|
|||||||||
|
|
|
Recent Blog Posts |
By AMANDA GORDON Vermont artist Kathryn Lipke Vigesaa has been drawing chuckles with her sculpture on display this summer in downtown Lenox, Mass.: "Melt/Water" brings the beach to the Berkshires in an installation of two Adirondack chairs and a deck facing a triptych… The Bang on a Can Sonic Vacation Movers & Shakers Converge at Pillow
Orchestra of St. Luke's @ TanglewoodThe orchestra, anchored most of the summer to the Caramoor Music Festival in Westchester, will head to the Berkshires on July 27 to perform Tower's In Memory, a tribute to those who died on September 11, 2001, at the Shed at Tanglewood. Back in New York City, the orchestra is getting a new rehearsal, recording, and administrative facility in Chelsea, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, in recognition of a $5 million gift from Joseph and Diana DiMenna. By Amanda Gordon | Sat, 12 Jul 2008 at 8:40 AM | Permalink Who will be couture queen of fall galas?It looks like soprano Renee Fleming will have a running start to rule the fashion pages next gala season. For the first time in the Metropolitan Opera's history, Karl Lagerfield, John Galliano, and Christian Lacroix will design costumes, for Ms. Fleming to wear in a concert of fully staged scenes at the season opening gala on September 22, the Met announced today. "Their sense of poetry in motion is a total complement to the music that I will be singing," Ms. Fleming said of the designers in the Met's press release. Mr. Lacroix will create two dresses for Ms. Fleming in the role of Violetta, one for each scene in the second act of La Traviata. Mr. Lagerfeld for Chanel will design the dress for Manon. For the final scene from Capriccio, Ms. Fleming will wear a creation by Mr. Galliano. No word yet what Ms. Fleming will wear to the black-tie supper after the concert, when she will be surrounded by dozens of adoring and couture-clad women such as Mercedes Bass, a devotee of Oscar de la Renta. But not only Ms. Fleming's beauty and talent will give her a dramatic edge: she will likekly be the only woman present who is launching a perfume: Coty Inc. has created a new fragrance, La Voce Renée Fleming, in honor of the singer, with a portion of proceeds to benefit the Met. Ms. Fleming will have the sweet smell and look of success on this night, and deservedly so. By Amanda Gordon | Thu, 10 Jul 2008 at 2:10 PM | Permalink Happy Birthday Diane RavitchToday is the 70th birthday of the historian Diane Ravitch, fearless advocate of improving education. The celebrations kicked off earlier this month with a party at Frankie's 457 in Brooklyn thrown by her close friend Mary Butz. Along with her two sons, Michael and Joseph, a new grandson, Elijah, and several classmates from her college days at Wellesley, some of By Elizabeth Green | Tue, 1 Jul 2008 at 2:43 PM | Permalink Love BoatThe city had a party last night at South Street Seaport for Olafur Eliasson's Waterfalls. The art, design, and art patron crowds were there, trying to remember the last time they'd been to the seaport (an architecture competition launches this summer to reimagine the place). Paula Berry looked out on the harbor anticipating the big celebration next year launching the Harbor District. By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 27 Jun 2008 at 5:01 PM | Permalink Poetry Comes Home to Battery Park City
It was a night words and music triumphed over rain. Poets and poetry fans convened Wednesday for a picnic in Battery Park City organized by Poets House. Songwriter Jill Sobule sang melodious ballads, engaging some of the poets in her performance. For example, Hettie Jones took the stage and began reading her poem "Home."¯ Ms. Sobule and her band then joined in transforming the poem into a rock song. Poets Matthea Harvy, Cornelius Eady, Li-Young Lee, and Kay Ryan read their work without musical embellishment. Continue to full text of posting... By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 20 Jun 2008 at 3:11 PM | Permalink Birthdays Have Their Rewards
The credit crisis isn't stopping one famous credit card company from throwing a party. On Wednesday, American Express invited members of the press to lunch at Eleven Madison Park to mark the anniversary of its credit card. And they not only got lunch, they got two sugar cookies iced to resemble actual American Express cards. With perks like these, it's easy to see why the American Express card has made it to the ripe old age of 50. --KATHERINE BALLAINE By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 20 Jun 2008 at 3:05 PM | Permalink An Avenue Goes on a Diet
In a townhouse on Park Avenue Tuesday night, Dr. Stuart Fischer celebrated his new book, "The Park Avenue Diet," a six-week regimen consisting of daily menus combined with exercise, hair, makeup, and interpersonal tips. Judging from the menu for the party, it's a Spartan diet: the spread included green grapes, orange slices, strawberries, pineapple, and a selection of mostly vegetarian sushi. If only every Park Avenue cocktail party could be so healthful. Continue to full text of posting... By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 20 Jun 2008 at 3:01 PM | Permalink A Picnic Grows in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's "Passport to Summer" picnic Thursday night went beyond red and white-checkered blankets and potato salad. True to Brooklyn chic, the tables were covered in turquoise cloth and were just slightly raised from the ground. Guests did sit on the ground -- on tan and beige mats -- but they filled their plates at a lavish buffet offering salmon, roast beef, and barbecued chicken. The event, a fund-raiser for young professionals, supported the garden's educational programs for children. Continue to full text of posting... By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 20 Jun 2008 at 2:16 PM | Permalink The Original Bash for New York's Original Park
To the Battery they came from the Grand Concourse, Eastern Boulevard, Governors Island, Upper Fifth and Lower Broadway. Truly, the Battery Conservancy's gala drew cultural leaders from across the city, which seemed fitting, since the Battery was the place where the New York story really began. And so for the gala, they united, to celebrate flowers, step on floor chimes, and sit on benches made out of the same granite used for the base of the Statue of Liberty. There they united to imagine just how cool the park will look when SeaGlass -- the first carousel to feature fish -- is built. More in the paper tomorrow, but for now, the complete photo album. http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/nysun/outandabout/200806121 Do you have a great Battery story? Email me at agordon@nysun.com to share. By Amanda Gordon | Thu, 12 Jun 2008 at 3:46 PM | Permalink Socio-Horticulture
Coming in Monday's paper: Coverage of the Conservatory Ball at the New York Botanical Garden. Above, a glimpse. By Amanda Gordon | Fri, 6 Jun 2008 at 5:37 PM | Permalink 
|
Berkshire Lifestyle Paterson's Tax Cap Plan May End Up Costing City Council Members Push Pedal To Add Taxi Fuel Surcharge Port Authority Nears Deal With Church at Ground Zero Mayor, Gates Teaming On Smoking MTA Board Members Asking Albany for Help Body Found on Beach May Be That of Missing Teenager Schumer Scolded Over Politics At Economic Hearing Hurricane Dolly Weakens, Spares Levees Weather Forces McCain to Cancel Event on Oil Rig Off Gulf Coast Test Offers Hope in Combatting Cholesterol Drug Side Effects No Survivors in B-52 Crash Off Guam Before, During & After the Fall: Dürer at MOBIA Chaos and Danger in Architectural Design Nameless, Homeless, Borderline Soulless: Ralph Fiennes Does Beckett Up for Bid at Scope Hamptons: Collector Mentorship |
 |