COMMUNITY EVENTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Exercises
Mondays 11 a.m.–noon, Through July 25 (skipping July 4)
Columbus Library, 742 10th Ave.
A class of five exercises including meditation. Come relieve your stress and anxieties, increase your energy and vitality, and enjoy peace of mind. Free. en.FalunDafa.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute
Through August 27
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza
An exhibition that compares scenic and costume designs from a select group of 20th and 21st century productions extolled for their remarkable visual achievement. Since its premiere in 1791, this opera has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create a cornucopia of imaginative productions that have beguiled audiences of all ages. Free. LincolnCenter.org
New York & The Nation
Ongoing
The Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History, 170 Central Park West
Explore the story of New York and America in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History. $20 adults, $12 students, $15 seniors. NYHistory.org
Family Sundays at Rubin Museum
Ongoing
150 W. 17th St.
Bring your family to the Museum for a Sunday afternoon full of family-friendly activities. Drop into the Education Center for some art-making, enjoy our 2 p.m. family exhibition tour, or go on your own thematic gallery search. Free. RubinMuseum.org
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Ongoing
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 W. 65th St.; Walter Reade Theater, 165 W. 65th St.
Year-round programming that includes premieres of new films from an international roster of established and emerging directors. $14. FilmLinc.com
ONGOING ELSEWHERE
SummerStage
Through Sept. 23
NYC Parks
New York City’s largest free performing arts festival, bringing more than 100 free performances to Central Park and 15 neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs. Free. SummerStage.org
VISUAL ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare
Through July 17
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West
Containing the first published scripts of 36 of Shakespeare’s most famous plays—including “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” and “As You Like It”—the First Folio will be on display at the New-York Historical Society for 6 weeks. NYhistory.org
Ceramics by Francis Delille Editions Paris
Through Sept. 30
Vallois America, 27 E. 67th St.
Ceramics will showcase a selection of rare pieces of the most prominent contemporary ceramics artists, all produced in La Tuilerie Manufacture in France, a workshop dedicated to preserving the traditions and pushing the limits of ceramic work. Vallois.com
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
Through August 14
Metropolitan Museum of Art
An exploration of how fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Transformed: Medieval Syrian and Iranian Art in the Early 20th Century
Through July 17
The Met Fifth Avenue
In the early 20th century, the arts of medieval Iran and Syria attracted unprecedented interest in the West. Demand by museums and collectors—especially for figural and highly decorated works—promoted commercial and research excavations, and led to the custom of repairing, filling in, and enhancing fragmentary and deteriorated examples. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Chinese Lacquer: Treasures From the Irving Collection, 12th–18th Century
Through June 19
The Met Fifth Avenue
Lacquer, the resin of a family of trees found throughout southern China—as well as in Southeast Asia, Korea, and Japan—is an amazing material. When exposed to oxygen and humidity, lacquer hardens or polymerizes, becoming a natural plastic and an ideal protective covering for screens, trays, and other implements. Mixed with pigments, particularly cinnabar (red) and carbon (black), lacquer has been also used as an artistic media for millennia. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Celebrating the Arts of Japan
Through July 21
The Mary Griggs Burke Collection at The Met Fifth Avenue
This tribute to a great collector reveals the distinctive features of Japanese art as viewed through the lens of fifty years of collecting: the sublime spirituality of Buddhist and Shinto art; the boldness of Zen ink painting; the imaginary world conjured up by the Tale of Genji and classical Japanese literature; the sumptuous colors of bird-and-flower painting; the subtlety of poetry, calligraphy, and literati themes; the aestheticized accouterments of the tea ceremony; and the charming portraiture of courtesans from the “floating world” (ukiyo-e). $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World
Through July 17
The Met Fifth Avenue
The conquests of Alexander the Great transformed the ancient world, making trade and cultural exchange possible across great distances. Alexander’s retinue of court artists and extensive artistic patronage provided a model for his successors, the Hellenistic kings, who came to rule over much of his empire. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs
Through July 24
The Met Fifth Avenue
Spectacular works of art created in the eleventh through thirteenth century from Turkmenistan to the Mediterranean. Approximately 270 objects—including ceramics, glass, stucco, works on paper, woodwork, textiles, and metalwork—from American, European, and Middle Eastern public and private collections will be shown. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Global by Design: Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection
Through Aug. 7
The Met Fifth Avenue
Global by Design will focus on the period—from the late 16th to the 18th century—when Chinese porcelain became a global luxury, transforming both the European ceramic industry and styles of dining and drinking. Featuring 60 exquisite and unusual pieces, this presentation will challenge the long-standing, and overly rigid, tradition of cataloging Chinese ceramics as domestic or trade items. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Expressions of Nature in Korean Art
Through Sept. 18
The Met Fifth Avenue
The display shows how select motifs, especially plants and animals, have been illustrated on ceramics, painting, sculpture, lacquer, and textiles, and what they mean. Some types of images and symbols are nearly universal across East Asia; others are specific to Korea. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
ONGOING ELSEWHERE
In The South Bronx of America
Through Oct. 16
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave.
