The arts come alive this month on Central Florida’s largest stage, with special presentations of dance, music and theater every Friday night on WUCF TV.
Grab a front-row seat for performing arts programming from around the world – Paris to Hawaii – on Central Florida’s only PBS station. From legendary artists like Placido Domingo and Audra McDonald to a Vegas-style remake of Verdi’s Rigoletto to an up-and-coming ukulele star, the best arts programming for family members of all ages is on WUCF TV.
This month’s “Arts Alive” lineup includes:
PLACIDO DOMINGO: GREATEST LIVING TENOR
Friday, May 3, 9:30 p.m.
Legendary tenor Placido Domingo discusses his storied career, his “friendly” rivalry with Luciano Pavarotti, the future of opera and how long he plans to keep singing.
GREAT PERFORMANCES: THE PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY IN PARIS
Friday, May 3, 10 p.m. (Video Preview) [1]
At an age when most artists’ best works are behind them, modern dance pioneer Paul Taylor continues to shine. Relive two of his enduring masterworks recorded during the Taylor Company’s 2012 performance at the Theatre National de Chaillot in Paris.
JAKE SHIMABUKURO: LIVE ON FOUR STRINGS
Friday, May 10, 9 p.m. (Video Preview)
Follow ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro over the course of a musical season. Enjoy dynamic performances before sold-out crowds, intimate moments of life on the road and visits to Shimabukuro’s native Hawai’i, where he has risen from local hero to international star.
WEST ENCOUNTERS EAST
Friday, May 10, 10 p.m.
The Brazilian capital of Sao Paulo hosts the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. Within this little-known niche – the result of a century-old diaspora – lies a thriving arts community. This documentary explores the unique fusion of Eastern and Western artistic traditions in the works of well-known and emerging Japanese-Brazilian artists.
GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: RIGOLETTO
Friday, May 17, 9 p.m. (Video Preview) [2]
Verdi’s Rigoletto meets Vegas in this glitzy adaptation set in the 1960s Las Vegas strip, with Polish tenor Piotr Beczala and German soprano Diana Damrau. Michele Mariotti conducts his first company performances of the Verdi masterwork, which features one of the most famous arias in all of opera, “La donna è mobile.”
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER: AUDRA MCDONALD: GO BACK HOME
Friday, May 24, 9 p.m.
Join five-time Tony Award-winner and series host Audra McDonald as she takes a turn as the featured performer, singing songs from her new album and other favorites in a special spring concert at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.
CELTIC THUNDER: MYTHOLOGY
Friday, May 31, 9 p.m.
“Mythology” is the latest show from Celtic Thunder and the show’s 9th special for public television. Filmed on location at the Helix Theater in Dublin (where they filmed their debut show in 2007), it’s fitting that Celtic Thunder has chosen to return to its roots in order to film this musical odyssey back to the heart of the Celt.
WUCF TV launched July 1, 2011, providing uninterrupted access to PBS programming to nearly 4 million Central Floridians across nine counties.
Owned and operated by the University of Central Florida, WUCF TV provides four program streams, including channel 24, WUCF TV’s main PBS programming channel, WUCF Create, WUCF World and Spanish-language Vme WUCF.
For a complete listing of channel locations by television service provider, click here [3].
More information is available at WUCFTV.org [4].