Chihuly Nights at Biltmore

If you haven’t yet been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to see the Chihuly exhibit, you have until the first week in October to see this captivating art installation, the first art exhibition in Biltmore’s historic gardens, and the first garden exhibition of Chihuly’s works in North Carolina.

Solo d'Oro (2017)

Electric Yellow and Deep Coral Tower (2017)

Artist Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor, famous for his environmental artwork. We have our very own Chihuly piece right here in Falls Park – Rose Crystal Tower – although it is constructed of Polyvitro instead of glass (see my post Chihuly Comes to Greenville).

Pergola Garden Fiori (2018)

Red Reeds (2017)

  

We opted for Chihuly Nights tickets, as they include an evening visit to Biltmore as well as daytime admission the day of your evening visit or the following day to the Gardens, Conservatory, Antler Hill Village & Winery, the shops and the restaurant. The only difference between a day and night ticket really seems to be your entry time into the Biltmore House; an evening tour is self-guided and restricted to the First Floor.

Paintbrush Tower (2014)

Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds (2015) outside the Conservatory

You will want to tour the house, as Laguna Torcello II is located in the Winter Garden. It is the only piece located inside the Biltmore House; Sky Blue and Cobalt Fiori is located just outside the main entrance.

Laguna Torcello II (2018)

Sky Blue and Cobalt Fiori (2017)

Portions of the exhibit can be found along the Pergola, in the Shrub Garden, in the Walled Garden and Italian Garden, and in the Conservatory. The centerpiece, Sole d’Oro, is located on the Esplanade, and two more pieces can be found in Antler Hill Village: Alabaster and Amber Spire Towers & Turquoise and Erbium Fiori.

Sole d'Oro (2017)

The orchids in the Conservator almost showed up the Chihuly chandeliers...

Burnished Amber, Citron, and Teal Chandeliers (2017) - one of two in the Conservatory

  

Our visit was made even more interesting by a summer thunderstorm. Not only did we have the gardens to ourselves, the colors seemed more lush and vibrant. In addition there were some fantastic skies serving as a backdrop to the Châteauesque residence.

We saw the storm coming a long way off

Float Boat (2017) and the Italian Garden

  

If Sole d’Oro is the centerpiece, the sculptures in the Italian Garden are a crescendo – the five works are floating in the ponds, water lilies and koi living among them.

Niijima Floats (2018) and the resident carp among the clouds

Fiori Boat (2017), Neodymium Reeds with Fiori Verdi (2014) in background

It was here that I definitely noticed the Italian influence on Chihuly's work. One of the pieces is titled Palazzo Ducale Tower, and it is the oldest in the exhibition. The initial phase of Chandelier exploration culminated in his Chihuly over Venice project, and the ceilings that could not support chandeliers challenged the artist to create towers. I wrote about Venice, Palazzo Ducale and the Murano glassblowing legacy in my post Venice and Lido, Italy.

Palazzo Ducale Tower (1996) in he Italian Garden is the oldest piece in the exhibition

A visit to Biltmore in the coming months offers the Chihuly experience alongside the landscape architecture of Frederick Law Olmstead; it is no wonder that it has taken nearly two years of preparation to host this exhibit, and it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that is worth the trip.

Red Reeds (2017)

Sole d'Oro (2017) as seen from the Statue of Diana

Backstage at the Latvian National Opera

The grand 19^th century theater was built on the grounds where a bastion of the city’s defenses had formerly stood; the site went from being a fortification of a military nature to a cultural one, providing a home to theater, opera and ballet for the next 150 years. Today, it stands on the banks of the Rīga canal resplendent not only in architecture but also in its contribution to the cultural scene of Europe: Latvijas Nacionālā opera un balets, home to the Latvian National Opera and the Latvian National Ballet.

August Volz's "Nymph" and the Latvian National Opera

We gathered for our tour on the steps facing the square and Bastejkalna parks, formal gardens with meandering paths, fountains and expanses of lush green grass providing a backdrop to the ornate National Opera. The fountain visible just to the north was created in 1887 by August Volz, and features a maiden balancing a large seashell above her head, four cherubic children frolicking with dolphins at the base. Legend has it that work on the fountain took forever to complete because Volz had fallen in love with the young woman who posed for the sculpture, and only finished it after she agreed to be married. The statue we see today is actually a replica, as the original Nymph was made of zinc – the city could not afford bronze at the time it was commissioned. However, this frugality was what possibly saved the sculpture from being carted off to Russia during WWI along with most of Rīga’s bronze monuments, and in 1986 sculptor Mirdza Lukaža created a bronze replacement, the original removed to Rundāle Palace park. Volz also created the statue of Roland in Ratslaukums and the lions in Vērmanes dārzs.

