Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Bonamassa to rock Ravinia
Legendary blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 12 at Ravinia. Hailed as one of the greatest blues axemen of his generation, Bonamassa has played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Buddy Guy and many others. Launching his career at age 12, when he opened for B.B. King, Bonamassa has released 17 solo studio albums since 2000 and holds the record for most No. 1 blues albums with 29. He has received five Grammy Award nominations. “His versatile blues style is both phenomenal and effortless,” according to Review magazine. “The emotional energy emits through his fingertips and causes his guitar to create a life of its own.” For more, click here.
Ferrante does Groucho
Award-winning actor Frank Ferrante brings his acclaimed portrayal of legendary comedian Groucho Marx to Arcada Theatre at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 21. As seen on PBS and onstage in New York and London, this two-act, 90-minute comedy includes countless anecdotes, one-liners and classic songs. The audience becomes part of the fun as Ferrante engages them throughout his fast-paced act. Accompanied by his pianist, Ferrante captures the spirit of the Marx Brothers from stage and film, as well as other comedic icons, including Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields and Margaret Dumont. Since 2001, Ferrante has performed his improvisationally based comedy in the European-style cirque show Teatro ZinZanni. For more, click here.
Photo credit: AI/Shutterstock
Vivaldi by candlelight
A string quartet will perform Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” by candlelight at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 and Oct. 9, at the Arts Center of Oak Park. Composed in 1723, “The Four Seasons” is Vivaldi’s best-known work and one of the world’s most popular and recognized pieces of Baroque music. The thinking behind “The Four Seasons” was that each movement — 12 in all, three per season — would create a specific mood against which narrative events could then play out. The four violin concertos broke new ground with their musical depictions of the changing seasons as well as their technical innovations. For more, click here. For a preview, click here.
Lyric sneak peek
The Hinsdale chapter of the Lyric Opera will feature a lecture and lunch with Oliver Camacho at 2 p.m. on Aug. 30 at Plymouth Place, La Grange Park. Camacho, WFMT-FM’s music director and host of “Listening to Singers,” will offer an overview of the 2026-27 Lyric season. The lineup will include the following Italian and Italian-language classics: Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” from Oct. 10-Nov. 1, Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” from Nov. 12-27 and Verdi’s “La Traviata” from March 24-April 25. Donations are $50 and include a buffet lunch. All proceeds benefit the Lyric Opera. To make reservations, click here. For more on the 2026-27 season, click here.
Rock legends
Cornerstones of Rock, a multi-group concert featuring iconic Chicago bands, will take to the stage of the Arcada Theatre at 7 p.m. Sept. 2. The concert will feature The Buckinghams, The Ides of March, New Colony Six and The Cryan’ Shames. Starting as garage bands in the ’60s and ’70s and including several Italian-American musicians, the groups produced a steady stream of hits, including The Buckinghams’ “Kind of a Drag,” “Don’t You Care” and “Susan”; The Ides of March’s “Vehicle”; New Colony Six’s “I Will Always Think About You” and “Things I’d Like to Say”; and The Cryan’ Shames’ “Sugar and Spice.” For more, click here.
Comedic comet
Comedian Laura Ramoso will bring her “Calm Down” tour to the Chicago Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25. An American comedian of Italian and German descent, she is best known for her live sketch specials and viral impressions on social media. She has amassed over 3.5 million followers with hit characters like “German Mom,” “Italian Dad” and “Chiara.” Ramoso was named a 2023 Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy. In 2024, she embarked on her first international tour with her third special, “Sit Up Straight,” performing to sold-out venues throughout Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United Kingdom and North America. Earlier this year, she opened for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Boston. For more, click here.
All Italian, all the time
The New Philharmonic will open its 50th season at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn with a trio of “Music Italiana Dolce” concerts. The program will celebrate some of Italy’s best-known operatic works, overtures and film themes. Included are Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” with guest tenor Jesse Donner; Respighi’s “I pini della via Appia” (“The Pines of the Appian Way”); the overture to Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”; and the themes from “The Godfather” and “Il Postino.” The New Philharmonic is the professional symphony orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage. The concerts will take place at 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 and at 3 p.m. Sept. 27. For more, click here.
Guitar uprising
The Italian guitar quartet known as 40 Fingers will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the North Shore Center in Skokie. The ensemble specializes in fingerpicking technique, performing a diverse repertoire of original pieces and covers, from jazz and Latin American styles to popular movie scores and pop hits. Their performances reimagine pieces by Queen, Astor Piazzolla, The Beatles, Eagles, Toto, Dire Straits and Eric Clapton. They’ve collaborated with various national and international artists in the course of a nine-year career. For more, 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.