Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Italic Indiana Jones
The College of Lake County in Grayslake will screen Alice Rohrwacher’s 2023 fantasy-dramedy “La Chimera” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6. Set in 1980s Italy, the film follows Arthur, a tomb raider recently released from prison. Motivated by his supernatural ability to find precious buried objects, his fellow “tombaroli” quickly pull him back into his old life. But Arthur prefers to reconnect with the family of an ex-girlfriend who has disappeared. “Rohrwacher melds mischief, myth and melancholy in this playful and quietly bewitching contemporary folk tale … infused with wonder,” the cinema website Empire reports. The film features adult content and isn’t suitable for children. For more, click here.
Food for thought
The Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago will present “From Seeds to Factory: Design’s Role in Advancing the Food Industry,” at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 12 at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Experts from academia and industry will reveal how product, system and design innovation have improved the way food moves from the farm to the market while building circular food economies. Held on Italian Design Day, the event is being hosted in partnership with the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech and the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano. For more, click here.
Get ready to laugh
Laughing Stock Theatre, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, will present three brand new Commedia dell’Arte plays written by Chicago playwrights during the month of February. To find out more and register for “Tales of the Ten: an adaptation of The Decameron” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 11, click here. To find out more and register for “Sugar and Spice and Everything Vice” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 18, click here. To find out more and register for “The Lesbian Pirate Show” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25, click here.
Neapolitan at heart
“Think Tom Jones, Italian-style.” That’s how The Boston Globe described the voice and music of multilingual Neapolitan pop crooner Patrizio Buanne, who has sold more than 10 million records around the world. Buanne will perform at 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Des Plaines Theatre as part of his U.S. tour to promote his latest album, “The Neapolitan,” released in October 2023. “It has always been important to me to continue to share my culture and tradition with everyone,” Buanne says. “While Europe or the world changes, I am fortunate to simply be myself: Patrizio, the Neapolitan, who moves his audience to dance or to tears with powerful songs.” For more, click here.
Hearing double
Italian harpsichordist Michele Benuzzi will team up with local conductor and musician Stephen Alltop for a vintage keyboard concert on Feb. 23 at Northwestern University. The 7:30 p.m. performance will take place at the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Benuzzi is the founder of Arcomelo, a chamber ensemble dedicated to showcasing 17th- and 18th-century music. The program will include the famous “Fandango” of Luigi Boccherini as well as “Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061” by J. S. Bach; “Four Duetti” by C.P.E. Bach and selections by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Admission is free but reservations are required. For more, click here.
Giving tree
A pair of Italian Americans teamed up with several other local artists to transform the remains of a 200-year-old elm tree into a work of art. Rising up from the grounds of Ragdale in Lake Forest, “Diversity of Birds” was created by Jyl Bonaguro and Mia Capodilupo and fellow artists Margot McMahon, Anthony Heinz May, Nicole Beck, Julia Sulmasy, and Fredy Hauman Mallqui. Located at 1260 N. Green Bay Road, Ragdale is an artist residency program and community (ragdale.org). The Ragdale Tree Project was spearheaded by Chicago Sculpture International (chicagosculpture.org). The CSI has collaborated with the Chicago Park District to create more than 50 public sculptures from dead and dying trees. For more about Chicago Sculpture International, click here. For more about The Ragdale Tree Project, click here.
Sumptuous showcase
European history buffs will have a field day at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Deering Family Galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms and Armor. Unveiled in 2017, the expansive exhibit showcases nearly 700 objects from the museum’s rich holdings of art from 1200 to 1600 as well as an extensive arms and armor collection. Among the Italian items on display are a terra-cotta altarpiece by Florentine Benedetto Buglioni, works of art for the bedchambers of Tuscany’s merchant elite, and a tempera-on-panel diptych of the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion (pictured). For more, click here.
Several of these look very interesting. Thanks for sending.