Norwegian conductor looks to past to find hope for future

Rune Bergmann lives in Oslo, but on any given day of the week might find himself in Switzerland, Calgary or Wisconsin, where he’s the music director for three separate organizations.

Restaurants fired up for new food festival

Winnipeg has a new food festival on the menu.

The inaugural Dine and Discover Downtown, hosted by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, runs from March 11 to 22 with 31 neighbourhood restaurants participating.

Kate Fenske, CEO of the BIZ, was enjoying a meal of popcorn shrimp at Capital Grill & Bar on Broadway when the restaurant’s owner, chef Wayne Martin, pitched her on the idea of a food festival focused on Winnipeg’s central neighbourhood.

The pandemic was lingering at the time and local eateries were suffering from a lack of foot traffic.

Robert De Niro delivers Lincoln’s civility warning at a Carnegie Hall benefit

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert De Niro walked onto Carnegie Hall's stage Tuesday night, unannounced and to loud applause. He didn't make any speeches, at least none of his own. After a career defined by playing gangsters, an avenging taxi driver and a paranoid prize fighter, the Oscar-winning actor recited a call for civility, as first spoken by Abraham Lincoln.

“Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense," De Niro said in an even voice, halting at first, but becoming firmer as he became caught up in words Lincoln delivered in 1838, early in his public life. “Let those materials be molded into general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws."

De Niro was a featured performer at the 39th annual benefit concert for the nonprofit cultural and educational organization Tibet House US, where others appearing ranged from Laurie Anderson and Elvis Costello to Maya Hawke and Allison Russell. He didn't dwell on current events, or on President Donald Trump, whom he has denounced often fiercely over the past decade. But his reason for giving that particular speech had everything to do with the country today.

De Niro was reading excerpts from Lincoln's “Lyceum Address,” a warning against mob violence that Lincoln delivered to a young man's debating society in Springfield, Illinois. Philip Glass, a co-director of Tuesday night's benefit, used the address as inspiration for his Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln.” He was supposed to premiere his symphony at the Kennedy Center in June, but announced earlier this year that he was calling off the performance, citing Trump's ouster of the center's leadership. The president has made the venue a flashpoint for his battle against so-called “woke” culture.

Prestigious ensemble bring sax savvy to GroundSwell program

The members of the Quasar Quartet must get along.

The prestigious Montreal-based saxophone ensemble has been together more than 30 years — no quiet personnel swaps, no loud exodus of unhappy members in the way of so many veteran pop groups.

Instead, they’ve been a driving force behind contemporary Canadian art music. The decorated virtuosos have commissioned and premièred more than 200 works and performed all over the world.

“They are as delightful and generous as individuals, as they are bold and brilliant as musicians,” says Gordon Fitzell, artistic director of GroundSwell, presents contemporary music and performance to local audiences.

Imaginative production delivers excellent encore performances

When Brush Theatre first brought its flagship production, Doodle POP, to Winnipeg in 2022, the South Korean company was an unknown entity locally.

Not anymore: with its third visit to the Manitoba Theatre for Young People in five years underway, the highly imaginative troupe has scribbled its way into the memories of a generation of theatregoers.

While adult audiences might not appreciate a professional theatre company programming similar shows with such frequency, MTYP hasn’t hesitated to extend return invitations to Brush, which blends miming, clowning, drawing and dazzling projections into unique and approachable stage concoctions, driven by participation from a rapt, ever-changing audience.

A kid only gets one chance to see their first theatre performance, and Doodle POP is just about as fun and engaging an introductory experience one can dream up.

Exhibit connects traditional and contemporary Métis beadwork artists

Suspended from the ceiling in Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg is an octopus bag, created by Métis visual artist Claire Johnston.

Revolution revelation: Touring production of Les Misérables a rousing, flag-waving feat

Les Misérables boomed into the Centennial Concert Hall with the bombastic force of revolutionary gunfire Tuesday, as Broadway Across Canada’s North American tour of the Tony Award-winning mega hit launched an eight-performance run that wraps up Sunday.

