Operas are in the air. Given the weather we’ve been having, big gusts of classical music seem appropriate. The other big cultural inspiration is New Haven itself, which figures heavily in two art exhibits and the annual May Day celebration on the Green.
Monday, April 28
The Cultural Capital
Elm City Artists has a new exhibit that really lives up to the name of the organization. New Haven and Beyond lets Sharon R. Morgio, Ralph R. Schwartz, Regina M. Thomas, Laura Wilk and Margaret Ulecka Wilson share their visions of New Haven and the Connecticut coastline through paintings, collages, pottery and other media. Viewing hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
That’s Mister F To You
Mister F is a four-piece widely traveled New England jam band featuring members of Capital Zen and Timbre Coup. They play .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (204 Crown St.) tonight at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, April 29
Tree of Learning
Children can decorate the tree sculpture on the second floor of the main Ives building of New Haven Free Public Library (133 Elm St.) with fresh “leaves” during a snack-and-story event tonight at 6 p.m. The tree is a vestige of Broken Umbrella Theater’s Library Project performance event at the library two years ago. http://nhfpl.org/
Play Play
Circle Mirror Transformation is a play about acting and life, set at a community-center drama class in Vermont. Southern Connecticut State University’s Crescent Players perform and Kaia Monroe Rarick directs Annie Baker’s emotional comedy (which was an Off Broadway hit in 2010) tonight through Sunday in the university’s Kendall Drama Lab. Performances are at 8 p.m., except for Sunday which is a 2 p.m. matinee. $10.
Wednesday, April 30
Carving Up History
New Haven Museum is opening a new exhibit tonight with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. It’s an art show, with sculptures created from actual pieces of the landmark Lincoln Oak which blew down on New Haven Green in 2012. Bioarchaeologists add their insights to the artwork and excavations. Nothing is Set in Stone: The Lincoln Oak and the New Haven Green is on view in New Haven Museum’s North Gallery through Nov. 2. 114 Whitney Ave. (203) 562‑4183.
From the Heart
Dr. John Elefteriades, who runs the Aortic Institute at Yale, has written a memoir about some of the thousands of patients he’s treated over the years. Elefteriades discusses and signs the book, Extraordinary Hearts: A Journey of Cardiac Medicine and the Human Spirit, 6 p.m. at the Yale Bookstore (77 Broadway).
Dancing on the Walls
David Michalek’s art/film/movement project Slow Dancing takes videos of dancers, slows them down to capture a specific five-second gesture, then projects them onto screens, triptych style. It’s an elaborate presentation, painstakingly produced, and being projected in Yale’s Cross Campus Plaza (438 College St.) starting today at 8 a.m. and continuing through Sunday at 8 p.m. Free, and brought to you by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. (203) 432‑5062.
Thursday, May 1
Bloom in Spring
Local sculptor Meg Bloom’s latest gallery show, “Mixing Memory With Desire,” opens today at City Gallery (994 State St.). The opening reception is Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.
Double Vision
The movie On the Black Hill, based on the Bruce Chatwin novel about Welsh twins who live through most of the 20th century, is shown at 7 p.m. tonight in Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center (53 Wall St.). It’s part of the spring film series hosted by the Yale Center for British Art, which has a new exhibit by Welsh artist Richard Wilson.
Friday, May 2
New Brew Revue
This month’s “On9” celebration in the Ninth Square has a “Brew On9” theme. The main event is a series of beer and ale tastings at over a dozen locations throughout the neighborhood. (There’s a fee for that, $15, and check-in is 6 p.m. at The Grove Studio, 71 Orange St.). There’ll also be the usual open houses at businesses in the area, and the band Useless Degree is playing at 5 p.m. at Café Nine (250 State St.).
Poppea Opera
The Yale Baroque Opera Project lets undergrads (and a few ringers from the grad-school or professional opera realms) perform classics from the 17th century in a manner that blends traditional performance styles with modern needs. This year the show is Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, directed by Yale Theater Studies associate professor Toni Dorfman and music-directed by Collegium Musicum’s Grant Herreid. 5 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Yale University Theater (22 York St.). Free.
Glass Slipper
Yale Opera, a program of the Yale School of Music, performs Rossini’s funny version of the Cinderella legend, La Cenerentola, 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow at Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall (470 College St.; 203 – 432-4158).
Saturday, May 3
As Ye May
The annual May Day community celebration on New Haven Green used to happen on May Day itself, but in recent years the event has staked out some weekend time, which has brought larger audiences and more stuff to do. May Day consumes the Green from noon to 5 p.m., with such traditions as the graffiti wall, Flint Ladder Circus’ activities for kids, speeches and spoken word performances, and lots of information booths for local peace & social justice organizations. The live music this year comes from The Coalition (featuring High Heel Hush and Mega Hood), the Dudley Farm String Band, Global Nuisance, Terryl Lee, Jose Oyola and the Astronauts and Luke Rodney.
Something New, Something Blue…
The Civic Orchestra of New Haven holds its Spring Concert 7:30 p.m. at Battell Chapel (corner of Elm and College streets), doing Strauss’ “Four Last Songs” (with soprano Stephanie Gregory) and “Blue Danube Waltz,” plus Dvorak’s New World Symphony. $15, $10 students & seniors.
I Wanna Rachmaninoff All Night
Rachmaninoff’s “All Night Vigil” doesn’t actually last all night. the New Haven Oratorio Choir performs this tricky religious vocal work (based on Russian Orthodox ceremonies) at 8 p.m. tonight in Church of the Redeemer (185 Cold Spring St.). (203) 248‑4416.
Sunday, May 4
Blues Busters
Local blues titans are converging on Café Nine (250 State St.; 203 – 789-8281) for an “All Star Blues Jam in Support of the Center for Hospice Care,” starting at 4 p.m. Free, but give money to the cause.
Dead to Rights
Lisa Williams communicates with the dead, so it’s funny that her TV series Voices from the Other Side would be broadcast on the Lifetime network. Her other Lifetime show is Life Among the Dead. You can see Williams, ahem, live in person tonight at 7 p.m. in Southern Connecticut State University’s Lyman Hall, where this acclaimed clairvoyant and medium will do readings of members of the audience and attempt to reach those who’ve crossed over. (The website warns “purchase of a ticket does not guarantee a reading.” Seriously? That’s the only caveat, for a show that purports to talk to the dead?) $20-$60.
