Fine-arts fans love the fall. The new season inspires Denver’s biggest venues to bring out their best attractions, and the late 2022 lineup of offerings holds serious potential. These top picks deserve your consideration.
“Who Tells a Tale Adds a Tail: Latin America and Contemporary Art,” Denver Art Museum, through March 5
With this all-star exhibition, the Denver Art Museum continues its trek to become one of the most crucial showplaces for current Latin American art in the United States. Curator Raphael Fonseca has assembled 19 emerging names from eight countries — stretching from Mexico to Argentina — whose work covers such diverse areas as painting, video, textiles and performance art. The show is a primer on new art in this hemisphere, as well as an exploration of the ways that long-practiced markers of cultural identity crash into our current high-tech reality. DAM, 100 W. 14th Ave. Info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
“One Sheet,” Arvada Center, Sept. 15-Nov. 13
With 10,000 square feet of gallery space, the Arvada Center has room to experiment, and this new show, “One Sheet,” makes the most of that opportunity. “We basically gave 60 artists a sheet of plywood, paper or sheet music and said ‘Do your thing’ … . And let’s just say they didn’t let us down,” gallery director Collin Parson explained in an email. So many local faves are on the list of experimenters: Sabin Aell, Susan Blake, Roger Reutimann, Autumn T. Thomas, Vinnie Alfonso, Nathan Hall, Brady Smith, Frank T. Martinez and (many, many) more. Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada. Info: 720-898-7200 or Arvada center.org.
“The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse,” Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Sept. 16-Feb. 5.
“The Dirty South” was one of the most talked-about art exhibitions of 2021, and the MCA Denver is making a big commitment to bring it to local audiences, turning over all three floors to a show that attempts to explain how “the aesthetic traditions of the African American South have shaped visual art and musical expression over the last 100 years.” Such a large topic demands a sizable number of artists and, when the exhibition premiered at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, there were more than 120 names on the checklist, showing painting, drawing, sculpture, video and more. It will be interesting to see how curator Valerie Cassel Oliver customizes the attraction for its current tour. MCA, 1485 Delgany St. Info: 303-298-7554 or MCA denver.org.
Tribute to Stephen Sondheim, Mary-Mitchell Campbell with the Colorado Symphony, Sept. 24
The Colorado Symphony is attempting something new with its Imagination Series, a lineup of concert collaborations with artists working in musical genres far apart from Euro-centered classical. The group includes RZA, founder of the hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan; Colorado indie rocker Nathaniel Rateliff; and Broadway veteran Mary-Mitchell Campbell, who kicks things off with this event on Sept. 24. Campbell has served as music director for several hit shows, including “Mean Girls” and “The Prom,” and she is going hyper-Broadway with this program built all around the work of Sondheim. Campbell will conduct the ensemble, with featured vocalists Elizabeth Stanley, Lindsay Roberts and Jeff Kready and the symphony’s own chorus. Jayden Greicius, who won a special “Youth Vocal Competition,” will also appear. Boettcher Concert Hall, in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Info: 303-623-7876 Or coloradosymphony.org.
Bandaloop, Newman Center, Sept. 29
Hard to believe the Newman Center for the Performing Arts has been around for 20 years now. It’s remarkable considering how crucial it has become to the city’s fine art scene. No local venue has shown half the commitment to bringing local crowds such a high level of international names in the fields of dance and classical music. To celebrate, the center is offering something unusual: a free performance by the popular dare-devil dance troupe Bandaloop. The company will set up on Newman’s home turf on the campus of the University of Denver, doing its thing on the exterior walls of the Ritchie School of Engineering and Science and the Sie Complex. It’s a birthday party, so there also will be food and music, courtesy of DU students and the Playground Ensemble. University of Denver Campus. No tickets necessary. Info: newmancenterpresents.com
Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” Colorado Symphony Oct.14-16
The timing is always right for “The Four Seasons,” Antonio Vivaldi’s musical interpretation of the ways the world turns, and one of the most popular compositions in the string universe. The sounds are familiar but interpretations vary, and guest soloist Paul Huang promises to bring something unique. He’s a new-ish star on the circuit who made a big debut at the Kennedy Center before going on to appear in top orchestras internationally. He is known for both his finesse and his power playing, and that makes him just right for this piece. Boettcher Concert Hall, in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Info: 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony.org.
Pilobolus, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 14
No dance troupe is more popular than Pilobolus, which has been performing in theaters across the globe and at showy, special events (like the Academy Awards and the Olympics) since 1971. Pilobolus is known for doing the impossible, stretching the limits of physicality as well as the definitions of contemporary dance. Pilobolus puts on a show, every time, and audiences never get tired of it. Newman Center, on the campus of the University of Denver. Info: 303-871-7720 or newmancenterpresents.com
“Rigoletto,” Opera Colorado, Nov. 5-13
Opera Colorado has been around for a remarkable 40 years, and its longevity is due to one simple rule: stick to the basics. And so it’s no surprise that the company opens its landmark season with one of the most-performed titles in the music biz: “Rigoletto.”
Verdi’s masterpiece has the stuff that makes opera irresistible: bad behavior and good music, best set in a posh royal court. Fans of the genre know the tragedy well, and it should be solidly delivered by a cast that includes Stephen Powell as Rigoletto, Sharleen Joynt at Gilda, and Joshua Dennis as the lovingly despicable Duke of Mantua. Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Center, Info: 303-468-2030 or operacolorado.org.