Artist finds new life in taxidermy, preserved remains in personal collection

Dee Barsy’s home is crawling with critters.

The 39-year-old artist and new mother’s whimsically modernist painting are all colour and life, but she has a soft spot for the arachnid and gothic in the objects she collects.

“One of the reasons I like bones and taxidermized things is because it’s kind of like bringing new life to something that’s passed away,” she says.

“I make contemporary fine art, so why would I want to collect it?”

Children’s film festival showcases joy of shared experience

In a world where anyone can stream anything almost instantly at any time, film festivals such as Freeze Frame International still matter, says artistic director Pascal Boutroy.

“I am disheartened by how accessible some things are to children,” says Boutroy, who established the festival in 1996 with his wife Nicole Matiation.

“We have screens everywhere — the television, the computer, the cellphones … shared experience has disappeared over the years. But (watching a movie with an audience) is such a thrill; it’s actually like watching a game of hockey or soccer with people in a stadium or arena rather than watching it in front of TV by yourself.

“There’s something very precious about the shared experience.”

Manitoba’s top tabby clawing for title of North America’s favourite pet

Patrick (also known as Patty Cakes Bakers Man of Karalot) has already earned an impressive number of ribbons and accolades, and he's trying to add to his titles by winning America’s Favorite Pet.

Longtime Les Misérables cast member making his Canadian debut

Javert is a role Hayden Tee can’t escape.

The New Zealand-born actor first played the wolfish Les Misérables inspector over a decade ago in an Australian tour, before pursuing protagonist Jean Valjean on Broadway, in Dubai, on the West End, in Taiwan and across the United States.

“I adore the character. I’m always grateful to return,” says Tee, who has also played the dastardly principal Miss Trunchbull in the West End production of Matilda.

Next week, following a weeklong run in Minneapolis, Tee’s Javert will make his Canadian debut in Winnipeg at the Centennial Concert Hall as part of the North American touring production of Les Misérables, the beloved, long-running musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo, featuring standards such as I Dreamed a Dream, Do You Hear the People Sing? and One Day More.

Consolidation plan: Actor takes on challenge of multiple roles in Rogers v. Rogers one-man show

When playwright Michael Healey wrote a Succession-tinged, one-person show about the family saga of the Rogers telecommunications dynasty, there was no competition when it came to selecting his performer.

Carol Shields’ airport vignettes set to take off again

The first play by one of Manitoba’s finest writers is scheduled for a return flight to local stages this weekend, with the Shoestring Players bringing Carol Shields’ Departures and Arrivals to the Forrest Nickerson Theatre.

Opening the book on how Winnipeg libraries get new material

Last week, local fans of the hit television show Heated Rivalry received a thrilling notification: “Your hold at Winnipeg Public Library is ready to borrow!”

The gay hockey romance has become a major CanCon export, turning Haligionian author Rachel Reid, who penned the books upon which the show is based, into a New York Times bestseller and wreaking havoc on library wait-lists everywhere.

Things started heating up at the Winnipeg Public Library last month.

“That’s when it really took off. There was some increase in December, but not enough to warrant additional copies,” says Aileen Clear, one of three collections librarians responsible for keeping the city’s 20 library branches stocked with new and popular material.

Five things to check out during Winnipeg’s annual winter party Festival du Voyageur

Take 5: In a regular series, the Free Press explores five great things

Festival du Voyageur is celebrating 57 years of paying homage to the history of francophones, Métis and First Nations in Manitoba.

Headquartered at Whittier Park in St. Boniface, with other events at a host of indoor sites, the festival opens Friday and runs to Feb. 20, featuring a wealth of activities, music and art inspired by the voyageur era of the early 1800s.

Below are five ways to find your joie de vivre during the festival; tickets are available at heho.ca, where you can also download a handy app.