Having attended William Kentridge’s illustration of Schubert’s Winterriese cycle sung by Mathias Goerne, the first image projected for the video accompaniment of Solos for Violin by Bach came as a shock. A small baby, lying on his back, seems to be listening to the Bach, as Gil Shaham begins to play the first Sonata. A revelation followed.

America went to war in 1941, but not all of America. There were those who had to stay at home and man the war industries of building airplanes, ships and the weapons of war. “All My Sons”, nicely directed by ANW co-founder Geoff Elliott centers around the Keller family of a fictional Ohio city set in 1946.

Special exhibition explores the origins of the historic Goodman Theatre in Chicago. It's on view at the Newberry Library through December 31.

For the third evening of their triptych at Carnegie Hall, conductor Andris Nelsons presented the Russians at their bipolar best: dark battles and wild dances. Nelsons introduced himself at Tanglewood two years ago with a performance of the Symphonic Dances. He and the Boston Symphony exceeded themselves at Carnegie.

Karin Giusti's "Honorem: Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm" is an installation, grounded in photography dedicated in memory to her late fiancé, a 9/11 first responder. It is a poignant and solemn look into the humanity of first responders, and offers a private expression of grief and mourning in a public forum.

There are 75 works in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston exhibition Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer curated by Ronni Baer. Of the marquee artists there are two paintings by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) and four by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669).

In 2014 Nelsons conducted Strauss' Salome at Carnegie. What a reprise Elektra is. Experience at Bayreuth may give the Maestro the ability to bring out the Wagner in Strauss, and then go far beyond to the condensed emotional pitch of Strauss and to his sheer beauty. Christine Goerke, fresh from her triumph in Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera, gave a performance for the ages.

Strauss's early operatic masterpiece follows its Greek model closely to reveal the neurosis at the heart of modern life. Andris Nelsons led a white-hot BSO performance of a lurid, fin-de-siecle masterpiece. The cast, led by Christine Goerke, Jane Henschel and Gun-Brit Barkmin, was stellar.

Saltwater as the theme, the city is the stage for the 14th. Istanbul Biennial. Thirty six venues welcome visitors free of charge to view works by international artists, who have found inspiration in the city's location, history, architecture, and culture.

Last week we binged at the movies. This included The Martian, Bridge of Spies, and Everest. They are all likely to be award winners in various categories but overall we found Everest to be most compelling and entertaining.

Lincoln Center's innovative White Light Festival offered a delicious treat in their presentation of the Winterreise Song Cycle. Tenor Mark Padmore and Kristian Bezuidenhout on a fortepiano led us through a journey as the protagonist of the Muller poems trudges through his own. The fortepiano was used by Schubert and has a light touch, and a softer sound, with fewer overtones than a piano forte. For this performance, the singer and pianist were very much a partnership of equals.

Silent films of the 1920s began when the theatre lights dimmed and a conductor marched down the aisle He raised his baton, the curtains opened. On flashed the film accompanied by the orchestra. At the Miller Theatre, five singers entered the stage and as the film started, they sang.

The title of the Michael Yates Crowley cabaret play directed and co starring Michael Rau "Song of a Convalescent Ayn Rand Giving Thanks to the Godhead (In the Lydian Mode)" is long winded and overly ambitious. But brace yourself for a gender bending evening of gonzo cabaret at Oberon in Camridge

The Mark Taper Forum is currently presenting “Appropriate”, a dark comedic drama written by Obie Winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Eric Ting. For some audiences watching the play it must feel a little like driving past a roadside traffic fatality. We know we shouldn’t stare at the tragedy, but it’s so damn fascinating and riveting that it’s difficult to take one’s eyes away from the mayhem.

The number of characters played by the cast of eight has by necessity been reduced to 14 from the 35 to 40 in Shakespeare's version. Cramming all of Richard III into 90 minutes means eliminating some nuances and character motivations.

The Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin is well served by Carnegie Hall. Carnegie announced that this concert would be recorded and later available worldwide. Watch for it. An extraordinary evening of music-making was offered. It would be disingenuous not to mention succession at the Metropolitan Opera. When James Levine cancelled conducting an important production of one of 'his' operas, Nézet-Séguin's name was the first to emerge as the new music director.

The Trojan War was likely to have occurred circa 1,200 B.C. It spawned the epic poem The Iliad which was passed along by troubadours and finally transcribed with the development of Ancient Greek around 800 B.C. In a riveting 90 minute, one man show for Shakespeare & Company, Michael F. Toomey provides excerpts and contemporary commentary on one of the founding works of Western literature.

If bad luck comes in threes what's next for the Boston theatre community. Today we have reported on the break up of a 33-year-old relationship between the Huntington Theatre Company and Boston University. Now we report news the Emerson College, the owner of the 115-year-old Colonial Theatre has plans to convert it into a student center. These developments were predicted several years ago by then NEA chair Rocco Landesman. As he suggests, here in the Berkshires, there are too many arts organizations pursuing the same limited potential donors.

We always love bohemians - or at least we used to - but most of us wouldn't want to live the lives of poverty and disease they endured for our entire lives. The classic story of the poet Rodolfo and the doomed seamstress Mimi has jerked tears from audiences since its premiere in 1896. The BLO's production hit all the necessary points without reaching the highest peaks.

Hibla Gerzmava floats notes as though they made an effortless journey from her heart into the surrounding Hall in which she performs. Glamorous and a consummate actress, all the focus is on the gorgeous music that she lofts. It was a special evening at Carnegie Hall in which we got a taste of her perfection as Desdemona in Otello.

For the past 33 years the partnership between The Huntington Theatre Company and Boston University has provided superb theatre to audiences of up to 200,000. In addition to the Huntington Avenue venue it created the Calderwood Pavilion in 2004 in Boston’s South End.

We've had book and film commentary on the legendary Steve Jobs. With the director of Slum Dog Millionaire directing and West Wing's Aaron Sorkin writing, one would have hoped for more insight. Great performances by Michael Fassbinder, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels and Seth Rogen make the film worth seeing.

A small but growing increment live to be 100. Rikki Rudd, who was known and loved by many in the Berkshires arts community, passed away on October 6 at the age of 102. She emigrated from Denmark to the U.S. when in her 20s. She pursued journalism after study at Columbia University. That led to world travel and mastery of several languages. To celebrate her 90th birthday she took up sky diving. On every level she lived life to the full.

"The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence" by Madeleine George is 140 minutes (one intermission) of fast-moving, time-switching scenes with quick costume and set changes. One of the Watsons is Mr. Watson, who occasionally is paged by Alexander Graham Bell, "Come here, Watson. I want to see you."

The 85-minute play "Love and Information" by Caryl Churchill is at times funny, sad, poignant or puzzling. The actors make use of current technology in many scenes. In "Wedding Video," for instance, three couples comment on the video while watching the event on a smartphone, a tablet or a television set.