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IF YOUR TRAVEL PLANS DON’T include a trip to Spain, then let the Cleveland Museum of Art bring a bit of Spanish history to you with an exhibition titled Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. The exhibit, which opens October 15 and runs through January 7, 2007, provides a guided tour of the art and architecture that flourished in Barcelona — the capital of the Spanish region known as Catalonia — between 1868 and 1939, a period when the city became the epicenter of an extraordinary cultural movement called Modernisme.
Modernisme is often compared with art nouveau, an artistic style that developed at the same time. But many feel that’s the wrong way to view it. “Barcelona had a rich visual culture all its own,” explains William Robinson, the museum’s curator of modern European art. “The Catalan artists were not interpreting what was happening elsewhere in Europe. They were inventing a radically new creative vocabulary.”
In order to tell the story of this uniquely exciting time and place, the show’s organizers had to gather paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, posters, photos, decorative objects, and architectural designs and models from around the world. The result: displays including masterworks by Picasso, Miró, Dalí, and Gaudí, along with pieces by other important, but perhaps less familiar, artists. Many of the works have never been shown in North America before. 888.CMA.0033; clevelandart.org — Laura Taxel
NEW YORK/NEWARK
butterfly effects
If a doomed Anglo-Asian love affair conjures up images of Miss Saigon, check out the new season at the Metropolitan Opera. Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) presents a lavish new production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the original East-West tragedy of betrayal. The story of Lieutenant Pinkerton and his geisha, Cio-Cio-San, comes to life October 5, 17, 21, 24, 27, and 31, complete with Bunraku-style puppets and translucent screens. No helicopters, though. metopera.org — David McDonough
NEW YORK/NEWARK
if you have hair, prepare to raise it
“O horrible, O horrible, most horrible,” the ghost of Hamlet’s father said. To which the creators of the fifth annual New York City Horror Film Festival, October 18–22, would merely rub their hands in ghoulish glee. The fest presents a lineup of indie films, and the grand prize is a trip to Transylvania to see Bran Castle. nychorrorfest.com — D.M.
HOUSTON
magic moments
He’s written hits for Dionne Warwick and Tom Jones and collaborated with Elvis Costello. Now “The Look of Love” composer Burt Bacharach reprises his greatest hits with the Houston Symphony October 6–8. On October 28, the orchestra presents Lunada, a program of traditional Latino serenades, under the moonlight. 713.224.7575; houstonsymphony.org — Michele Meyer
HOUSTON
all that jazz
With four Grammy awards, jazz singer Dianne Reeves is at the top of the scat pack. Reeves will perform her vocal high-wire act on a collection of standards October 28 at the Cullen Theater in a program presented by the classical music organization Da Camera of Houston. You may have caught Reeves in the 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. If not, now’s your chance. 713.524.5050; dacamera.com — M.M.
Click here for Go Explore/Around The World.
Getting There: All the destinations covered in the “Go Explore” section can be reached by flying Continental Airlines. To book your vacation to these and other destinations, visit Continental Airlines Vacations at covacations.com.
Photographs by: Cleveland Museum of Art; Metropolitan Opera; Da Camera of Houston (Reeves)
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