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Bob Benenson

ARTICLES: 95
Food

Eat Well, Do Good at Wednesday’s Epic Chicago Chefs Cook for Ukraine Fundraiser

Wednesday night, you have an opportunity to eat delicious bites prepared by nearly six dozen of Chicago’s top chefs — and do a world of good for the war-afflicted people […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Opera, Stages

Review: Love Hurts So Good in Lyric’s Tosca

The voices! Soprano Michelle Bradley, making her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the title role of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, and tenor Russell Thomas as her doomed lover Cavaradossi filled […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Music

Review: Homecoming for South Side’s Anthony McGill Gives Special Impact to Music of the Baroque’s Mozart Concert

When a performer’s name is in the title of a symphony’s concert, it is not surprising that their performance ends up as the evening’s most memorable highlight. That was certainly […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Review, Reviews

Review: “The Chevalier” Staged Concert Shines a Light on an Unfairly Forgotten Black Genius 

Joseph Bologne was a singular figure in the annals of music. Born in 1745 to a French plantation owner and a slave mother on the Caribbean island colony of Guadeloupe […]

Bob Benenson /
Stages, Theater

Review: Your Mama Didn’t Tell You to See Porchlight’s Blues in the Night, But We Did 

Felicia P. Fields alone is worth a ticket to Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of Blues in the Night at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. And that is not meant […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Reviews

Review: Chicago Sinfonietta’s Dream of an MLK Tribute

Chicago Sinfonietta’s annual January concert celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. is a tradition that goes back to the early days of the 35-year-old ensemble. But this year’s […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Reviews

Review: Music of the Baroque’s Immersive Holiday Brass and Choral Concert

If you have never attended one of Music of the Baroque’s Holiday Brass and Choral Concerts, you owe it to yourself to mark your December 2022 calendar to ensure that you […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Music, Reviews

Review: Tidings of Comfort at Chicago Philharmonic’s Cozy Joyeux Noel

Given what we’ve all been through since the spring of 2020, this seems to be a holiday season for grand-scale musical statements. The number of Chicago orchestras performing George Frideric Handel’s Messiah oratorio this […]

Bob Benenson /
Dance, Stages

Review: A&A Ballet’s Striking The Art Deco Nutcracker Reimagines the Story in 1920s America

A & A Ballet’s production of The Art Deco Nutcracker lavishly illustrates that a dance company need not have a big name to have oversized talent, vision and creativity. The performance last weekend at Athenaeum Theatre featured impressive choreography, stunning costumes and clever reimagining of […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Music, Reviews

Review: Music of the Baroque’s Performance of Handel’s Messiah Was Musical Inspiration and History Lesson 

Music of the Baroque is one of the few orchestras focused specifically on Baroque-era legends such as George Frideric Handel. So attendees expecting a masterly performance of Handel’s Messiah oratorio at the Harris Theater Monday […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Music

Review: Chicago Philharmonic Delights With World Premiere and Sunset Serenades

Chicago Philharmonic staged the world premiere of composer Jonathan Bingham’s short symphonic piece, titled Tautology, last Sunday. His composition was placed on a program between works by Johannes Brahms and […]

Bob Benenson /
Classical, Reviews

Review: Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Plays Well Beyond Their Years 

The stage at Symphony Center on Sunday night was set as it would be for a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, chairs and music stands and instruments tightly spaced on every […]

Bob Benenson /