Weekly Arts and Entertainment Highlights (Feb 02, 2012)

This week the world’s second largest island is on display, an opera star returns home, a classic novel takes the stage, and a 1950s Museum of Modern Art collection inspires a local photography exhibit.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman opens its newest exhibit called “Warrior Spirits: Indigenous Arts of New Guinea” on February 4th. New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world; there are over 850 languages spoken and many distinct cultural groups all on one island. The diversity is illustrated through a collection of over 100 items from the permanent collections of the Sam Noble and Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art on the University of Oklahoma campus. The objects on display include carved shields and weapons supplemented by maps, videos, and more. “Warrior Spirits” is open until May 13th.

Soprano Sarah Coburn performs with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Joel Levine on February 4th beginning at 8:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City. The program titled “Great Moments of Opera” features Coburn singing quintessential and classic opera pieces from the 1830s to the 1950s. Specific pieces from “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Antonio Rossini and “Die Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner are on the evening’s program. Sarah Coburn graduated with her masters in Music from Oklahoma City University. She has performed all over the world, and has had leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and Vienna State Opera.

Oklahoma City University School of Theatre and Oklahoma Children’s Theatre have teamed up to present a stage adaptation of the classic novel “Pride and Prejudice.” Performances take place in the Burg Theatre of the Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Building on the OCU campus from February 2nd through the 12th. Jane Austen’s novel and the play follow Elizabeth Bennett’s story of love and coming of age. The production also adds authenticity through live 19th century style music by Ladies at Play, who were chosen to perform at the 2011 Jane Austen Society of North America's annual convention.

[Artspace] at Untitled unveils a new exhibit on February 3rd. “Reconsidering the Family of Man” is a collection of about 60 photographs from both the Photographic Society of America and Oklahoma Art Institute’s collections. They show the development of the photographic medium from the turn of the century to the present, and the display is thematically inspired by the mid-1950s exhibit “The Family of Man” from the Museum of Modern Art. [Artspace] also features several works from Oklahoma photographer Todd Stewart’s collection, “The Garden”, and continues its photography series with “Decade by Decade: The 1940s”. The opening reception is from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City hosts “An Evening with James Anderson” on February 2nd.

The Ringa Singa Benefit Auction is at MainSite Contemporary Art in Norman on February 3rd.

Harpsichordist Tamar Grader performs at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on February 2nd.

For more events and details, visit our calendar page.