Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Rising vocal stars
Some of Chicago’s best young singers will perform Italian arias and art songs by iconic composers at the 50th anniversary edition of the Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia’s Vocal Scholarship Awards Dinner and Concert. The event will start at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 in the Casa Italia Community Center and feature a wine and cheese reception, concert and dinner. At press time, scholarship commitments have been made by the LiPuma and Turano families, Fabrizio and Elizabeth Devetak and the Italian American Executives of Transportation. Italian Cultural Center Librarian Dominic Candeloro will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.
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Beloved opera buffa
Can young love triumph over old money? Immerse yourself in the rococo grandeur of 19th-century Rome in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s upcoming production of “Don Pasquale.” The beloved comedy of errors returns to the Lyric stage for the first time in more than a decade with a colorful, period production directed by Mariame Clément. Gaetano Donizetti’s lively score animates the story of aging bachelor Don Pasquale, whose disowned nephew teams up with his clever fiancée and long-suffering doctor to orchestrate a complex series of dupes and double-crosses in a bid to reclaim his uncle’s inheritance — all in the name of true love. Conducted by Lyric music director Enrique Mazzola, the production will run from Nov. 12-27. (lyricopera.org)
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Baroque bastion
Music of the Baroque will present “Vivaldi & Beyond” at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the North Shore Center in Skokie and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the Harris Theater in Chicago. Compositions by Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach headline this journey through the world of 18th-century orchestral music. The lineup features one of Vivaldi’s most intriguing dark-hued concertos balanced by Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 1. Works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and Franz Joseph Haydn round out the program. One of the pre-eminent figures in Baroque music, Vivaldi fell completely out of favor in the 18th and 19th centuries. He experienced a revival in fame in the early 20th century, and remains popular and widely performed today. For more, click here.
Working-class comic
Stand-up comedian Candice Guardino will bring her one-woman show, “Italian Bred,” to the Des Plaines Theatre at 2 p.m. on Oct. 25. Born and raised on Staten Island, Guardino comes from the tradition of Italian-American comics from working-class backgrounds who poke good-natured, raucous and sometimes bawdy fun at the world they grew up in. Bringing a woman’s perspective to bear, she sends up family dynamics, generational differences and the absurdities of adulthood, motherhood, and marriage while tackling larger themes of love, loss, and resilience. For an in-depth preview, steer clear of the trailers on YouTube and search for “Trip Down Memory Lane | Candice Guardino comedy.” She’s working on a comedic essay collection, “Confessions of an Italian Bred Girl (Because Therapy is Expensive and Laughing At Myself is Free)” and developing a TV project based on her grandmother’s secret family journals. For more, click here.
Busy month
Comedian Candice Guardino won’t be the only Italian American to take to an Onesti Entertainment stage in October. Actor Tony Danza will perform at 2 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Des Plaines Theatre, showcasing a selection of his favorite standards from the Great American Songbook while interweaving stories about his life and personal connection to the music. Comedian Tara Cannistraci will perform at the Club Arcada Speakeasy Oct. 15-17, bringing her unfiltered New York humor to the stage. “Rocky in Concert” will be featured at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Des Plaines Theatre, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film on the big screen with the musical score performed live by a full symphony orchestra.
For more on the Danza performance, click here.
For more on the Canistraci performance, click here.
For more on the “Rocky” screening, click here.
Double life
The Bisceglia Brothers and Friends bring their rock and roll to La Barra in Riverside at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29. A seasoned singer-songwriter and entertainer, Joe Bisceglia has performed solo and with his own band and collaborated with other musicians and bands. Despite his day job as a partner in a large Chicago law firm, he has never abandoned his love of music. Over his long “second career,” he has performed oldies, chart-topping hits and original compositions at Buddy Guy’s Legends, Lincoln Hall, the Double Door, Bottom Lounge, Phyllis’ Musical Inn, Jonny Cabs and the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks, Michigan. Band members include his brother, Frank, on percussion. (joebiscegliamusic.com)
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Language lover
Trilingual singer-songwriter ILIANA is celebrating the success of her English-Italian single, “LIMONATA,” which has surpassed 150,000 streams across music platforms and landed on nearly 5,000 Spotify playlists since its release in May.
Inspired by her experience growing up as a first-generation Sicilian-American, ILIANA says she wrote the song to reflect the effortless way Italian and English coexist in her world, while its lyrics draw inspiration from the resilience and tenacity of her immigrant parents, Enzo and Nella Incandela. The song’s growing international audience is creating and sharing their own videos featuring the track on social media. “LIMONATA” is available on all major streaming platforms. ILIANA’s next bilingual English-Italian single is slated for release this fall. Follow her @iliana.inc on Instagram for more.
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For more from Incandela, click here.
Modern god
Artist Jyl Bonaguro recently unveiled her latest sculpture commission, a bust of “Zeus” in Italian marble. Standing 2 1/2 feet tall and weighing 750 pounds, it’s destined for a private collection in Canada. Bonaguro’s modern interpretation of the Greek deity is meant to be godlike but deeply human, caught not in anger but a state of reflection while remaining ready for action. The delicate gold veining subtly references Zeus’s thunderbolts. Bonaguro’s marble sculptures are hand carved and emphasize the “non finito” technique of leaving parts of the stone untouched. It’s one more step toward her goal of carving a female figure of Athena on the scale of Michelangelo’s David. For more, 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.
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.
Several of these look very interesting. Thanks for sending.