CALENDAR FOR LOVE FEBRUARY 2022
Tuesday, February 1
The following Museum Celebration exhibitions:
The Dali Museum, The Florida Holocaust Museum, The Great Explorations Children’s Museum, The Imagine Museum, and The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts.
Thursday, February 3
11 am – 1 pm The Florida Orchestra Coffee Concert. Michael Francis, conductor.
“Star-Crossed Lovers”. Through the centuries, the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet has enthralled composers; featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Bernstein.
Mahaffey Theater, 400 1st Street South.
Friday, February 4
8 pm St. Petersburg Opera Co.: Handel’s Semele, with Holly Flack as Semele, Sara Couden as Juno, and Kyle Tomlin as Jupiter. Semele, the latest mortal dalliance of Jupiter, becomes convinced that she won’t be happy until she is made immortal. Opposing her plan is Juno, Jupiter’s long-suffering wife, who schemes Semele’s downfall. Sung in English with English text above the stage. Mark Sforzini, Executive and Artistic Director. The Palladium, 253 5th Avenue North
Saturday, February 5
9 pm – 10 pm Spitfire Comedy House: “3 First Dates”. 6 improv comedians pair-up to go on three first dates in front of the audience, and it’s a train wreck of laughter! Don’t miss the best and worst dates ever as the action unfolds over dinner at a fancy restaurant on-stage. Don’t miss the best of ‘Chicago-style’ improv comedy and some of the best theatrical comedy in Tampa Bay! 3 First Dates is now in its 3rd year as one of Spitfire’s best original comedies.
Spitfire Comedy House, 1920 1st Avenue South.
Sunday, February 6
2 pm St. Petersburg Opera Co.: Handel’s Semele, with Holly Flack as Semele and Sara Couden as Jupiter. Semele, the latest mortal dalliance of Jupiter, becomes convinced that she won’t be happy until she is made immortal. Opposing her plan is Juno, Jupiter’s long-suffering wife, who schemes Semele’s downfall. Sung in English with English text above the stage. Mark Sforzini, Executive and Artistic Director.
The Palladium, 253 5th Avenue North.
Tuesday, February 8
7:30 pm St. Petersburg Opera Co.: Handel’s Semele, with Holly Flack as Semele and Sara Couden as Jupiter. Semele, the latest mortal dalliance of Jupiter, becomes convinced that she won’t be happy until she is made immortal. Opposing her plan is Juno, Jupiter’s long-suffering wife, who schemes Semele’s downfall. Sung in English with English text above the stage. Mark Sforzini, Executive and Artistic Director.
The Palladium, 253 5th Avenue North.
Saturday, February 12
4:30 pm Lecture by Professor Sara Munson Deats, “Shakespeare and Love”. A Shakespearean scholar, Professor Deats has superbly addressed each of our previous annual themes including “Shakespeare”, “Tolerance and Acceptance”, and “The Sea”.
Free, Pries Hall,
Opera Central, 2145 First Avenue South.
6 pm Erik Kroncke in Gallery Songs during the Second Saturday ArtWalks
Free, Mirella Cimato Gallery,
Opera Central, 2145 First Avenue South.
Sunday, February 13
4 pm A concert with St. Petersburg’s One City Chorus, “Here to Love”. ONE CITY CHORUS was founded in the fall of 2016 with the belief that singing in a group builds community and leads to better understanding among people. The 100-voice chorus seeks to make the world a better place by singing songs about social justice, civil rights, diversity and equality. Their performances have been described as “joyous, uplifting and beautifully sung” by Creative Loafing Newspaper who honored us with a Best of the Bay Award for “Best Voices Raised Together in Song.” After a prolonged Covid-related hiatus the chorus returns to the Palladium on Valentine’s weekend to celebrate Love.
The Palladium Theater, 253 5th Ave. N.
Saturday, February 19
8 pm – 10 pm The Florida Orchestra Masterworks Concert, Michael Francis, conductor, Conrad Tao, piano.
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1
Stravinsky’s The Firebird (Complete)
Mahaffey
8 pm – 10 pm POpera: “Love & Madness at the Opera”. A themed event for the St. Petersburg Celebration of the Arts. Love, passion, death and nightmares through operatic excerpts: the beginnings of love and the descent into madness that follows a reversal.
Opera Central, 2145 First Avenue South.
Sunday, February 20
3 pm – 5 pm POpera: “Love & Madness at the Opera”. A themed event for the St. Petersburg Celebration of the Arts. Love, passion, death and nightmares through operatic excerpts: the beginnings of love and the descent into madness that follows a reversal.
Opera Central, 2145 First Avenue South.
Tuesday, February 22
8 pm – 10 pm The Tampa Bay Symphony. WINTER SERIES “Love and More”, Mark Sforzini, Music Director.
The Sound of Music Selections – Richard Rodgers (arranged, Robert Russell Bennett)
Fraulein Maria Triptych – Mark Sforzini.
Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde – Richard Wagner
INTERMISSION
Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet – Nino Rota.
arranged and orchestrated by Mike Townend.
CALL FOR SCORES INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION WINNER
Les Preludes – Franz Liszt
The Palladium, 253 5th Avenue North.
Wednesday, February 23
1 pm “Love in Sparta,” a talk presented by the eminent classical scholar, Paul Cartledge, Professor Emeritus from Cambridge University as well as honorary citizen of modern Sparta and Commander of the Order of Honor awarded by the President of Greece. The ancient Greeks had at least two words for love – agapê connoting more or less pure love and erôs signifying sexual lust. In Sparta male-male sexuality played a distinctive role both educationally and politically, even leading to the invention of a unique vocabulary. As to marital romance and male-female relations, the Spartans likewise devised a special local twist. Whether or not and, if so, how far, ancient Sparta may properly be regarded and understood as a normal or abnormal Greek culture and society will also be discussed.
Free, streamed Online in collaboration with The National Arts Club
6:30 pm “The St. Petersburg Celebration of the Arts: A Reunion Story” In-person and virtual program via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheFHM
Presented bilingually in English and Spanish
The FHM is honored to share a story of love between two friends who were miraculously reunited after 80 years, Betty Grebenschikoff and Ana María Wahrenberg. The last time Grebenschikoff saw Ana María Wahrenberg was in the spring of 1939, when they were 9 years old. They shared a tearful hug in a Berlin schoolyard before their families were forced to flee the country and the Nazis on the cusp of World War II. In a reunion facilitated by the USC Shoah Foundation, as well as The FHM and the Interactive Jewish Museum of Chile, the two women and their families reconnected in November 2020 on a Zoom call. Talking in their native German, they vowed to meet in person, and one year later, they finally did.
In 2020, Betty was reunited with her childhood friend Ana Maria through their individual testimonies, which had been filmed decades before. Betty recorded her Dimensions in Testimony(SM) interview in 2021, which will begin beta testing later this year. Seating is limited, please RSVP today by visiting TheFHM.org/events
The Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 5th Street South.
Thursday, February 24
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm “Love Eternal: A Tour of the MFA Collection”
Join Dr. Stanton Thomas, Senior Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, for an intimate tour, centered on themes of love and desire, of the MFA’s collection.
This exploration of masterworks on display in our galleries celebrates the artistry and passion of artists through the ages, from ancient depictions of Venus through the romantic exuberance of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Free with admission, limited to 20.
Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NorthEast.
Friday, February 25
11:30 am – 2 pm St Petersburg Opera Guild Luncheon
Mexican tenor Guillermo Lopez Guiterrez featuring arias, zarzuelas of romance, and art songs
The Club at Treasure Island, 400 Treasure Island Causeway, Treasure Island.
Saturday, February 26
2 pm – 4 pm Matinee. The Florida Orchestra Raymond James POPS Concert, Enrico Lopez Yañez, conductor.
“Music of Star Wars”. The power of The Force is in the music. Take a journey through the most popular and critically acclaimed themes from every film in the saga, composed by the Jedi master of movie music, John Williams.
Mahaffey Theater, 400 1st Street South.
8 pm – 10 pm Evening. The Florida Orchestra Raymond James POPS Concert, Enrico Lopez Yañez, conductor.
“Music of Star Wars”. The power of The Force is in the music. Take a journey through the most popular and critically acclaimed themes from every film in the saga, composed by the Jedi master of movie music, John Williams.
Mahaffey Theater, 400 1st Street South.
9 pm – 10 pm Spitfire Comedy House: “3 First Dates”. 6 improv comedians pair-up to go on three first dates in front of the audience, and it’s a train wreck of laughter! Don’t miss the best and worst dates ever as the action unfolds over dinner at a fancy restaurant on-stage. Don’t miss the best of ‘Chicago-style’ improv comedy and some of the best theatrical comedy in Tampa Bay! 3 First Dates is now in its 3rd year as one of Spitfire’s best original comedies.
Spitfire Comedy House, 1920 1st Avenue South.
Monday, February 28
8 pm – 10 pm St. Petersburg Shakespeare Festival: “Shakespeare’s Fools in Love”. A Bite-Sized Shakespeare Performance of monologues, sonnets and scenes, providing a “lighter look at love” in Shakespeare’s Comedies.
Studio Grand Central, 2260 1st Avenue South.
PARTICIPATING MUSEUMS
The Dali Museum, 1 Dali Boulevard
The Florida Holocaust Museum, 55 5th Street South
The Great Explorations Children’s Museum, 1925 4th Street North.
The Imagine Museum, 1901 Central Avenue
The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NorthEast
PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS
Birch & Vine, 340 Beach Drive NorthEast
Parkshore Grill, 300 Beach Drive NorthEast
The Library, 600 5th Street South