Leisure

This fall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is offering access its best free and premium content on demand and in high definition on CSOtv. Premiering Oct. 1, the CSO will release several new digital collections on its new online channel, including CSO Sessions, a series of chamber music performances with CSO musicians filmed on stage in Orchestra Hall. Also premiering on CSOtv will be archival CSO concerts, programs for children, jazz performances, piano recitals and more. Episodes go on sale Sept. 17, with paid programming starting at $15. To sign up, click, here.      

Thirty-One Days of Italians has released its 2021 listing. The list provides a person of Italian heritage to learn about and celebrate for each day in October, Italian American Heritage Month. Thirty-One Days of Italians was established in 2006 by educator and researcher Janice Mancuso to promote the significant contributions that those of Italian heritage have made to America. The website features 74 names in total, with some appearing on the annual list each year and others rotating in and out. The first day in October honors the Italian immigrant and the last day is set aside to honor someone …

Local artist Cosima Aryee has had a busy summer, with works on display at no fewer than four locations across the Chicago area. Her oil-on-canvas paintings can be viewed through September as part of a group exhibit at the Elmhurst Art Museum Guild Gallery and at a solo show at Overland Gallery in Harvard. A solo exhibit at Prairie Title in Oak Park and a nationally juried show at the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock wrapped up in August. Born in Taranto, Italy, Aryee moved to Chicago when she was 12 years old. She served in the U.S. …

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. …

As any music historian will tell you, composer Gaetano Donizetti didn’t intend his three operas about Tudor queens as a trilogy. Written in separate years with different librettists, the operas focus on climactic and at times highly fictionalized moments in the lives of Anne Boleyn in “Anna Bolena,” Mary Queen of Scots in “Maria Stuarda” and Queen Elizabeth I in “Roberto Devereux.” While long looked upon individually as proving grounds for the greatest divas of our time, the trio was forever linked when Beverly Sills sang all three roles with the New York City Opera in the 1970s. Jumping forward …

The second collaboration with the librettist Da Ponte, “Don Giovanni” is rightfully considered one of Mozart’s highest accomplishments and is one of the gold standards of the operatic repertory. Based on the figure of Don Juan, Don Giovanni is a serial seducer, causing mayhem indiscriminately until he reaps his just rewards. The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened their run of “Don Giovanni” on November 14 to a packed and appreciative house. Running through December 8, it’s a production well worth seeing. Transported to 1920s Spain, the sets and costumes are a feast for the eyes. A true ensemble piece, the …

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.