Hey Winnipeg! Are you recovered from last weekend? Boy was there a lot to do! Well don't you worry, we've got you covered for this weekend!

We start with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet who've opened their 76th season with the Hamlet of the ballet world . . . .the beautiful and haunting Giselle. Hailed as one of the greatest of all ballets and a supreme achievement of the Romantic era, Giselle has captivated audiences worldwide since its premiere in Paris back in 1841. The run started last night and goes through to Sunday at the Centennial Concert Hall . There are nightly performances at 7:30 PM with the exception of the finale show on Sunday which is a 2:00 PM matinee. For tickets call 204.956.2792 or go online. This production will feature the special participation of RWB's former prima ballerina, Evelyn Hart behind the scenes and on stage.

 

 

Friday (Oct 02) is the first Friday in October which means it's time again for First Fridays in the Exchange! This is the one day a month when Winnipeggers are invited to come out and get to know the Exchange District---specifically all the wonderful art galleries and unique shops. From 5-9 PM you can talk to participating artists in their studios, attend Gallery openings and just explore this great culture zone. You can do it on your own or take in dinner and a lecture by and a guided tour of the galleries at Art Talk/Art Walk. Go online for all the details.

 

 

If you're a live theatre buff, might we suggest Winnipeg's Theatre by the River. In their 9th year now, the company is launching its new season with Christopher Marlowe's Edward II Thursday (Oct 01) – a new adaptation by Kendra Jones and directed by Sarah Constible. Edward II is a Renaissance play written by English playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe. Think of Ruper Everett's Role in Shakespeare in Love. Marlowe was the foremost Elizabethan tragedian of his day. He greatly influenced William Shakespeare who, himself grew to great fame after Marlowe was murdered for reasons that are still unclear. Edward II is one of the earliest English history plays and it around King Edward and English nobleman Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, the King's favourite. And you know what happens with teacher's pets . . . . Edward the II runs nightly at 8:00 PM until Sunday (Oct 04) at the Asper Centre for Theatre & Film at the University of Winnipeg. Tickets are $20 and you can get them online or take your chances and get them at the door.

                                                             

  

                

                                                  

                   Kevin Klassen plays Edward II                                                    Karl Thordarson (Wind City) plays Gaveston

 

Earlier this week the Gas Station Arts Centre launched the 16th annual Winnipeg If . . . Improv Festival ---Five nights of nothing but improve comedy compliments of performers from Winnipeg and right across Canada and our wall building friends to the south. Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall fame. Rapid Fire Theatre out of Edmonton, Winnipeg's own DnD Improv and more. Tonight it's Time Hop, improve that uses the power of music to transport the audience. For more information and tickets go online.

 

                                     

 

For you opera fans and specifically Anna Netrebko fans. Saturday (Oct 04) at lunch, SilverCity Polo Park and St Vital will stream live the Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's Il Travatore in all its HD gloriousness and spectacular dolby surround sound. Soprano Anna Netrebko's dramatic and vocal skills are on full display as Leonara, the Verdi heroine who sacrifices her own life for the love of the gypsy troubadour. Tenor Yonghoon Lee sings the ill-fated Manrico, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky is his rival and mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajicik is the mysterious gypsy with the troubled past. Marco Armiliato conducts Sir. David McVicar's Goya-inspired production. The live screening begins at 11:55 AM Saturday morning.

 

 

Those are just a few of the things happening this weekend in Winnipeg. Tune in to the Classic 107 Arts & Entertainment Calendar with Claudia Garcia de la Huerta every Thursday and Friday at 7:45 AM and 4:45 PM and Saturday mornings at 11:15 AM