THE GATES
Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been creating larger-than-life works of art for more than 40 years. Their talent now comes to New York City, where 7,500 gates adorned with billowing saffron-colored fabric transform the footpaths of Central Park into a golden river. Free to all, the Gates Project opens February 12, weather permitting, and will last 16 days.
christojeanneclaude.net


The Gates, the latest project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, transform the footpaths of Central Park this February.

FAR EAST FANTASY
Trade and travel between Europe and the Far East in the 18th century set in motion an exchange of goods and ideas that would greatly influence European art. Imagining the Orient explores the ways in which European artists of the time expressed their fascination with the Far East and adapted Asian motifs to create chinoiserie, an artistic style that reflected Asian influence through the use of intricate patterns and elaborate decorations. Jean-Baptiste Pillement’s painting “Market Scene in an Imaginary Oriental Port” (c.1764) is a highlight of the exhibition.
Through April 3 at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA. getty.edu

PORCELAIN PERFORMERS
Several European porcelain factories fashioned sculptures after well-known theatrical productions for their affluent patrons. Theater, Dance, and Porcelain in the Eighteenth Century assembles 40 of these delicate creations including the objets d’art made in the Vincennes-Sèvres factory that were based on the 1752 ballet-pantomime “La Vallée de Montmorency.”
Through April 10 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. wadsworthatheneum.org

“Flute Lesson” (c.1752) from the Vincennes-Sèvres factory appears in “Theater, Dance, and Porcelain in the Eighteenth Century” at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT.

HUYGHE & CORBUSIER
Pierre Huyghe’s “puppet opera” is just one element in a new multimedia exploration of Le Corbusier’s work in Huyghe + Corbusier: Harvard Project. The only building in North America designed by Le Corbusier, Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts is a testament to the architect’s ability to combine radical design with wide-ranging function. Huyghe examines the center’s creation through marionettes, architectural design and film, all the while using the space itself as a source of creative inspiration.
Through April 17 at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. artmuseums.harvard.edu

FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHY
Drawn with Light: Pioneering French Photography surveys some 30 works by such innovative 19th- and 20th-century photographers as Edouard Baldus, Gustave Le Gray, Henri Le Secq and Eugène Atget. Containing both candid and staged images, the show demonstrates the photographers’ unprecedented ability to create exact representations of reality after the invention of the medium in 1839.
Feb. 26 to June 8 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH. clevelandart.org

PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is a heart-wrenching love story that takes place in the mythical land of Allemonde. What begins as a simple misunderstanding turns into a love triangle replete with jealousy and violence. With Anne Sofie von Otter as Mélisande and William Burden as Pelléas.
Jan. 29, Feb. 2, 5 and 8 at The Metropolitan Opera House, NYC. metopera.org

CHAMBER MUSIC
The Paris Piano Trio and Ysaye Quartet, two of France’s most renowned chamber music ensembles, come together in a program that features works by Ravel, Fauré and Chausson.
Feb. 10 at Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, CA. ocpac.org

SAINT-SAËNS
Pianist Stephen Hough lights up the stage at the Houston Symphony this winter with his performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s “Piano Concerto No. 5, Egyptian.” The program also includes Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” and Franck’s “Symphony in D Minor.” Conducted by Louis Langrée.
Feb. 12, 13 and 14 at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston, TX. houstonsymphony.org

ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
The Los Angeles Opera presents a new production of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Based on William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Gounod’s opera brings ill-fated love and fierce rivalry to life through waltzes, choruses and exquisite duets. Starring Anna Netrebko as Juliette and Rolando Villazón as Romeo.
Jan. 29 through Feb. 20 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA. losangelesopera.com


Anna Netrebko stars in the Los Angeles Opera’s production of “Roméo et Juliette” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA.

ACIS ET GALATÉE
A lovely pastorale héroïque, Acis et Galatée tells of the tragic love between a shepherd, Acis, and a sea nymph, Galatée, who is also cherished by the jealous cyclops Polyphemus. This winter, the Opera Lafayette performs a concert version of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s final opera that features The New York Baroque Dance Company.
Feb. 20 at Dekelboum Concert Hall, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. operalafayette.org

LAKMÉ
Composer Léo Delibes takes his audience to British-occupied 19th-century India in Lakmé, opening at the Sarasota Opera for the first time this winter. The opera recounts the story of a Brahman priest’s daughter, Lakmé, who falls in love with Gérald, a British officer. With Eglise Gutierrez as Lakmé and Eric Fennell as Gérald.
Feb. 26 through March 19 at the Sarasota Opera House, FL. sarasotaopera.org

SAMSON ET DALILA
Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila captivates audiences in a new production by the Metropolitan Opera. A tale of conflict between the Hebrews and the Philistines, the opera explores the intense powers of temptation and faith as Samson hopelessly struggles to evade Dalila’s advances and maintain his strength. With José Cura as Samson and Denyce Graves as Dalila.
Feb. 21 through March 19 at The Metropolitan Opera House, NYC. metopera.org

FAUST
Based on Goethe’s powerful story, Hector Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust conjures the battle between good and evil in the New York Philharmonic’s breathtaking vision of heaven and hell. With Paul Groves as Faust, Willard White as Mephistophélès and Susanne Mentzer as Marguerite. Conducted by Charles Dutoit.
March 31, April 2 and 5 at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC. newyorkphilharmonic.org