powerful sense of the music of the piece with impeccable comedic timing.”

“Iolanthe” will be staged Nov. 3-5 and 10-12 at the Academy of Music. Performances Nov. 3-4 and 10-11 take place at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Nov. 5 and 12. Tickets are available at aomtheatre.com.

 

Extended exhibit and sales at Zea MaysPrintmaking

FLORENCE — If you want to get an early start on holiday shopping, consider a trip to Zea Mays Printmaking, which has opened a new exhibit that will run to Dec. 31.

This exhibit features over 200 prints from 51 artists, all of which will be displayed at Zea Mays’ Sanford Gallery. The work is available for sale both in-person and online.

The prints, all 11 by 15 inches, are unframed and will be displayed in the gallery on a rotating basis; prints not currently hung can be easily viewed in large bins.

The event, designed to celebrate Zea Mays’ member artists, features numerous styles of printmaking: monotype, etching, photopolymer intaglio, woodcut, screen printing and more.

The artists and the business as a whole are dedicated to using the safest and most sustainable, nontoxic printmaking practices available, which they share through workshops, consultations, presentations, and other programs at Zea Mays.

Visit zeamaysprintmaking.com for additional information.

 

Recalling an ancient lake

HOLYOKE — “The Death of Lake Cahuilla,” an exhibit that explores the historical and ecological transformation of an ancient lake in southern California, is on display at Wistariahurst Museum through Nov. 7.

Created by Easthampton artist Jason Montgomery, “The Death of Lake Cahuilla,” through a mix of painting, digital art, vintage maps, sculpture, and multimedia installations, is designed to “shed light on the impact of colonization and environmental degradation on the land and its indigenous communities,” according to publicity notes.

Scientists say Lake Cahuilla once covered as much as 2,200 square miles, supporting a range of Indigenous communities in what is now southern California’s Imperial Valley and in northern Mexico.

Largely through human intervention, only a small part of the lake remains, the Salton Sea, and a good part of the original lake bed is given over to water-intensive agriculture, leading to salinization of the soil.

In a statement, Montgomery says his goal with the exhibit is “to convey a sense of history … (and) raise awareness and foster dialogue about cultural preservation and sustainable practices.”

His artworks in general, he adds, are designed to act “as powerful symbols of hope and renewal, inviting viewers to consider the importance of cultural preservation and environmental stewardship.”

More information about the exhibit is available at wistariahurst.org.

 

A musical Smörgåsbord

AMHERST — A variety of music is on tap in town in the week ahead, as the University of Massachusetts Amherst stages its annual Multiband Pops concert and and a celebrated pianist plays an all-Gershwin concert to mark the (almost) 100th anniversary of “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Paul Bisaccia, based in Hartford, Connecticut, will play a mix of work by Gershwin at First Congregational Church on Oct. 29 at 2 p.m., including a rare solo piano rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue,” which Gershwin wrote in early 1924.

Bisaccia was the first artist to record the complete solo piano music of Gershwin, according to his website, and he reached a wide audience for some of that in his PBS television special, “Gershwin by Bisaccia.”

The show is free, but donations at the door are welcome ($20 is suggested).

Multiband Pops, meantime, is a showcase for numerous UMass student ensembles — Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Chamber Choir, three separate jazz groups and more — as well as smaller chamber groups and a percussion ensemble.

First staged almost 50 years ago, the concert is presented by the UMass Department of Music and Dance. It takes place Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall.

And as part of Homecoming Weekend, the concert will also feature a performance by the full UMass Minuteman Marching Band, which will offer portions of its 2023 field show on stage.

Tickets for the concert are $25 for the general public and $18 for students and seniors. Contact the Fine Arts Center Box Office at 413-545-2511 or at fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.

 

Move it, say it, play it

FLORENCE — Northampton’s School for Contemporary Dance and Thought (SCDT) is bringing its long-running HUT series, an interdisciplinary program combining movement, words and music, to the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, Nov. 4.

The 7 p.m. show, “Performance X3,” will feature work by movement artist and choreographer Vanessa Anspaughof; artist-scholar Max Gonen, who “uses words, video, and distortion to consider the poetics of trans relationships,” according to program notes; and music by Lemuel Marc, a jazz trumpet student at New England Conservatory of Music.

HUT, which has featured over 250 artists in past performances, is designed to bring together artists and audiences interested in cross-genre improvisation and experimentation.

Doing so gives different communities “a chance to sit together and experience performance styles they might not have appreciated before,” as program notes put it.

— Compiled by Steve Pfarrer