FineArtsLA.com has found another way to help build a community of younger and hipper music and arts fans in Los Angeles through the acquisition of a Facebook account. For those interested in keeping up with the latest Forty Unders concert and ballet giveaways and beating the rush for free tickets, there is a new weapon for your hyperactive media arsenal.
In addition to being our BFF, by joining us on Facebook you’ll have the chance to view a mini-version of our site with smaller text and the occasional “subscriber-only” bonus material: lengthier descriptions of Forty Unders events, fancy images, trolls, and the dubious pleasure of watching us fight spammers in an effete manner. You’ll also find yourself on the same friends listing with some great music ensembles and some of the music world’s sung and unsung talents.
Now we’re well aware that great numbers of our readers may not be inclined to align themselves with anything requiring a password (our forum, for example). Rest assured: All of the main content is still only available here.
To connect with us via Facebook, go to: http://www.facebook.com/people/Fine_Arts_LAcom/1197714618 and meet your peers.
No word yet on when we’re moving to Silver Lake.
— Sam Mendizabal
Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra presents an original multi-media event, “SEDUCTION AND DESPAIR,” directed by and starring Academy Award nominee John Malkovich on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, at Barnum Hall Theatre, 601 Pico Blvd, in Santa Monica.
From a libretto by Michael Sturminger, Malkovich enacts the true story of poet, author, journalist, and convicted serial killer Jack Unterweger. The costumed melodrama is underscored by Gluck’s “Don Juan” and works by Boccherini, Vivaldi, Handel, Weber, Haydn, and Mozart, performed on original period instruments under the baton of the orchestra’s music director and conductor, Martin Haselböck. Andreas Hutter’s atmospheric video serves as the stage set and a visual representation of events in Unterweger’s life.
Haselböck tells FineArtsLA that he looks forward to “the coming together of one of the great actors with the very best baroque musicians of Southern California in a new form of art.”
The 90-minute performance opens as Unterweger reads from his new novel before drifting into memories. Sopranos Celine Ricci and Robin Johannsen represent a variety of characters with whom Unterweger interacts. A promotional press release says, “Each scene and aria represents an emotional expression — Joy, Hatred, Love, Grief, Desire, and Admiration — illustrating Unterweger’s connections to women.”
Tickets, info, and season brochures are available at www.MusicaAngelica.org, or by calling (310) 458-4504.
— Penny Orloff
