Opening Night with Rebecca Weinstein

Opening Night with Rebecca Weinstein

WHRO arts and culture reporter Rebecca Weinstein brings you a fresh, exciting take on our vibrant local arts scene. A seasoned writer and classically trained soprano with a commitment to expanding audiences for the arts, she grew up and discovered her love of the performing arts in the Hampton Roads area, studied music at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and honed her arts writing skills while living and working in the Washington, D.C. area. Rebecca is your friendly, knowledgeable companion for the symphony, the opera, chamber music, and the theater - take your seat and feel the excitement as the lights go down and the performance begins!

Episodes

Virginia Symphony Orchestra's 97th Season Opener

October 20, 2021
Rebecca reviews the opening concert of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s 97th Season, and shares her thoughts on the orchestra’s efforts to bridge the pop and classical worlds and draw in new audiences. The program featured Grammy-winning electric bassist Victor Wooten as a concerto soloist in The Bass Whisperer, and the iconic suite The Planets by Gustav Holst. To find out about upcoming Virginia Symphony performances, visit www.v...
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The Virginia Symphony Orchestra Presents Mahler and Mozart

February 22, 2020 • 4 mins
During the weekend of February 21, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra performed a program of music by Mahler and Mozart conducted by David Danzmayr. Rebecca Evans shares her review.
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Virginia Opera's Cinderella

February 1, 2020 • 4 mins
On January 31, Virginia Opera opened its production of “Cinderella,” a whimsical, heartfelt take on the classic tale with an exuberant score by Rossini. Rebecca Evans shares her review.
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Virginia Stage Company Presents Sense and Sensibility

January 25, 2020 • 5 mins
Virginia Stage Company opened its production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, an adaptation by Kate Hamill, on January 25. Rebecca Evans shares her review.
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The Feldman Chamber Music Society Presents the Harlem Quartet

November 22, 2019 • 4 mins
On November 18, the Feldman Chamber Music Society presented the Harlem Quartet at the Chrysler Museum of Art. Rebecca Evans shares her review.
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Virginia Opera Presents the Spanish Opera Il Postino

November 9, 2019 • 5 mins
On November 8, Virginia Opera opened its first production in its new “From Screen to Stage” initiative with the Spanish opera Il Postino. Rebecca Evans shares her review of the dress rehearsal on November 6.
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Virginia Symphony Orchestra Presents Brahms, Beethoven, and Caroline Shaw

October 26, 2019 • 4 mins
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra performed music by Brahms, Beethoven, and Caroline Shaw (who also appeared as a soloist) on October 24, 26, and 27 at various venues in Hampton Roads.
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Virginia Opera's Season Opener, Puccini's Tosca

October 5, 2019 • 5 mins
On October 4, Virginia Opera opened its new season with a production of Puccini's Tosca.
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Virginia Stage Company’s Season Opener, Guys and Dolls

September 21, 2019 • 6 mins
On September 21, Virginia Stage Company opened its new season with a production of the classic musical Guys and Dolls.
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Virginia Symphony Orchestra's 2019-2020 Season Opener, Rachmaninoff and Ravel

September 14, 2019 • 5 mins
On Friday night, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra launched its 99th season with a program called “Rachmaninoff and Ravel." The occasion also marked conductor and music director JoAnn Falletta’s final opening night with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra after 28 years of consistently raising the bar of arts excellence in our region.
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Annual Staunton Music Festival Offers a Fresh Take on Classical Music

August 30, 2019 • 5 mins
Rebecca Evans traveled to Staunton, Virginia for the final weekend of the annual Staunton Music Festival, one of our region’s most accomplished and innovative chamber music festivals.
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Generic Theater's Striking Production of the Musical Chess Is a Testament to the Company's Ambition, Creativity, and Drive

July 6, 2019 • 4 mins
Last weekend, Generic Theater opened a striking production of the musical Chess in their space in the black box theater under Chrysler Hall. The show plays until July 21; don’t miss your chance to see this unique, large-scale production of a show the Hampton Roads region has never seen before.
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Virginia Arts Festival Winds Down With a Rare Take on Antony and Cleopatra and a Show-Stopping Performance from Michael Feinstein

May 25, 2019 • 6 mins
Last weekend, Virginia Arts Festival presented an interpretation of Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra at the Ferguson Center and Chrysler Hall, in addition to a show featuring Michael Feinstein at the Sandler Center. From classical music and Shakespeare to Broadway and cabaret, the 2019 season had a bit of something for every taste.
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Virginia Arts Festival Presents Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Evocative, Challenging World Premiere of “Passage”

May 11, 2019 • 4 mins
Last weekend, Virginia Arts Festival brought us a world premiere and a weekend of spectacular dance at Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall. Dance Theatre of Harlem was born 50 years ago as the first African American classical ballet company. In this engagement at Virginia Arts Festival, Dance Theatre of Harlem performed the pieces “Valse Fantaisie,” “Adagietto,” and “Dougla,” in addition to the world premiere of “Passage,” choreographed by Cla...
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Pianist Olga Kern and a Bach Celebration Kick off the 2019 Virginia Arts Festival

April 20, 2019 • 5 mins
During the weekend of April 12, the 2019 Virginia Arts Festival kicked off with a series of wonderful programs spanning art forms, genres, and time periods, including a Bach Celebration and a recital from pianist Olga Kern.
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Virginia Opera’s American Dream Makes an Intimate, Moving Close to its Thrilling New Variations Season

April 13, 2019 • 6 mins
On April 6, Virginia Opera presented the final offering of its new Variations season of short, casual, and contemporary opera in English. The chamber opera, called “An American Dream,” by composer Jack Perla and librettist Jessica Murphy Moo, centered on two women in America during World War II: a Japanese American young woman sent to an internment camp and a German-Jewish immigrant tormented by thoughts of her parents still in Ger...
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Virginia Symphony Orchestra Celebrates Mozart with Guest Conductor Scott Yoo

March 29, 2019 • 4 mins
During the weekend of March 23, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra performed a Mozart Celebration at venues in Hampton Roads with Guest Conductor Scott Yoo.
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Virginia Ballet Theatre’s Annual Sweetheart Concert Offers an Intriguing Mix of Contemporary and Classical Styles

March 4, 2019 • 5 mins
Last weekend, our very own Virginia Ballet Theatre brought a taste of extraordinary dance to Norfolk, presenting its annual sweetheart concert at ODU’s University Theatre. The concert included dances from Swan Lake and Le Corsaire, a piece called Twilight, and then two modern pieces, Fragile Strength and The Larks, choreographed by Artistic Director Ricardo Melendez.
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Opera in Williamsburg Retells The Diary of Anne Frank in a Brave, Moving One-Woman Show

February 9, 2019 • 6 mins
On Wednesday night, a very unique opera happened at the Williamsburg Regional Library. Opera in Williamsburg teamed up with Opera Piccola of Israel to present a one-woman operatic version of The Diary of Anne Frank, performed in Hebrew with English supertitles.
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Virginia Stage Company’s “Fun Home” Makes for a Striking, Melodic, and Fulfilling Journey

February 1, 2019 • 6 mins
Last weekend, Virginia Stage Company opened their production of the musical Fun Home at the Wells Theatre in Downtown Norfolk. Fun Home is based on the best-selling graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, with music by Jeanine Tesori, and a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. It’s the first Broadway musical with a lesbian protagonist, winning five Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 2015, including Best Musical.
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