An astonishing collection of 42 original prints by the photojournalist Mel Rosenthal, revealing the harrowing social conditions of the South Bronx from 1976-82. When these photographs were taken, city officials targeted the South Bronx to become an Enterprise Zone, where factories would be built and their owners given special tax privileges. This marked the start of a tumultuous period of decline in the South Bronx. MCNY.org
PERFORMING ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Swan Lake
June 13–18
Metropolitan Opera
Among the great classics, “Swan Lake” remains the quintessential ballet, the one that defines the standards of the Company, tests its dancers and ennobles the spirit of the audience. This romantic fable of ill-fated passion, dreamlike transformation and ultimate forgiveness is set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score. From $20. MetOpera.org
Romeo and Juliet
June 20–25
Metropolitan Opera
Kenneth MacMillan’s masterful interpretation of Shakespeare’s enduring romantic tragedy has become one of ABT’s signature productions. Against a sumptuous setting in Renaissance Italy, MacMillan weaves a dance tapestry rich in character nuance and sensuality, and Sergei Prokofiev’s instantly recognizable music underscores the lyric beauty and passion of this beloved ballet’s star-crossed lovers. From $20. MetOpera.org
The Sleeping Beauty
June 27–July 2
Metropolitan Opera
Featuring 400 lavish costumes, 210 intricate wigs, and magnificent storybook sets, the beloved story of the beautiful Princess Aurora, the evil sorceress Carabosse, and the awakening kiss of a handsome prince is certain to cast a spell on your heart and imagination. From $20. ABT.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
The Taming of the Shrew
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, 81 Central Park West
Through June 26, 8 p.m.
Tony nominated director Phyllida Lloyd turns Shakespeare’s zany comedy of the sexes “The Taming the Shrew” on its head, with an all-female cast and a bold new take. Free. PublicTheater.org
Mozart Forever: Fifty Years of the Mostly Mozart Festival
Through Aug. 27
New York Public Library for the Performing at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center launched America’s first indoor summer music festival as Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival in August 1966. The idea was a success from the start, and by 1970 the festival had transformed into Mostly Mozart. Free. LincolnCenter.org
ONGOING ELSEWHERE
Le Nozze di Figaro
June 24 at 7:30 p.m., June 27 at 2 p.m., July 9 at 2 p.m., July 15 at 7:30 p.m.
The Spa Little Theater, 21 Roosevelt Dr., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
A cornerstone of the operatic repertoire and one of the most frequently performed operas around the globe, Le nozze di Figaro returns to Opera Saratoga for the first time in twenty years. $50–$95. OperaSaratoga.org
MUSIC
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Yefim Bronfman
June 18, 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall
Acclaimed for his Prokofiev interpretations, Yefim Bronfman concludes his complete cycle of the composer’s piano sonatas, showcasing the complex harmonies and simple lyricism of “Sonata No. 9” and the neoclassical style of “Sonata No. 5.” $80–$95. CarnegieHall.org
Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
June 18, 8 p.m.
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) performs their Carnegie Hall debut. Conducted by Principal Conductor Olivier Ochanine, the concert also features pianist Cecile Licad and violinist Diomedes Saraza, both internationally known Filipino musicians. $22–$130. CarnegieHall.org
Solar Flare: A Celebration of Women Composers
June 19, 6 p.m.
Merkin Concert Hall, 129 W. 67th St.
At a time of enormous creativity and productivity within the new music world, women composers are still under-represented on the concert stage, in competitions and in academia. In a program focused on inspiring young women to compose, large ensembles from NYC’s premier contemporary youth ensemble Face the Music will perform works by established composers as well as young women representing the next generation of compositional voices. $20. KaufmanMusicCenter.org
Soprano Yoko Maria
June 20, 8 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Japanese soprano Yoko Maria returns to Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall after performances in Paris and Sydney. Known for her wide repertoire of Finnish Lieder, she performs Russian romances, German lieder, operatic arias, and traditional Japanese songs. Yoko Maria combines film music and jazz in her own crossover style to be included in this performance. $45. CarnegieHall.org
Karen King
June 22, 8:30 p.m.
The Cutting Room, 44 E 32nd St.
Karen King will perform an all-new selection of music, with jazz tunes, classics and personal rock-pop favorites with an eight-piece band and horn section, including stand-up bassist David Finck, under the direction of acclaimed musical conductor Angelo DiPippo. $40 in advance, $45 at the door. TheCuttingRoomNYC.com
Larisa Migachyov, Piano
June 25, 8 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
This concert celebrating the life and music of ragtime composer Larisa Migachyov features original ragtime works by the composer as well as classics of the genre: rags by Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, James Scott, and more. $30. CarnegieHall.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Spiral Music
Wednesdays
Rubin Museum, 150 W. 17th St.
Spiral Music presents acoustic music every Wednesday evening at the base of the museum’s spiral staircase. Artists who specialize in music from the Himalayas and South Asia are invited to forge a connection between their music and the art in the galleries. Free. RubinMuseum.org