Luwana Quitiquit weaves a basket using traditional Pomo techiques. Courtesy photo.

LUCERNE – Pomo artisan Luwana Quitiquit will offer a special demonstration of native basket weaving techniques this Saturday, March 28.

The demonstration will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at her Pomo Fine Art Gallery at Lucerne Harbor Artists, 6195 E. Highway 20, Lucerne.

American Indian basket weaving is an art form that captures the imagination in its many diversified techniques.

Join Quitiquit for a look at this unique art.

The Pomo Fine Art Gallery also contains a museum display of Pomo artifacts.

{mos_sb_discuss:5}

Lake County native Bill Pickersgill was one of the March 8, 2009, event's featured performers. Photo courtesy of CLPA.

KELSEYVILLE – Lake County's small but dedicated group of opera fans found satisfaction at the “Opera to Pops – with a Latin Flavor” concert featuring home-grown baritone/bass singer Bill Pickersgill and Friends.

Pickersgill – a tenured member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus – was raised in Lake County and graduated from Lakeport's Clear Lake High School. He has appeared in numerous events sponsored by Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA).

He also has been nearly a fixture at Yosemite Park's annual Bracebridge Dinner, an historic event now in its eighth decade of providing Christmas musical entertainment for devoted Bay Area music lovers. At last year's dinner his vocal group was joined by tenor Jimmy Kansau and soprano Amy Giovannetti, at which time he invited them to join him in his Lake County program.

The concert took place on Sunday, March 8, at Lakeport's Soper-Reese Community Theatre.

The first half on the program featured well-known numbers from well-loved operas opening with all three performers singing the "Libiamo" from Verdi's "La Traviata," followed by solo arias by Giovannetti (Dvorak's "Song to the Moon" from his "Rusalka") and Pickersgill (Ella Glammal m'amo, from "Don Carlo – also by Verdi”).

Since all opera is largely about love, all three singers entered into the romantic spirit of the evening with gusto, and even without sets, props, costumes or even the aid of the English language, managed to convey the joys and trauma of young love, denied love, unrequited love and even achieved love.

Soprano Amy Giovannetti. Photo courtesy of CLPA.

Jimmy Kansau, a native of Marida, Venezuela, was right at home expressing his undying affection for the princess in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers," then joined Pickersgill in the duet where each promise not to let that glamorous creature disturb their friendship for one another.

Giovannetti then sang Lauretta's aria to her father from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" followed by Kansau's rendition of another Puccini favorite "Che Gelida Manina" from La Boheme" after which the two joined on yet another Puccini classic "O soave fanciulla" also from "La Boheme" and finished the number while strolling arm in arm offstage.

Pickersgill's next solo was as the tragic Colline, as he sadly contemplated selling his last valuable possession – his overcoat – to buy help for his dying Mimi. It is from the final act in "La Boheme."

The opera finale featured all three performers joining in the "Trio" from Gounod's "Faust" with Giovannetti taking the part of Marguerite while Kansau and Pickersgill sang the roles of Faust and Mephistopheles.

Jimmy Kansau, tenor and guitar. Photo courtesy of CLPA.

Following intermission the performers shifted into the "Pops" part of the program taking turns singing either solo or together; selections from such Broadway hits as "Camelot," "Flower Drum Song," "Man of La Mancha," My Fair Lady" and others.

Kansau, who is also an accomplished guitarist, fetched his instrument on-stage to accompany himself in singing Three Spanish Songs. They were "O Vereda Tropical," Motivos" and an audience favorite the ever-popular "Beseme Mucho."

With the exception of these three numbers, the musical accompaniment for the entire concert was provided by the multi-talented Cesar Cancino, whose impeccable piano played a vital role in holding the whole show together. He has performed in major venues throughout the world as both pianist and musical director and conductor.

Pianist Cesar Cancino. Photo courtesy of CLPA.

The program ended with all three voices blending gloriously on "Con te Partiro" which resulted in a standing ovation from an appreciative audience.

Clear Lake Performing Arts' next concert will be on Sunday, May 10, when the Lake County Symphony, under the direction of John Parkinson, will present its annual Salute to Moms in its big Mothers Day program. It will take place at the Marge Alaksay Center at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport at 3 p.m.

{mos_sb_discuss:5}

Apart from enjoying time off, there are certain times when it would be nice to be on vacation if for no other reason than to be excused from reviewing a particular film. That time would be now.

But no, I was stuck in a darkened theater watching a remake of Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left,” now directed by Greek filmmaker Dennis Iliadis. Not being a devoted fan of horror films, I have never seen the Wes Craven original, and this latest version, graphically brutal and grisly, leaves me with no burning desire to catch up with what I missed.