From the statue we turned our attention to the ornate building before us. When the center of Rīga was redesigned in 1856 a site on the Rīga canal was chosen for the new theater, and in 1860 a design by architect Ludwig Bohnstedt was chosen and construction begun. The neo-classical building was opened to the public in 1863 as the Rīga German Theater. Not even twenty years later a major portion was destroyed by fire, although Rīga's chief architect Reinholds Schmaeling faithfully followed Bohnstedt's original design and completed its reconstruction by 1887.

Soon after Latvia declared its independence on November 18^th, 1918, the Latvian National Opera Company was founded. Joined by the first professional Latvian ballet ensemble in the 1920s, the opera house was a cultural center for the next twenty years. In 1944, following the illegal occupation of Latvia by Soviet Union, the Latvian National Opera became the Latvian S.S.R. State Opera and Ballet Theater and remained as such until 1990.

Backstage with the set

Multiple small-scale renovations to the building were completed in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until 1990 that a complete reconstruction and restoration was begun. The work of architects Imants Jākobsons and Juris Gertmanis to the front of the house and to the stage enabled the National Opera to re-open with the production of Jānis Mediņš’ Uguns un nakts (Fire and Night) in 1995.

Sarkanā zāle

In 2001, a new annex was completed, providing offices and a rehearsal stage, as well as additional performace space. Jaunā zāle (the ‘New Hall’) seats 300 and hosts chamber operas, concerts and lectures. It, along with the main hall, the red hall and the beletāžas zāle are also available for rental; I attending a beautiful wedding reception in the jaunā zāle a dozen years and one week ago (laimīgu laulības jubileju K & A!!!)

Over the course of their September-June season, the Latvian National Opera and Ballet sees more than 200 performances, and many world-renowned musicians have launched their careers in the great hall including conductor Andris Nelsons, operatic sopranos Kristīne Opolais and Marina Rebeka, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, and tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko. Mikhail Baryshnikov was born in Rīga, and trained there until leaving the country in 1964 to pursue an international career. In recent years he has returned for multiple projects including a solo show “Letter to a Man” at the Latvian National Opera.

An enormous paldies to our wonderfully knowledgeable guide Mārtiņš, who was so patient with our questions and easily passed on to us his enthusiasm for the history of this grand building. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to take the stage of the National Opera, and I will not soon forget the chance to see the majestic chandelier up close, climb the spiral staircase in the red room, emerge on the Ionic portico for a look over the gardens, or peek into the President’s alcove.

Tours are about 45 minutes in length and are conducted in Latvian, English, German or Russian. For more information on scheduling your tour, please visit the LNO website.

Central Park - from Hallett to Belvedere

I could spend an entire NYC vacation in Central Park and it wouldn’t get old. Every time we visit, I get a new perspective of the 842-acre refuge: sometimes seasonal, other times depending on the area we visit or the company we bring. We returned to southern border of Central Park on this particular visit, but skipped the crowded paths for a visit to the newly-opened Hallett Nature Sanctuary – read about it here.

View from 5th Ave Subway Station stairs

From the Sanctuary we headed north past the Dairy Visitor Center and Gift Shop, one of the Central Park Conservancy's five visitor centers. Park architect and designer Calvert Vaux originally created this Victorian cottage as a retreat for children and their parents, the Dairy becoming a source of fresh milk and snacks in the 19^th century. By the 1950s the neglected building was an eyesore, and the Parks Department tore down the loggia and turned it into a maintenance shed. In 1979 the building was restored and became the Park's first visitor center, and in 1980 the loggia was recreated from historic photographs.

