Kyle MacMillan

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Kyle MacMillan

Operas have long confronted issues that were both timely and universal: Political persecution in Beethoven’s “Fidelio.” Romantic obsession in Bizet’s “Carmen.” Imperialist indifference in Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly.”In the same way, Missy Mazzoli, one of this country’s leading operatic composers, writes works in the form that are relentlessly of their time, including her fourth, “The Listeners,” which deals with the lure of cults, epidemic of loneliness and need to belong.

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Matt Moore |Mitch Dudek |Kyle MacMillan |Erica Thompson

Grant DePorter has shared big news with us before. There was the time in 2004 when, in an attempt to break the Cubs’ World Series “curse of the Billy Goat,” the P.T. Barnumesque owner of Harry Caray’s restaurant bought the infamous Bartman ball for $113,824.16 and exploded the thing before a live television audience. Or the time he offered a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the missing puck Patrick Kane shot across the goal line to win the 2010 Stanley Cup.

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Kyle MacMillan

That Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece “La Bohème” is consistently among the five or so most frequently produced operas in the world is hardly a surprise. Suffused with some of the most captivating and now-familiar music ever written, it is a magical love story of a humble poet and seamstress set against the 1880s backdrop of Paris during the sparkling Belle Époque. The opera has romance, humor, charm, andyes, heartbreak and tragedy. What’s not to like?

1 month ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Kyle MacMillan

Any temporary exhibition of ancient Roman sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago would be notable, because 44 years have passed since the museum’s last such offering — an astoundingly long absence. But the museum’s just-opened show in this realm, “Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection,” deserves particular attention because of the sheer beauty and quality of the nearly 60 works on view.

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Kyle MacMillan

13 hours agoPrecise in execution and technique, French cuisine has often been credited with providing a rich foundation for other cuisines and the culinary world in general. French food is something to be experienced and indulged in fully, whether opting for a casual lunch, a romantic night out, or a quick …