From the very outset, and as a warning to parents, it must be noted that “The Last House on the Left” is so over-the-top violent, brutal and gruesome in its depiction of sadistic behavior that it has to be one of the most repugnant films of recent times. However, I say this without having seen any of the “Saw” films, which I imagine were also hideous and ghastly. I am not sure why there is such a market for this type of horror, but the only possible saving grace is that vengeance is usually exacted upon the perpetrators of evil, leading to some sort of redemption.

The film begins with the Collingwood family going on vacation to their remote lakeside summer home. John (Tony Goldwyn), a surgeon, and his wife Emma (Monica Potter), joined by teen daughter Mari (Sara Paxton), are still getting over the loss of their son from the year before. Shortly after arriving at the lake, Mari decides to go out for the evening with her friend Paige (Martha MacIsaac). The girls meet a rather shy young man, Justin (Spencer Treat Clark), who invites them to a motel room to smoke a few joints.

Their pleasant fun is soon interrupted by the arrival of Justin’s malicious father, Krug (Garret Dillahunt), his Uncle (Aaron Paul), and his father’s girlfriend Sadie (Riki Lindhome). One of them is an escaped convict and they are all wanted for murder. The girls are seen as posing a risk, and so they are kidnapped for a ride into the woods. Both girls are brutally assaulted. Mari is victimized by a rape so violent and atrocious that it is extremely painful to watch. This is shock cinema at its worst, resulting in brutality so extreme that it seriously offends good sense.

The upshot is that the badly battered and sodomized Mari is left for dead in the forest, while the malefactors seek shelter from the stormy weather. Being in the middle of nowhere, this leads them to the Collingwood lakeside home, where John and Emma, obviously unaware of what has transpired, invite them to take refuge in the guest house.

For a time, there’s a decent buildup of tension, knowing the hosts and the visitors are unaware of each other’s relationship to Mari. Though I won’t reveal the details, the film veers off into the revenge thriller when John and Emma become alert to the vicious thugs in their midst and decide to fight back for vengeance.

“The Last House on the Left” is full of sadistic, grisly violence, especially the heinous and seemingly endless rape scene. It’s a form of torture having to sit through this mess. I can’t fathom any good reason to see this gruesome horror film and can only suggest that “The Last House on the Left” should be condemned.

Had it not been for a prior commitment, I would have been able to attend the screening of “Race to Witch Mountain,” affording the opportunity to write about something undoubtedly better and far less traumatizing.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

As a contrast to this week’s movie review, I want to tell you about the DVD release of “Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest,” a family entertainment of brilliant animation realized by acclaimed French filmmaker Michel Ocelot.

The fairytale story involves two children who grew up together.

Azur, the blue-eyed son of a nobleman, and Amar, the dark-eyed child of a nurse, listened to enchanting stories, but their favorite was about a beautiful fairy waiting to be released from captivity by a good and heroic prince.

The two boys are as close as brothers, until the day Azur’s father cruelly separates them, banishing Asmar from his home and sending Azur away to private school. Years later, Azur and Asmar are reunited, but as grown-ups they become rivals in the quest to rescue a beautiful fairy princess.

“Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest” is a magical story that is made even more enchanting about the superior quality of its colorful animation.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

{mos_sb_discuss:5}

MIDDLETOWN – Coyote Film Festival, Lake County’s independent film festival, will kick off the 2009 film season on Saturday, March 21, with films about tea.

The festival's first event of the year will offer two screenings, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., at the Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown.

The main feature is “All in This Tea” by Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht.

Blank and Leibrecht created a multiple award-winning film about tea importer David Lee Hoffman’s travels throughout China – sometimes on foot – in search of handcrafted premium teas.

The directors follow this adventurer as he discovers exquisite teas and attempts to overcome bureaucratic obstacles to buying tea directly from farmers.

China’s emphasis on factory-produced tea treated with chemical fertilizers is endangering the small farmer who has produced organic tea for generations. Hoffman’s goal is to open the Chinese tea market, support the small farmers and make high-quality handmade teas available outside of China.

The film captures Hoffman’s boundless enthusiasm. Guest filmmaker, Gina Leibrecht will attend both screenings and share her adventures with us in making this film.

Two poignant shorts accompany the main feature. “Tea Time” – a film by Jay Bogdanowitsch – depicts a starving soldier who spots a gentleman on the battlefield having tea. Next to the gentleman sits a tea table with a delicious baked goodie. The soldier’s mission becomes: liberate that pastry, until he finds out he’s in for a big surprise. In war, nothing is what it appears to be.

“The Taste of Tea” by Alfonso Chin X is the story of a son who forgives his dying mother for all the years of abandonment by finding and making her a special tea.

The entire program will be approximately two hours, including a question-and-answer session with Leibrecht.

Tickets are $10 at the door and $5 for children 16 and under. Fresh popcorn and concessions also are available.

Coyote Film Festival is a fundraising arm of EcoArts of Lake County, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing visual art opportunities and ecologic stewardship to the residents and visitors of Lake County.

For more information visit: www.EcoArtsofLakeCounty.org.

{mos_sb_discuss:5}