Leisure

    In “da Vinci & Michelangelo: The Titans Experience,” the curator of the da Vinci exhibit running through Christmas at Water Tower Place will take audiences on a journey through the Italian Renaissance as seen through the eyes these monumental geniuses. By comparing and contrasting their lives and accomplishments, Mark Rodgers relates them to today’s world while helping audience members discover their inner da Vinci and Michelangelo. The multi-media event features movies, videos, 3-D animations and images of their inventions, machines, sketches, codices, paintings and sculptures. For additional information and tickets, visit www.discoverdavinci.com.

  Italian pop superstar Eros Ramazzotti will bring his Perfetto World Tour to the Rosemont Theatre on Oct. 7. The show will feature selections from his multi-platinum “Perfetto” album plus hits that span more than three decades. Born in 1963 in a suburb of Rome, Ramazzotti began playing the guitar at the age of 7 and writing songs as a teenager. His career took off in 1984, when his song, “Terra promessa,” won in the Newcomers category at the Sanremo Festival and was subsequently released throughout Europe. Since then, he has released 11 studio albums, one EP, three compilation albums, …

  Ever since its première at the Teatro San Carlo on Sept. 26, 1835, “Lucia di Lammermoor” has held a firm position in the standard opera repertoire. For one thing, it’s Gaetano Donizetti’s greatest musical masterpiece, chock full of brilliant pieces from beginning to end, all brightly colored by the composer’s creative orchestration. For another, the text was very cleverly adapted by Salvatore Cammarano, whom Verdi declared to be the best librettist in Italy, from the 1819 novel, “The Bride of Lammermoor” by Sir Walter Scott, himself no slouch when it came to spinning a tale or turning a phrase. …

  I just love going to Nashville. I mean, for the most part, it’s really like you would think it would be … almost a “Hee-Haw” parody of itself in some ways. The touristic sections are filled with cowboy hats and boots, Grand Ole Opry concert replica posters everywhere and scores of Garth Brooks wannabees walkin’ the streets with six-string guitars over their shoulders. But it surely does have its own magic, and if you keep an open mind, you don’t have to be particularly partial to country music to appreciate the historic nature and the sincere warmth of the …

If you want to “fly under the radar” at an airport, I wouldn’t suggest you walk with rocker Jim Peterik. His signature look of bright purple hair, buckle-studded vinyl jacket and jeweled cowboy boots is an open invitation for folks to stare and approach. More often than not, he gets “You look like somebody … who are you?” But there are many more who know him from 50 years of performing, writing and recording in the music industry. We are sitting on a plane together as he and I were asked to co-host another PBS Television special, this time on …

Even though I was born in the early ’60s, I was brought up in a World War II household. My dad was an 18-year-old sergeant in the U.S. Army fighting Hitler’s brigade in Anzio, Rome and Southern France. My mom was born in Florence, Italy, and watched American tanks roll by her house on a daily basis. By the time I came along 21 later, the war stories at the kitchen table were shared regularly, often ending in an argument about Mussolini pre Hitler vs. Mussolini post Hitler. It was a complicated battle that my younger sister, brother and I …

Well, we lost another one. Frank Sinatra Jr. died of a massive heart attack on March 16, just before he was to go on stage for a performance in Florida. He was 72: 11 years younger than his father was when he passed away in 1998. I was fortunate to have worked with Jr. on many occasions over the years, most recently in November when he appeared at the Arcada Theatre to celebrate “A Century of Sinatra” in honor of what would have been his father’s 100th birthday. It was an incredible night, with Jr. showing rarely seen photos and …

  Dec. 12, 1915, Hoboken, New Jersey … “Chairman of the Board” to be Francis Albert Sinatra, was born to Italian immigrants. The wiry, blue-eyed kid with a huge smile loved to sing, and at the tender age of 8 sang publically for the first time. His father, Antonio, a lightweight boxer and Hoboken Fire Department Captain, propped him up on the bar in a local saloon to entertain his fellow firemen and “The Voice” was born. Music was his passion, and school wasn’t. He barely made it to high school before he decided to pack up his blue eyes …

The real star of “Nabucco” is the chorus, and conductor Carlo Rizzi clearly understands this, as he gave the celebrated body their head. And under the direction of Chorus Master Michael Black, they sang more exuberantly than ever, thrilling the jam-packed Civic Opera house audience that braved single-digit temperatures to see the opera that launched Verdi’s career as the King of Italian Opera. Again and again, the chorus, if Hebrews, Babylonians or whatever, made the very most of each choral number. And they were consistently excellent whether singing distinctly as a chorus, like the famous Act III, scene ii “Va, …

  Giuseppe Verdi’s “Nabucco” is one of the most significant works of art ever created. Not only is its impact historic in launching Verdi’s successful career as an opera composer and so decidedly affecting the direction of Romantic opera, but it clearly had a historic impact on Italy and European politics. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine what Europe might look like even today if “Nabucco” had not been staged at La Scala in March 1842. Perhaps the greatest miracle of “Nabucco” was that it was the work of a very troubled young composer — certainly a talented man, but …