After crossing Center Drive we found ourselves on the Central Park Mall. The Mall, a quadruple row of American elms, is one of the largest and last remaining stands of American elms in North America. The majestic trees form a cathedral above the Park’s widest pedestrian path, the only straight line within Central Park. At the south end of the mall lies the Literary Walk, with statues of well-known figures such as William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. At the north end of the mall is Bethesda Terrace (see my post Central Park, Mussels and More). The stretch provides some of the best people watching in the entire park. In addition to the visitors out for a stroll, you’ll find vendors and entertainers of all sorts; we stopped to watch a student from Japan advertising haircuts with a sign indicating that his goal is to cut hair in 100 countries. He quickly found a taker and soon had a line of customers, not to mention the crowd that established to watch him work.

Once we reached Bethesda Terrace it was just a matter of finding a seat at the fountain for more people watching. The fountain sculpture was the first major public commission for a major work of art in NYC to go to a woman, Emma Stebbins. A bronze, winged angel carries a lily in one hand, and with the other hand blesses the water below which flows from an upper basin to the pool surrounding the four cherubs, Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace. Also called the Angel of the Waters, the statue refers to the Gospel of John, where there is a description of an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda, giving it healing powers.

The arcade in the lower passage features Minton tile ceiling, the only known example of Minton encaustic ceramic tiles used in a suspended ceiling. The majority of the nearly 16,000 tiles had been in storage for more than 20 years before the 2007 unveiling of a $7 million restoration by the Central Park Conservancy.

Adjacent to Bethesda Terrace is Cherry Hill fountain, a Victorian-era stone water fountain. It was the perfect time to visit as the cherry trees were in full bloom, and among all the visitors taking photos was a couple taking their wedding photographs. From this vantage point there is also a great view of The Lake and Bow Bridge, the 60ft cast iron bridge with a walkway constructed of ipe, a South American hardwood that turns a deep red when wet.

We ended up doubling back to The Mall for a short spell, and the boys found a performance artist with a tub full of soapy water and enormous bubble wands. If you ask them, it was probably a highlight of our visit.

Passing through Bethesda Terrace once more, Lauris spotted a man writing personalized poems and got his very own literary souvenir of the day in Central Park. Not a bad way to spend a day – sitting on the terrace and writing poems for tips...

Past the Boathouse is the border of the formal gardens with The Ramble, 38 acres of winding pathways through what was described by creator Frederick Law Olmsted as a "wild garden." Famous for urban bird watching opportunities (approximately 230 species have been documented), visitors can find a secluded spot for a picnic, listen to the gurgle of the man-made stream, or just enjoy a stroll through the woods. Or, if you're like us, take a break in  a grassy area to test dozens of paper airplanes...

North of 79^th Street is Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond. Named for the Italian meaning "beautiful view," the panoramic views of the Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, Turtle Pond and the Ramble are exceptional.

The 1869 castle was originally designed to be a Victorian Folly, a structure without a real purpose. However, in 1919 the National Weather Service began taking measurements from the tower, and the castle is still used for this purpose today. Rainfall, wind speed & wind direction are recorded and sent to the weather service's forecast office at Brookhaven National Library on Long Island.

From Belvedere we headed west through the 4-acre Shakespeare Garden, where spectacular blooms and landscaping are accompanied by plaques featuring quotes from the garden’s namesake. The garden features plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s poems and plays (such as columbine, primrose, wormwood, quince, lark’s heel, rue, eglantine, flax and cowslip), and is designed to resemble the Bard’s native English countryside.

Fritillaria imperialis, a charming fence, and snowdrops

We emerged from the park at the Museum of Natural History, and although the boys would have loved to stop at the Diana Ross playground, we still had a subway ride back to Brooklyn ahead of us. Having settled for a snack, we descended to the subway (with its mosaic depicting the nighttime constellations), tired but in wonderment of all that we had seen that day. The next day we would be celebrating Easter, our final day in New York before returning home.

A regatta in downtown Greenville

What to do on a sunny winter day? Maybe an origami boat regatta?

We joined friends downtown at ONE City Plaza, the newly redesigned public space that houses a water feature running the length of the square. With large ‘steps’ on one side intended as seating (an ‘urban couch’ according to design firm Civitas) and landscaping on the other, the water is easily reachable and allows for safe exploration.

We spent a few minutes looking at videos of how to make origami boats while Vilis napped, and having crafted a few different styles out of a variety of materials (newsprint, printer paper, watercolor paper, aluminum foil, wax paper), we decorated our regatta with colorful designs and flags. After throwing a few plastic boats into the mix we headed to pick up Lauris from school and let him in on the plan.

