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By Angela Rocco DeCarlo The Costa Mesa opera house audience in Orange County, California, went wild. The Segerstrom Center for the Arts’  performance, October 2,  featuring the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece film,"The Godfather" with a full symphonic orchestra onstage providing the beautiful music of Nino Rota's Academy Award winning score, conducted by UCLA alum, Justin Freer, was sensational. The word was the symphony's trumpet player, Robert Frear, of Long Beach State music department, was the original musician from the film. His featured solo, The Godfather Waltz,  in that haunting opening scene in Don Corleone's office, as Bonasera is asking for a favor to avenge his daughter, primes the audience for what is to come. As an Opera Pacific docent I've enjoyed many operas in that theater, but I can not recall such a vocally appreciative audience. Of course, The Godfather, is, in a certain sense, an opera. It is something Puccini or Verdi might have fashioned. It has all the elements of a great opera - love, loyalty, betrayal and revenge. Especially loyalty and revenge. And there are certainly enough deaths to satisfy that element of operatic trauma. Poor Michael Corleone is the perfect Aristotelian tragic hero. His flaw of family love and devotion to his father causes him to lose his soul. He abandons his planned life to avenge his father. So sad. In ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA Renée Fleming is a big deal. The opera soprano is celebrated for her beauty, charming grace and acclaimed vocal talents.   She will be performing with the Pacific Symphony orchestra, conductor Carl St. Clair, in Orange County September 13, 8 p.m., at theRenée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, singing a varied program including songs from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical "The King and I," as well as opera favorites such as Leoncavello's "Mattinata," and Mozart's Overture to "The Abduction from the Seraglio."  Of particular anticipation will be her presentation of Richard Strauss's hauntingly beautiful "Four Last Songs."               Renée Fleming  is someone who should be on everyone's "bucket list" of great performers to see in person. Her repertoire of dozens of operas has taken her to opera houses all over the world. Yet, she continues to add to her artistic endeavors with recitals and mentoring budding opera artists with master classes while sending opera into the Chicago community of public schools. She serves as creative consultant to Lyric Opera of Chicago.               This September 13th Fleming recital is a stellar opportunity to experience the very best musical entertainment by a performer at her peak. It will be an evening of glistening music, with something special for everyone.    Fleming is the "gold medal" ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo Let's face it. A tea party is a fantasy experience. It is presented in a frou-frou environment and the food can best be described as "doll food." Often good, but diminutive. Nonetheless, it is my favorite meal, aside from Chicago deep dish pizza. As my granddaughter Serritella Danielle DeCarlo's "Golden Birthday" was upon me I felt a tea party was the perfect way to celebrate her. She became eleven on July eleventh. An artist, dancer and writer who looks like she stepped out of a fresco in ancient Pompeii, not far from where her great-grandmother, Vita Serritella, was born in 1903, before coming to America in 1911. I began my search for a proper tea room in the city of Orange...a local place fit the bill, alas, no openings and parking is quite dicey. Tried polling pals for suggestions, but then my husband searched online and found Pamela's Tea Room, Garden Grove, CA, which was the best location at the 405 and 22, for guests coming from Huntington Beach, Long Beach and LA. It turned out to be a marvelous find. Having taken tea at many swanky places I can say when done well lit is a lot of fun, especially if you favor a light repast with a variety of textures and flavors in ...

Directed by Bailey Kobe and Featuring Actors Shaun Sipos, Julie McNiven, Jessica Camacho, Michael Steger, Michael DeLorenzo, Mark DeCarlo, Phillip Garcia, and Kelly Perine “The Babymoon”, a film by Director and Writer Bailey Kobe (“Caterpillar’s Kimono” with Ben Savage), will be featured at Dances With Films Festival for its World Premiere on Friday, June 10th, 2016 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in West Hollywood, CA. An invite-only red carpet event at 1:45 p.m will be followed by the screening at 2:45 p.m and after-party at 4:30. RSVP is required for press line and admittance to the screening. Press is also invited to attend after-party at Loews Hotel immediately after. Please email kate@doubleententefilms.com by June 9th to RSVP. TCL Chinese Theatre is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA. For more information please visit the Facebook Page or website. www.fb.com/TheBabymoonAdventure or www.TheBabymoon.org. ba·by·moon (bābēˌmo͞on) noun: a relaxing or romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born. In “THE BABYMOON”, a fragile relationship coupled with an unpredicted pregnancy, takes the unsuspecting parents to a place they only dreamt of - only to find themselves in the throes of a poorly-planned political revolution. WHAT:   Film Screening: “The Babymoon” WHO:  Writer/Director Bailey Kobe (“Caterpillar’s Kimono” with Ben ...

