Volumes Bookcafe, The Long-Awaited Opening, and Other Bookselling Stories
By Frances Van de Vel The white logo is gleaming proudly on the red brick façade and large windows. On the inside, however, Volumes Bookcafe needs a few finishing touches. The empty shelves – 6,000 pounds in total – are waiting for books, and there are still no lattes or lipstick-stained wine glasses to be […]
Harper Lee (1926-2016): between classic and controversy
By Frances Van de Vel While she seldom spoke in public, her printed words have left a lasting impact. With the passing of Harper Lee on Feb. 19, American literary history has lost one of its 20th century pioneers and the author of the timeless classic “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Nelle Harper Lee was born […]
Back to school: renowned composer Philip Glass returns to the University of Chicago for three-day residency
By Frances Van de Vel In 1956, Philip Glass graduated from the University of Chicago at the age of 19 with a degree in mathematics and philosophy. His eventual career path, however, strayed far from those tracks in pursuit of musical composition. Sixty years and multiple operas, soundtracks and concertos later, the alumnus finally returned […]
Lyric impresses with imperfect yet invigorating production of “Nabucco”
By Frances Van de Vel A lustrous production that dazzled the eye despite uneven vocal performances. That was Lyric Opera of Chicago’s recipe on Feb. 6 for its new-to-Chicago production of Verdi’s biblically inspired “Nabucco.” The opera’s nine-performance run opened at the Civic Opera House on Jan. 23. Lyric debutant Matthew Ozawa directed this modern […]
Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” captures children’s chuckles
By Frances Van de Vel The older a joke gets, the more it loses its power and capacity to make people laugh. On Feb. 13, however, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and guest artists from Chicago Shakespeare Theater proved the opposite with a playful performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” […]
The Newberry Library digitizes 30,000 French Revolution pamphlets
By Frances Van de Vel “I wait for the head of the murderer Louis XVI.” The accompanying illustration in black ink vividly depicts a guillotine execution and seems delicately faded. Some creases vein the letters like paper wrinkles, chronicling an aged pamphlet. Yet the force of the message, written in French in ca. 1793, is as […]
