Leisure News

If adversity breeds innovation, no industry has had to be as adaptive as the performing arts this year. In the wake of the unexpected and worldwide shutdown, New York City-based opera coaches Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff reacted quickly to the closure of opera houses and schools, creating an online practice diary exploring the basics of vocal technique according to the well-known lesson book of Italian composer Nicola Vaccai. With the swift international success of “The Vaccai Project,” Jonck and Goff realized that they had discovered a method of delivering content that was not merely a quarantine-era substitute, but rather …

With the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2019-20 season cut short by a pandemic that has brought normal life to a standstill, any ray of hope is both welcome and needed. The company has offered exactly that, mapping out a 2020-21 lineup full of Italian classics, talent and hidden treasures. Kicking things off in mid-September is a spectacular double bill of one-act operas: Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” A powerhouse pairing of searing dramas, the production will be conducted by Carlo Rizzi and will feature the Lyric debut of baritone Ambrogio Maestri as Alfio in Cavalleria and Tonio in Pagliacci. …

The Lyric Opera will offer eight performances of Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” between Sept. 28 and Oct. 27. Featuring an overture made famous by the Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd caper cartoon “The Rabbit of Seville,” Rossini’s comic masterpiece recounts the efforts of the resourceful rascal Figaro to release the irrepressible Rosina from the clutches of her pompous old guardian, Dr. Bartolo, and into the arms of her sweetheart, the bold young count Almaviva. The part of Dr. Bartolo will be performed by renowned Italian buffo bass-baritone Alessandro Corbelli.  For details, click here.

The Chicago Blackhawks will celebrate Italian Heritage Month with a special ticket offer for the Oct. 27 game against the Los Angeles Kings. Fans who purchase tickets through www.chicagoblackhawks.com/italianheritage will receive an Italian-themed Blackhawks winter hat. VIP ticket packages are also available, and include an exclusive pregame reception in the Concert Club with food and beverage provided. Groups of 10 or more will receive savings off single-game pricing. To book a group, contact Kathleen Massolio at 312-455-7020 or

The Addison Sister Cities Italy Exchange will host a benefit concert on Oct. 18 at Addison Trail High School, 213 N. Lombard Road. The concert will feature The Four C Notes, Chicago’s only tribute group dedicated to creating the iconic sounds of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The quartet will put on a show featuring hits like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Workin’ My Way Back to You” and “Oh, What A Night.” Tickets are $30 plus processing fee, and can be purchased at fourcnotesdupagehsd88.eventbrite.com.

Fresh off a two-year-plus run on his Stay Hungry Tour, Billboard’s inaugural Comedian of the Year Sebastian Maniscalco is back with the You Bother Me tour, which will visit 12 cities in the U.S. and Canada throughout its fall run. Touted as “the comedian’s comedian” by People Magazine, Maniscalco finds himself “at the vanguard of a live comedy revolution,” according to Pollstar. And the man “NBC Nightly News” called “comedy’s new superstar” is showing no signs of stopping. A native of the Chicago area, Maniscalco will of course make a stop in Chicago, performing at the United Center on Nov. …

IA Literati 2019 — Casa Italia’s 15th annual celebration of local Italian-American authors — ran from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on June 1 in the Florentine Room of the Italian Cultural Center in Stone Park. The event began with a meet-and-greet with the authors at 9:30, followed by presentations at 10. Additional activities included book sales, book signings, raffles and a light lunch at intermission. Several new authors, including Adam Kessel, Alanna Crisci, Maria Rosaria D’Alfonso and Peter Belmonte, took part in the event along with veteran literati Lou Corsino, Kathy DeNicolo, CJ Martello, Kathryn Occhipinti and Tony Romano. …

A contemporary Chicago artist has drawn inspiration from a series of 14th-century Italian frescoes to create an immersive carpet mural that’s on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art through July 7. Jessica Campbell’s candid and often humorous textiles, comics and drawings critique the traumas and absurdities of gender politics. For her “Chicago Works” exhibition, Campbell re-envisions the life and artwork of Canadian painter Emily Carr (1871-1945), celebrated for her expressive landscapes, to explore the challenges women face in everyday settings and the creative possibilities of reading and telling stories from multiple perspectives. The centerpiece of the exhibition is an …

  Some of the best Rugby players in Italy and Ireland will compete in Chicago in November as part of a Rugby Weekend hosted by USA Rugby and TLA Worldwide in conjunction with Chicago Sports Commission and Soldier Field. All matches will take place at Soldier Field on Nov. 3 The USA Women’s Eagles will open the match line-up against the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup Champion Black Ferns. Six Nations Champions Ireland will then take on Six Nations rivals Italy. The final match will pit the USA Men’s Eagles against New Zealand’s Maori All Blacks. Tickets are available at …

After spending more than half a century nestled in Wilder Park in west suburban Elmhurst, the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Arts will be pulling up roots and moving to nearby Oak Brook. The museum purchased property at 1220 Kensington Road with plans to open in 2019. Space and access limitations and lack of ownership of the Elmhurst site prompted the decision to move. The museum was founded in 1962 by Joseph Lizzadro, an Italian immigrant who started out as a cobbler and rose to the chairmanship of Meade Electric in Chicago. An avid collector of carved gems and semi-precious stones, …