COMMUNITY EVENTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Pirandello 150
Jan. 13–19
209 W. Houston St.
A one-week film festival celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Sicilian playwright Luigi Pirandello. The Nobel laureate has become an adjective for theater around the world via deeply probed themes of illusion and identity, with actors everywhere breaking the fourth wall, and commenting freely on the works they’re simultaneously performing. But further, in his stories and novels, he evoked the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes of his native Sicily. $14. FilmForum.org
New York Ceramics & Glass Fair
Jan. 19–22
Bohemian National Hall, 321 E. 73rd St.
The singular fair of its kind in the United States continues to attract a stellar roster of internationally renowned specialists—from ancient to contemporary, spanning five centuries. $20. NYCeramicsAndGlass.com
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
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 for adults, $12 for students, $15 for seniors. NYHistory.org
Painting the Natural World
Tuesdays through Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.
American Museum of Natural History
In an after-hours painting workshop, artists Greg Follender, and Eric Hamilton provide hands-on instruction in acrylic paint. Get a glimpse into the history and craftsmanship behind world-class dioramas and take home a painting of your own. $255; $240 members. AMNH.org
ONGOING ELSEWHERE
Thursday Nights at the Brooklyn Museum
Thursdays
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy.
See all that the Brooklyn Museum has to offer—compliments of Squarespace. Get access to world-class permanent collections and tours of special exhibitions and events like films and salsa dancing. Free. ThursdayNightsBKM.org
VISUAL ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Perpetual Revolution: The Image and Social Change
Jan. 27–May 7
International Center of Photography, 250 Bowery
This exhibition proposes that an ongoing revolution is taking place politically, socially, and technologically, and that new digital methods of image production, display, and distribution are simultaneously both reporting and producing social change. The epic social and political transformations of the last few years would not have happened with the speed and in such depth if it weren’t for the ever-expanding possibilities offered by this revolution. $14. ICP.org
ONGOING IN MANHATTAN
Power and Piety: Islamic Talismans on the Battlefield
Through Feb. 13
The Met Fifth Avenue
Inscriptions and images on Islamic arms and armor were believed to provide their wearers with safety and success in combat. This exhibition, featuring some 30 works from The Met collection, examines the role of text and image in the construction and function of arms and armor in the Islamic world. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Celebrating the Arts of Japan
Through May 14
The Met Fifth Avenue
This tribute to a great collector reveals the distinctive features of Japanese art as viewed through the lens of 50 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 accoutrements of the tea ceremony; and the charming portraiture of courtesans from the “floating world” (ukiyo-e). $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Renaissance Maiolica: Painted Pottery for Shelf and Table
Through May 29
The Met Fifth Avenue
This exhibition of Renaissance maiolica, drawn exclusively from The Met’s world-renowned collection, will celebrate the publication of Maiolica, Italian Renaissance Ceramics in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Timothy Wilson. As Wilson writes, “Painted pottery, at its most ambitious, is a serious form of Italian Renaissance art, with much to offer those interested in the wider culture of this astoundingly creative period.” $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
ENDING IN MANHATTAN
Fragonard: Drawing Triumphant
Through Jan. 8
The Met Fifth Avenue
Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806)—one of the most forward-looking and inventive artists of the 18th century—was equally skilled in painting, drawing, and etching. Unlike many old masters for whom drawing was a preparatory tool, Fragonard explored the potential of chalk, ink, and wash to create sheets that were works of art in their own right. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven
Through Jan. 8
Gallery 899 at The Met Fifth Avenue
This exhibition will illuminate the key role that the Holy City played in shaping the art of the period from 1000 to 1400. While Jerusalem is often described as a city of three faiths, that formulation underestimates its fascinating complexity. In fact, the city was home to multiple cultures, faiths, and languages. History records harmonious and dissonant voices of people from many lands, passing in the narrow streets of a city not much larger than midtown Manhattan. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
The Battle of Brooklyn
Through Jan. 8
New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West
On August 27, 1776, on the marshy fields of Gowanus and Red Hook, George Washington and his rag-tag army of untrained soldiers fought the Royal Army, one of the most powerful military forces in the world. NYHistory.org
Borrowed Time: Icelandic Artists Look Forward
Through Jan. 14
Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave.
Works by contemporary Icelandic artists currently engaged in the global dialogue on sustainability and the ethical issues—environmental, economic, cultural, and social—that surround it. Featuring photography, video, collage, and installation, the exhibition invites viewers to challenge their assumptions and explore new modes of seeing. ScandinaviaHouse.org
Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio
Through Jan. 16
Gallery 999 at The Met Fifth Avenue
This will be the first monographic exhibition devoted to Valentin, who is little known because his career was short-lived—he died at age 41—and his works are so rare. Around 60 paintings by Valentin survive, and this exhibition will bring together 45 of them, with works coming from Rome, Vienna, Munich, Madrid, London, and Paris. $12–$25 suggested. METMuseum.org
Cagnacci’s Repentant Magdalene: An Italian Baroque Masterpiece From the Norton Simon Museum
Through Jan. 22
The Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St.
