The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
July 26-Aug 3, 2023
With so much going on culturally speaking in our greater Berkshires/Hudson Valley region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising upcoming events …
OONA DOHERTY BRINGS EXPERIMENTAL DANCE to JACOB’S PILLOW
Oona Doherty will make her Jacob’s Pillow debut this summer as the first headlining artist from Northern Ireland to perform at the festival in Becket, Mass., from Wednesday, July 26, through Sunday, July 30. Based in Belfast and now touring internationally, Doherty — a choreographer, dancer, collaborator, and visual artist — was the recipient of the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Biennale in 2021. Doherty’s Pillow residency includes the U.S. premiere of Navy Blue, her largest work yet, a mash-up of ensemble dance, spoken word poetry, political candor, and eclectic music ranging from Rachmaninoff to the pulsing sounds of Jamie xx. The company will also perform Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus. (Wed-Sun, Jul 26-30)
KRONOS QUARTET HEADLINES BANG ON A CAN FESTIVAL at MASS MoCA
The Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, headlines Bang on a Can’s three-day LOUD Weekend festival at MASS MoCA, taking place Thursday through Saturday, July 27-29, with dozens of events popping up on stages and in galleries throughout the campus of the cultural laboratory in North Adams. Kronos will perform works by Bang on a Can cofounder Michael Gordon, minimalist avatar Terry Riley, and others. Bang on a Can's resident ensemble, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, will perform music by George Lewis, Meredith Monk, and Bang on a Can cofounder Julia Wolfe, and Vicky Chow will play piano etudes by Philip Glass. (Thu-Sat, Jul 27-29)
JULIA WOLFE on MUSICAL MENU at TANGLEWOOD
Julia Wolfe will also be on the menu at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Friday, July 28, at 8pm, when Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Lorelei Ensemble in Wolfe’s Her Story, a BSO co-commission. The program additionally features a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. (Fri, Jul 28)
SAINT-SAËNS’S OPERA HENRI VIII KICKS OFF BARD SUMMERSCAPE
The 20th annual Bard SummerScape Festival presents the first major new American production of Camille Saint-Saëns’s grand opera Henri VIII at the Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Wednesday, July 26, at 2pm; Friday, July 28, at 4pm; and Sunday, July 30, at 2pm. The original staging by visionary French director Jean-Romain Vesperini features bass-baritone Alfred Walker with the American Symphony Orchestra and Bard Festival Chorale led by festival founder and co-artistic director Leon Botstein. (Wed, Jul 26; Fri, Jul 28; Sun, Jul 30)
LEYLA McCALLA BRINGS BLACK ROOTS MUSIC to BARD
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla, a former cellist with the Grammy Award-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, brings her soulful blend of Black roots music to the Spiegeltent at the Bard Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Thursday, July 27, at 8pm. McCalla’s sound is a fusion of her New Orleans influences with her Haitian ancestry. (Thu, Jul 27)
IRON & WINE BRINGS INDIE-FOLK to UPAC in KINGSTON
Iron & Wine, the musical project of singer-songwriter Sam Beam, brings its Back to Basics tour, featuring its singular blend of indie-folk and Americana, to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Friday, July 28, at 8pm. (Fri, Jul 28)
GUITARIST JESSE COOK BRINGS NUEVO FLAMENCO to MAHAIWE
Guitarist Jesse Cook will bring his unique blend of flamenco, world music, jazz, pop, Brazilian samba, and Persian music to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, July 29, at 8pm. The Canadian guitarist has won eleven Juno Award nominations (Canada’s answer to the Grammy Awards), a Gemini Award, and three Canadian Smooth Jazz Guitarist of the Year awards. (Sat, Jul 29)
DON WHITE BRINGS SONGS and COMEDY to GUTHRIE CENTER
It is a constantly debated question as to whether to categorize Don White as a singer-songwriter first and a comedian second or vice-versa. White brings his blend of comedy, storytelling, and folk-singing to the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, July 29, at 8pm. (Sat, Jul 29)
‘POLKA CHINATA’ GETS MODERN UPDATE at PS21
Italian theatermaker Alessandro Sciarroni brings his inventive revival of the polka chinata, a nearly lost Bolognese courtship dance from the last century, called Save the Last Dance for Me, to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday, July 29, at 7:30pm. The polka chinata, or “crouched polka,” is a rarity in ballroom dancing, as it was originally performed exclusively by pairs of men. (Sat, Jul 29)
DANISH STRING QUARTET at MAVERICK CONCERTS in WOODSTOCK
The Grammy Award-nominated Danish String Quartet will perform works by Haydn, Shostakovich, Britten, and Schubert at Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday, July 30, at 4pm. Three of the group’s members are from Denmark; the cellist, however, hails from Norway. (Sun, Jul 30)
LORI McKENNA BRINGS NEW-FOLK to LEVON HELM STUDIOS
New-folk singer-songwriters Lori McKenna and Mark Erelli bring their personal, intimate song portraits to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday, July 30, at 8pm. (Sun, Jul 30)
LUCY KAPLANSKY BRINGS NEW-FOLK PORTRAITS to CAFFE LENA
New York City singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky brings her intimate songs of love and heartache to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Thursday, August 3, at 7pm. (Thu, Aug 3)
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Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (6)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook
Julie Abraham Stone
Mary Herr Tally