LLT Showcase Theatre
Music. Power. Jealousy. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a rowdy young prodigy, arrives in Vienna determined to make a splash. Awestruck by his genius, court composer Antonio Salieri has the power to promote his talent or destroy it. Seized by obsessive jealousy, he begins a war with Mozart, with music and, ultimately, with God.
The London National Theatre’s production of “Amadeus,” Michael Longhurst’s thrillingly fresh and imaginative revival of a play by Peter Shaffer, will be screened as part of Lakeside Little Theatre’s Showcase series, Saturday, June 10, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 11, 3 p.m. There is an intermission during the two-hour show.
“Amadeus” stars Adam Gillen as Mozart and Lucian Msamati as Antonio Salieri, with live orchestral accompaniment by the Southbank Sinfonia.
In its review of the piece, The Independent says, “The production assembles and reassembles itself – a virtuosic whirl of bits of scenery (design by Chloe Lanford), fantastic singers, and excerpts from the operas that, in their aesthetic, become wittily and pointedly ahead of their time. Longhurst has let the air of today into Amadeus in bravura fashion.”
Tickets, 250 pesos, are available at LLT’s box office; email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766 0954. A seating chart is available for viewing at the bottom of LLT’s webpage.
Xilotl art show
A collection of works by Lakeside artist Isidro Xilonzóchitl (Xilotl) will be showcased in “Chivito al Precipicio” (Little Goat on the Precipice), a new exhibit opening Saturday, June 10, 7:30 p.m., at Chapala’s Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia, Avenida Madero at Hidalgo.
The show will comprise 35 recent paintings and sculptures in clay and bronze, to remain on display through July 15. To highlight a running visual theme employed in his creations, the artist encourages guests to wear red shoes at the cocktail opening. Entertainment will include traditional Colombian music (see next page), sax player Joselo Morales and the screening of a video clip.
LCS film aficionados
English-language films are shown Thursdays at 2 p.m. to Lake Chapala Society members (bring your card). On June 8, the featured film is “Inherit the Wind” (1960, USA). Based on the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, it tells the tale of two formidable lawyers, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, played by Spencer Tracy and Frederic March, facing off in a Tennessee courtroom.
Anniversary party
Paul Brier, Jimmy Barto, Amy Santos, Sergio Casas and Francis Dryden will be putting your dancing shoes to work at La Bodega’s 19th anniversary party, Tuesday, June 13. Owners Javier and Martha are putting on an Italian buffet beginning 6:30 p.m. with the music starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, 280 pesos, include two margaritas or two glasses of house wine. Call 766-1002 for reservations.
Viva Bus trips
Viva La Musica begins bus trips next week to concerts by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) at the Teatro Degollado.
Sunday, June 18, Marco Parisotto will conduct the JPO in a performance of Claude Debussy’s La Mer, with soloist Anton Dubatovka on flute. The program also includes Arnold Bax’s “Tintagel Symphonic Poem,” Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D Major, and Félix Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture”. The bus departs at 10.30 a.m.
Sunday, June 25, the JPO will perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 “Paris”, Symphony No. 36 “Linz” and Symphony No. 38 “Prague,” under the baton of Marco Parisotto. The bus departs at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday, July 2, guest conductor Sacha Goetzel presents “1001 Arabian Nights,” with soloist Philipee Quint on violin. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” Barber’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra” and Rimski-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” The bus departs at 10:30 a.m.
Tickets, 450 pesos (550 pesos for non-Viva members), are available at the Lake Chapala Society Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or though Rosemary Keeling, 766-1801.
Summer Concerts
Viva la Musica’s first concert of the summer, entitled “Summer Dreams,” features two Mexican musicians, Ajijic-born violist Manuel Olivares and pianist Rosa Maria Valdez, born in Culiacan, Sinaloa. The concert will take place Thursday, June 22, 4 p.m. in a lakeside home in Ajijic. The program of works by an eclectic group of composers includes Romantic music by Glazunov, Moncayo, Schumann, Barbosa and Toussaint played in an intimate setting. There will be a no-host bar in the garden during intermission.
Olivares got his start with CREM, an Ajijic Music School, and went on to graduate in music and viola performance from the Universidad de Guadalajara. He’s played with the Jalisco Philharmonic for the last several years in addition to teaching viola and violin at the university and at CREM. He is also a member of the Cuerdas Revueltas String Quartet and performs regularly in chamber concerts.
Valdez is a talented solo performer and piano accompanist who also teaches at the Universidad de Guadalajara and plays piano in chamber music recitals.
A ticket costing 300 pesos also notifies the buyer of the event’s location. Tickets are available at Diane Pearl, Mia’s and the Lake Chapala Society, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon. Tickets to all three concerts in Viva’s summer concert series are available for 800 pesos. The other concerts are a solo recital by pianist Sergio Parra in St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Thursday, July 27, and a recital of art songs and arias by soprano Michele Bogdanowicz and tenor Ernesto Ramirez in the Auditorio de la Ribera Thursday, August 24.
Dance
The Anferes Dance Troupe will perform Sunday, June 25, 5 p.m. at Huerto Café, Hidalgo 212 in Ribera del Pilar. The performance is a celebration of the Cafe’s third anniversary, and a fundraiser for local dance student Paola Mellion, who has won a six-month dance scholarship to study choreography and interpretive dance technique at the Conservatorio Superior de Danza del Instituto del Teatro in Barcelona, Spain this summer. The event includes a set by local jazz band Latinitos Lounge at 5 p.m., three special dinner choices at 6 p.m. and the dance performance, which will include folkloric, fandango and contemporary/modern selections.
Anfares Dance Troupe is made up of dance students from the bachelor’s degree program of dance at the University of Colima.
Tickets, 500 pesos per person, include dinner and the performance and are available at Huerto Café.
LLT Actor’s Studio
The Lakeside Little Theatre announces The Shakespeare Project, an actor’s studio series as part of its Playhouse events. Led by David Goldman, the three-day series (Monday, June 26, Friday, June 30 and Monday, July 3) will include bawdy comedies, sweeping historical dramas and riveting tragedies. This project is for novice and experienced actors alike, as the prospect of performing Shakespeare can be intimidating. Join in as the group demystifies the great Bard and his works and explores methods and techniques that will help actors unleash their inner thespian.
Topics include: an overview of English renaissance theatre; Shakespeare: the man and his works; vocalization and the language of Shakespeare; scene study and basic acting techniques in Shakespeare’s plays, and the Shakespearean soliloquy.
Participants must have performed in at least one play at Lakeside or elsewhere. Each day’s session will start at 2 p.m. and last approximately 75-90 minutes. Space is limited to 12 participants.
Goldman is a full-time Lakeside resident who studied acting and trained at San Francisco, California’s American Conservatory Theatre and London’s Drama Studio. He has directed and acted in numerous Shakespeare productions, including “Romeo and Juliet,” “As You Like It,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Tempest.”
Registration is Monday, June 26, from 1:30-2 p.m. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to enroll.