Guido Cagnacci was one of the most eccentric painters of seventeenth-century Italy, infamous for the unconventionality of both his art and his lifestyle. Frick.org
ENDING ELSEWHERE
Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed
Through January
National Museum of the American Indian
This bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition illuminates Central America’s diverse and dynamic ancestral heritage with a selection of more than 150 objects. Free. NMAI.si.edu
Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present
Through Jan. 8
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy.
The most comprehensive presentation of sports photography ever produced, encompassing approximately 230 works by more than 170 photographers, highlighting the aesthetic, cultural, and historical significance of these images and artists in the history of sports. Suggested $16. BrooklynMuseum.org
PERFORMING ARTS
NEW IN MANHATTAN
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Jan. 9–Feb. 11
Metropolitan Opera
Peter Mattei reprises one of his most compelling portrayals, that of the wily barber Figaro. The Met’s popular production of Rossini’s comedic jewel—performed in the full-length Italian version—also pairs bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena as the lovers Rosina and Count Almaviva, with Maurizio Benini conducting. From $25. MetOpera.org
Shen Yun Performing Arts
Jan. 11–15
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
Fascinating stories from 5,000 years of Chinese culture are told through the vivid athleticism and deep expressiveness of classical Chinese dance, one of the most demanding art forms in the world. $80–$300. ShenYun.com
Balanchine Short Stories
Jan. 17–29
David H. Koch Theater
An ethereal sleepwalker leaving tragedy in her wake. A seductive siren interrupting the path toward redemption. A creature of flickering flame heralding the demise of an evil sorcerer. Three of Balanchine’s greatest narrative works coincide to demonstrate his masterful storytelling. $30–$175. NYCBallet.com
Carmen
Jan. 19–Feb. 18
Metropolitan Opera
Two French mezzo-sopranos, Sophie Koch and Clémentine Margaine, alternate as Bizet’s immortal heroine. Tenor Marcelo Alvarez is her hapless soldier Don José, and newcomer Maria Agresta—a sensation in her debut in La Bohème in the current Met season—is the devoted Micaëla, who fights to save him. Dan Ettinger and Louis Langrée share conducting duties. From $25. MetOpera.org
Rigoletto
Jan. 20–April 27
Metropolitan Opera
Michael Mayer’s hit production of Rigoletto places the action in a neon-bedecked Las Vegas in 1960. Stephen Costello and Joseph Calleja alternate as the womanizing Duke, Olga Peretyatko is the innocent Gilda, and Zeljko Lucic reprises his heartbreaking take on the tragic title role. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts. From $25. MetOpera.org
MUSIC
NEW IN MANHATTAN
7th Annual Ecstatic Music Festival
Jan. 9–May 13
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 W. 67th St.
More than 80 artists from across the sonic spectrum come together for nine collaborative, one-night-only performances. Composers and performers from different musical genres come together for nine one-night-only performances featuring world premieres, new arrangements and the exclusive opportunity to hear artists discuss their work. $100–$175. KaufmanMusicCenter.org
Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto and Brahms’s Third Symphony
Jan. 11–14
David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
Beethoven’s magisterial and poetic Emperor Concerto will be performed to perfection by Stephen Hough. Also on the program: Brahms’s Third Symphony—perhaps his most personal and serene, once compared to “a rainbow after a thunderstorm.” $34–$145. NYPhil.org
Valley of Tears: Bass Cantatas and Instrumental Sonatas by Johann Rosenmüller
Jan. 15 at 4 p.m.
Corpus Christi Church, 529 W. 121st St.
Singer Jesse Blumberg and ACRONYM’s twelve instrumental soloists intersperse Johann Rosenmüller’s chamber sonatas, published in Venice in 1670, with unpublished bass cantatas—one of which contains the words, “lachrimarum valle.” Mid-career, Rosenmüller was forced to flee from Leipzig to Venice where he lived for many years, lavishing his musical gifts upon that city. $25–$40. MB1800.org
Beloved Friend: Tchaikovsky and His World
Jan. 24–Feb. 11
Various locations
A luxurious deep dive into Tchaikovsky and composers close to him. Semyon Bychkov conducts the three-week festival, featuring pianists Yefim Bronfman and Kirill Gerstein. $31–$145. NYPhil.org
Pyotr the Great: The Songs of Tchaikovsky and His Students
Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 W. 67th St.
The songs of Peter Ilytch Tchaikovsky are among the most beautiful of the Romantic era. Many of them seem autobiographical, giving expression to the emotional upheavals of his life. This program delves into the rich repertoire of Tchaikovsky’s vocal music, along with a selection of songs written by his students (Glière, Scriabin, Taneyev, and Rachmaninoff) and his teacher (Anton Rubinstein). $20–$55. KaufmanMusicCenter.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
