Arrive Magazine - January/February, 2012

UP to SPEED

Katharine Pyle to present-day audiences. Delaware Art Museum. Feb. 18– Sept. 9. Delart.org.

Harlem String Quartet: Delaware Symphony musicians continue the Champagne Chamber Series at the Hotel du Pont Gold Ballroom with the famed Harlem String Quartet, in a performance celebrating Black History Month. This leading African-American chamber ensemble comprises members who have performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Featuring a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, composed in 1825. Feb. 7. Tickets: 302-652-5577; 800-374-7263; ticketsatthegrand.org. More info: delawaresymphony.org.

Mid-Atlantic Food +
Wine Feast, Wilmington:
This new food and wine
weekend features cuisine
prepared by world-class
chefs, paired with extraor-
dinary wines, served at
the tables of some of the
finest homes in the chateau
country of the Brandy wine
Valley. It includes a 1,000-
point tasting featuring 10
100-point wines and a live
wine auction with Charles
Curtis, head of Wine Sales
Asia, Christies. Cooking
demonstrations with tele-
vision’s most recent Mas-
ter Chef, Jennifer Behm.
seven-course dinner with
winemakers and a live
wine auction. And Sunday
brunch with 80 wines and
a full gospel choir. Benefits
Delaware Theatre Com-
pany. Feb. 23–26. visit
wilmingtonde.com;
foodandwinefeast.com.

Verdi’s Oberto: Presented
in concert by the Academy
of Vocal Arts with full
orchestra and the Opera
Delaware chorus. Oberto,
Conte di San Bonifacio,
Verdi’s first opera, is rarely
performed, so this is a treat
not to be missed. Oberto,
Count of San Boniface,
has been defeated in battle
by Ezzelino da Romana
and the Salinguerra fam-
ily. Riccardo, the Count of
Salinguerra, has seduced
and abandoned Oberto’s
daughter Leonora and is
about to marry Cuniza,
Ezzelino’s sister. Oberto
and Leonora attempt to
disrupt the wedding, which
ultimately results in trag-
edy. The Grand, 818 N.
Market St., Wilmington.
One performance only! Jan.
28 at 2 p.m. 800-37GRAND;
operade.org.

Songs of Travel by Ralph
Vaughan Williams: A
song cycle of nine songs
for baritone voice by Ralph
Vaughan Williams, from
selected poems of Robert
Louis Stevenson’s collec-
tion of the same name.
Opera Studios, 4 S. Poplar
St., Wilmington. One per-
formance only! Feb. 5 at 2
p.m. Donations accepted at
the door. 302-442-7809.

Bettye LaVette: Considered one of the greatest soul singers in American music, LaVette recently released a new CD, Interpretations— The British Rock Songbook,

Harlem String Quartet

to critical acclaim. Part of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Mid Atlantic Tours program, you can catch the singer through February at various venues across the Northeast Corridor, including The Grand, Wilmington on Feb. 3. For tickets, visit thegrandwilmington.org. For more tour dates: midatlanticarts.org.

For the Delaware events, save 30 percent on the
best available coach rail fare
for one companion traveling in
coach with a paid regular (full)
fare adult. Valid for travel on the
Northeast Regional service to
Wilmington, Del. Valid for sale
through Dec. 16, and for travel
Jan. 4 through Dec. 19, 2012.
Reservations are exclusively
available through visitwilming-
tonde.com/amtrak-discount. See
page 99 for blackout dates and
other restrictions.

MARYLAND Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking: The actress and author welcomes you into her living room to share the true and intoxicating (and very funny) tale of her life. She’s the daughter of Hollywood supercouple Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, who became the stepdaughter of Elizabeth Taylor (she calls the trio the Brad, Jen and Angelina of their day), before skyrocketing to fame in the Star Wars trilogy. “My fan mail is more Star Wars generated than anything else,” she says. Then she plummeted to earth, landing in rehab for addiction to prescription drugs and bipolar disorder—and that’s when the fun really began. “I don’t always suffer from it,” she says with a laugh, “I enjoy some of it!” She put pen to paper and came through the other side with her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. Don’t miss your chance to see Wishful Drinking at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center: The Hippodrome Theatre. Jan. 31–Feb. 12. france– merrickpac.com.