Trios come and trios go, but the Prometheus Trio
is on its way to rival the Marx Brothers in longevity. Stefanie Jacob (piano), Timothy Klabunde (violin) and Scott Tisdel (cello) are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, kicking it off with a pair of concerts at their home base, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Good trio stuff on this program. Staples like Brahms and Haydn, and a newer work (one of the trio’s trademarks): “Mood Swings” by Paul Moravec.
Of course, some people like their music with a little less intimacy and a lot more oomph. Perhaps something on the order of a 34-piece marching-circus-punk-gypsy-band who can play Balkan dance music and the theme from The Brady Bunch? Chicago’s Mucca Pazza kicks off the annual Global Union music festival at Humboldt Park. And we’re told they’re bringing their cheerleaders. The rest of the two-day festival is a potent music
al stew from all over the world: feedback-driven ska, Sufi trance dance, Mediterranean electronica.
There’s another potent mixture brewing at Turner Hall, as Wild Space Dance Company gets ready to unleash its latest site-specific spectacle. Think of it as a dance concert crossed with a junior-high gym class, and you might get close to the blend of choreography, rock climbing, fencing, etc. that will take over the Turner enclave. And true to Turner Tradition, you can pair your concert with a Friday Fish Fry.
If you missed it this summer at American Players Theatre, you can catch James DeVita’s one-woman play, The Desert Queen, at a reading sponsored by the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. APT company member Sarah Day plays Gertrude Bell, archeologist, intelligence officer, women’s rights activist.
Film buffs have no doubt been waiting for the Milwaukee Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday. The UWM Union Theater‘s season is already a few weeks old. If you haven’t caught up yet, this would be a great weekend to start. Jia Zhang-ke’s 24 City is a Cannes Palme d’Or nomi
nee that chronicles the lives of three generations of Chinese factory workers using both documentary interviews and fictional scenes. And Olivier Assayas’s Summer Hours stars Juliette Binoche as one of three siblings struggling over their family inheritance.
Finally, there’s sure to be lots of interest in the onstage drama at Skylight Opera. The group’s summertime travails and triumphs were part of an inspiring Milwaukee arts story, and we think the momentum will keep things rolling right into a terrific and successful season. True to its 50-year tradition, the Skylight opens its season with the first part of an innovative Beaumarchais double header. Rossini’s The Barber of Seville begins the story of Figaro and his exploits. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which the Skylight will stage in January, continues the saga.