The wind was strong, sinking more than one newsprint boat on its maiden voyage. The wax paper boat joined the underwater salvage yard. All safety precautions were taken to ensure the LEGO figurines would not come to harm. Luckily the plastic boats endured, as then Vilis had a boat to pilot.

We discovered the aluminum foil and watercolor paper boats to be the most successful, the former more so when weighted down with a few coins or rocks to counteract the wind. I had hoped the water would get soaked up into the watercolor paper and make a spectrum out of the colors we had drawn at the bottom with markers, but because of the wind it was just washed off. Paper airplanes joined the mix, as sleeves, shoes and knees got progressively wetter. Nevertheless, it was clear that the afternoon activity was a winner – good friends, running water and toys, what else do you need on a sunny afternoon?

The more experienced regatta moms came prepared with extra paper for the kids to experiment with their own designs, and paper clips & coins to add strategic weights and balance. I have a few more ideas I want to try on our next visit, and hopefully the wind will not be as strong and the temperatures warmer… Any regatta tips for me out there?

A little more on ONE City Plaza…

It was on the corner of Main and Washington that four young black men staged a sit-in at the Woolworth’s counter in 1960. The building is gone, but this block is still the heart of downtown Greenville. When revitalization was first initiated in the 1980’s, the space was called Piazza Bergamo (after Greenville’s sister city), and over the next 25 years it was a hub for outdoor concerts and events. Along with the new construction (which has attracted businesses such as Anthropologie, Brooks Brothers and the hotel Aloft), the piazza was also redesigned. Completed in 2013, the $5 million project is “themed from the history of the region as a place of weaving. Layers and folds of patterns, a long fountain and urban couch form that spine that attracts people to engage and relax.” (source here) I'm happy that the Mice on Main statue remains a resident, but look forward to seeing the trees planted to give the space some shade from the summer sun!

Walnut Street Bridge and an antique carousel

It was lunchtime by the time we finished our exploration of the Chattanooga National Battlefield’s Point Park, and so we drove down from Lookout Mountain, bypassing Rock City. Judging from the parking lot it is an immensely popular destination, but over lunch we decided to skip “seeing Rock City” and instead head towards the riverfront for three reasons: we had already seen some fantastic views of the Tennessee River Valle y from Point Park, we had crossed a waterfall off our list on that trip (albeit underground) the previous day at Ruby Falls, and although reduced for the month of January, the entrance fees were still rather steep for our party of 7 ($15.95/adult and $9.95/child). To See Rock City is still on my Chattanooga checklist – we’ll just have to return someday in the near future.

After eating lunch we walked towards the Hunter Museum of American Art and the Tennessee River. The art museum is perched on an 80-foot bluff with stunning views of the river, the surrounding mountains and the city from the scenic viewpoint.

We descended to the restored pedestrian bridge spanning the river, the Walnut Street Bridge. Built in 1890, it was the first to connect Chattanooga with the North Shore. Historically significant as a long (2,376 feet) and old example of its type, the bridge was eventually closed to motor vehicles in 1978 and sat in disuse and disrepair for two decades before the completion of its restoration in 2010. Walnut Street Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1990.

A steady stream of people were out walking, enjoying the sunny day despite the cool temperatures. Pointing out Lookout Mountain to the boys, we also discussed the mechanics of drawbridges, as there is a good view of historic Chief John Ross Bridge, which now handles the vehicular traffic crossing the River.

Having crossed the mighty Tennessee we found ourselves in Coolidge Park. A small part of the urban renewal Chattanooga has undergone in recent years, the park is home to an interactive water fountain, a rock climbing wall, a military memorial and the century old Dentzel carousel.

The 1894 antique carousel was restored by local master wood carver Bud Ellis and his team, providing an afternoon of entertainment with 52 hand carved animals and a calliope band organ. Tickets are $1 per ride, and the carousel is available for birthday parties and family reunions. As I watched the boys (and even grandmother) take a spin, I was reminded of our visit to Jane’s Carousel, in DUMBO, Brooklyn…

Of course the fountain wasn’t operational, but we took a closer look at the animal sculptures that spout water in the summer before climbing the stairs back to Walnut Street Bridge. The view was completely different crossing in this direction, a panorama of Lookout Mountain, the bluffs with Hunter Museum of American Art, and the Chattanooga Skyline accompanying us back to the southern shore.