BCAS sings 'Messiah' in Washington
For most Americans, Christmas simply isn't Christmas without Handel's "Messiah." This season features a Baltimore-in-Washington "Messiah." The Baltimore Choral Arts Society and its gifted music director, Tom Hall, will join forces with the National Symphony for four performances in the Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center: Dec. 16-17 and Dec. 19 at 8:30 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. The soloists will be soprano Janice Chandler, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, tenor Richard Clements and baritone David Evitts. The performances will be conducted by Peter Bay, the former music director of the Annapolis Symphony and currently the associate conductor of the Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic. Tickets are $10-$43. For tickets or further information, call (800) 444-1324. If you're "Nutcracker-ed" and "Christmas Carol-ed" out, you can get a different kind of holiday treat at Olney Theatre, 2001 Route 108 in Olney, where Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," is playing a three-week run.
The musical debuted in 1957 as a television special, which starred Julie Andrews and played to a record-breaking audience of 107 million. It was subsequently remade for TV with Leslie Ann Warren. Olney's production is directed by Mark Waldrop, with musical direction by Bruce W. Coyle. Show times are 2 p.m. today; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16-17; 2 p.m. Dec. 18; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21-23; 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 24; 1 p.m. Dec. 26-31; and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 26 and Dec. 29-30. Tickets are $28 for adults; $14 for children 16 and under. For more information, call (301) 924-3400.
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J. Wynn Rousuck Barry Nemett loves nature; that much is evident whenever you see his big paintings. They may incorporate words and pictures in several different panels, they'll have flora and fauna in them, and their colors will be the colors of nature at its gentlest. Soft browns and greens form images that may look indistinct at first, but you see them better and better as you keep looking -- just as, in the forest, if you stay very still for a while you will become more and more aware of the life around you. A show of Nemett's works going back to 1974 is currently on view at the Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave., through Jan. 2. For information, call (410)542-4900.
John Dorsey