Never before in recorded history has there been a visionary as gifted... or hilarious, as Dr. Lars Dingman, the iTunes Psychic. Award-winning radio personality Dr. Lars Dingman, will offer every audience member the opportunity to come on stage for a free psychic peek at their future during his live broadcast. Using only the last 3 songs, randomly picked by the subject's digital music player, Earth's first Digital Age Psychic will predict the future and reveal past lives. FREE VACATION: Someone in the audience will win a FREE CANCUN VACATION Lars already knows who's going to win, but you have to show up to find out. Don't miss the oracle the HuffingtonPost calls "Earth's funniest psychic... Dingman's uncanny accuracy - and lunatic hilarity - deftly merge comedy and Psychic phenomena. A MUST SEE!" See and Hear his amazing predictions at www.itunespychic.com and follow him on Twitter @itunespsychic. Video: https://youtu.be/t8Ge-JdLEoc WATCH LIVE THIS MONDAY! Dr. Lars Dingman, iTunes Psychic Monday, May 23 2016 7:00pm   $5 UCB Sunset 5419 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Ground Breaks for New York City’s Virgin Hotel VOA begins construction on the 412,000-square-foot Virgin Hotel in NoMad The VOA-designed Virgin Hotel will be located on Broadway between 30th and 29th Streets. Last Friday, ground broke in Manhattan for the world’s second Virgin Hotel. Designed by the New York–based architecture firm VOA, in collaboration with developer the Lam Group, the 412,000-square-foot tower will contain 465 guest rooms and offer roughly 70,000 square feet of retail space at its base. With a slim façade that grows larger through sections that jut out from its sides, the 39-story building will bring a flash of modernity to the historic NoMad neighborhood. “Where the building appears to be shifting to the sides, we deducted some bulk out of the corners of the structure so we could reuse the floor area higher up,” says Brian McFarland, VOA’s lead architect on the project. “This allowed us the opportunity to create more corner windows at a higher elevation so those rooms could enjoy views the lower rooms wouldn’t allow.” Virgin Hotel in NoMad Virgin Hotels, a division of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, plans to roll out hotels of distinct designs in various cities around the world, and as such, “the Virgin Hotel ...

There’s something about Miami. It welcomes you by not making too much of a fuss about you. “Oh, so there you are,” it seems to say. “Great. Dale, Chico. Te veo después y nos tomamos un café." And you know, it’s happy to see you. My favorite spot to welcome the day in all of Miami is not anywhere near the infamous SoBe of the tanned and gorgeous. It’s not on a boat gliding past tall downtown buildings on bayside waters. It’s sitting on the sidewalk facing the huge, colorful, exhuberant sculpture at the entryway of the otherwise unremarkable Dadeland Metrorail Station in South Miami. It ́s fittingly called “Welcome” and stands amid the light gray concrete on mornings when my own bed wants nothing to do with me and, as my mother would say, “el que me fume, pierde el vicio.” And here's the trick: you sit on the sidewalk in front of it with your newspaper and your strong, sugary, Cuban coffee... you look at it for awhile... and pretty soon you start to feel happy and... god forbid... optimistic. By then you’ll look a little crazy to couples walking by with their strollers or their dogs, so taking a few ...

Time to hit the road… with Samantha Brown, Peter Greenberg, Patricia Schultz and more.   Spring is the traditional time of year when we shake off the sludge of winter and start thinking about… spring break. Trouble is, if you don’t start thinking about travel UNTIL spring, you’re going to pay more and have fewer options than if you plan ahead. But if you’re in the Philadelphia area, you’re in luck… because the world is coming to you.   A Fork On The Road will be at the Philadelphia Travel Show this weekend at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, March 19th & 20th. The event will take place from 10am - 5pm (EST) on Saturday and 11am - 4pm (EST) on Sunday. Be sure to enter our contests - we will be giving two lucky winners a Hotel Stay each in Cancun, MX for two adults and two children. So, make sure you stop by Booth #226 to say hello to our team and learn more about these awesome contests and prizes. Learn more about the contests at http://www.aforkontheroad.com/contests Over the last twelve years and 61 shows, this well-established event has become the premier consumer marketing platform in ...

Puccini's Turandot Soars: Pacific Symphony Feb. 18, 20 & 23 Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Costa Mesa, CA Giacomo Puccini's final opera, "Turandot,' debut 1926, librettists, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, at La Scala opera house, Milan, Italy, is admirably showcased with the wizardry of Pacific Symphony's imaginative concert production running February 18, 20 and 23, at the Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, California.   It is a show that surprises, entertains, delights and thrills to the combined talents of singers, orchestra, video designers and dancers. With the full orchestra on-stage, conducted by Carl St. Clair, the Pacific Chorale arrayed above, the Southern California Children's Chorus, adding unexpected luminary delights and video images of China reminiscent of Hollywood Cinemascope.   Directed by Eric Einhorn, "Turnadot" grabs the audience in an embrace of extraordinary Puccini music, Including the world-famous aria "Nessun dorma," sung by Prince Calaf, played by tenor, Marc Heller, as he promises himself victory in winning the princess. The aria has become known as the signature for the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.   Based upon a 12th century Persian fairy tale, "Turandot" (the final t is pronounced) transported to ancient China, where the Princess Turandot lives imprisoned in self-imposed hatred of men seemingly to avenge the abduction and murder of her ancestor of a thousand years ago. Not really a love story in the ...

  Nearly everyone enjoys magic. When done well. As a journalist I’ve covered many such shows, for decades, including those at Los Angeles’ Magic Castle and the late, great, Harry Blackstone, Jr.’s stage shows, to name a few. The best word to encapsulate those experiences is: delightful. Magic shows have the power to lift one’s spirits in powerful ways to relax and allow the wonder of the unknown to transport the audience to another realm. Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Centerfor the Arts, Costa Mesa, California, is featuring a magic show, The Illusionists –Live From Broadway. I couldn’t wait to see it. It spotlights seven key performers and a bevy of female and male attendants. There are plenty of stunning effects, but some of the performers reek of the dark side, which is apparently their schtick, but is a long way from tuxedo-clad practitioners of yore. From the onset there seemed to be a current that was uncomfortable to me. Too much grittiness, hint of violence and some things downright creepy. The show runs from Feb. 3, to 7th. Then moves on to the Pantages Theater, Los Angeles. In case anyone wonders – what is the difference between an illusion and a trick I’ll offer this: usually an illusion conjures a back-story, is complicated, with some surprise woven into it…Such as Andrew ...