An Opera Iconoclast at New World

The Culture Edit, March 3rd-16th

Author

Susan Bannon
March 02, 2025

At the vanguard of new music in the opera world, up-and-coming bass-baritone Davóne Tines has gotten as much press for his innovative recitals as he has for his powerful performances with marquee companies like the Met. Add in his Instagrammable personal style and political activism and you have a bonafide opera celebrity in the making. He’ll be singing his much celebrated Recital No. 1: MASS, an influential song cycle that pairs classical and contemporary works, with the New World Symphony for two performances Saturday and Sunday.

What’s not happening this weekend is the concert by K-pop band KARD at the Miami Beach Bandshell, scheduled for Friday. This is the second time they’ve cancelled at the last minute this year, and I am officially annoyed - but probably not as annoyed as the folks in charge at the Bandshell must be.

Good news on the food front: another new restaurant is opening near Lincoln Road, making my job of recommending places close to New World Center and the Colony Theatre a little easier. Aviv, by award-winning Philadelphia-based chef Michael Solomonov, will open at the 1 Hotel on March 14th.

Let’s get planning...

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Thursday, March 6th

Los Frikis

Inspired by true events, Los Frikis is a touching coming-of-age story set amid Cuba’s 1990’s punk subculture. The story follows Gustavo, who idolizes his older brother and his punk bandmates. As oppression and poverty tighten their grip on the island, the teens make a radical choice - they intentionally inject themselves with HIV to gain access to a government-run sanatorium, where they attempt to carve out their own anarchic utopia. This film had a successful run of 2024 national and international film festivals, winning two awards at our own Miami Film Festival last spring. In Spanish with English subtitles.

8pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $11-$13

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on March 6th:

Friday, March 7th

Nu Deco: Underground Symphony

Nu Deco Ensemble, Miami’s genre-bending contemporary orchestra, returns to the Citadel cabaret space for its intimate - and very popular - Nu Deco Lounge series. For Underground Symphony, the orchestra is collaborating with local DJ and Producer Dude Skywalker for an evening length work fusing electronic music with the live orchestra. If you’ve never experienced one of these concerts, they are very high energy, with a lot of audience participation (and dancing). Note that general admission prices are for standing-room only. If you want a seat on the floor or the balcony, you’ll need a VIP ticket.

7pm & 9:30pm, the Citadel lounge, $55 or $85 VIP

Neighborhood: Little River

Also on March 7th:

  • IlluminArts and the Miami Beach Botanical Garden present Echoes of Mother Nature, a musical exploration of the nature of climate change, with soprano Natalia Santaliz and guitarist Héctor Molina, in the garden at 7pm.

  • Seraphic Fire continues its Enlightenment Festival with masterworks of the Classical period at Church of the Little Flower, at 8pm.

Saturday, March 8th

Davóne Tines at New World

Photo Credit: Noah Elliott Morrison

Visionary opera star Davóne Tines returns to New World Symphony, following up his sold out debut with them in 2022. Known for his inspired and illuminating song selections for his concerts, Tines will join the New World Fellows to perform Recital No. 1: MASS, his lauded song cycle that puts J. S. Bach and Handel in conversation with contemporary composers Caroline Shaw and Julius Eastman.

7:30pm, New World Center, $25-$175

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Tropezón, Mimi Chinese, Blue Ribbon Sushi | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Brother’s Keeper

Also on March 8th:

  • Emilio Estefan and the Miami Symphony Orchestra present Soundtrack of My Life, a celebration of Estefan’s music at Knight Concert Hall, at 6pm.

  • Peter London Global Dance Company presents three world premieres by choreographers Aaron Lopez, Brooke Logan, and Peter London, at Sanctuary of the Arts, at 7:30pm.

  • Bandleader Oscar Hernandez and his Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra light up the Moss Center with their New York-style salsa and latin jazz, at 8pm.

  • Nu Deco Ensemble presents the second performance of its Underground Symphony weekend at the Citadel, featuring a collaboration with Miami’s own DJ Dude Skywalker, at 8pm.

  • Bistoury Physical Theatre and O Cinema present Watermuse, a collaborative film and performance exploring the vulnerability of women amidst the challenges of climate change, at 8pm at INKUB8.

Sunday, March 9th

Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival: The Classical

Continuing our music education, Seraphic Fire brings us a second installment of its Enlightenment Festival, this one spotlighting Classical masterworks from Haydn and Mozart, alongside lesser known works by Marianna Martines. A pupil of Haydn’s and duet-partner of Mozart’s, Martines’ compositions are getting a fresh look today, with Seraphic Fire presenting the modern world premiere of her O, Virgo, cui salutem.

4pm, Miami Beach Community Church, $45-$65

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Nearby Eats: Sweet Liberty, Mimi Chinese, The Drexel | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Abbey Brewing Co.

Also on March 9th:

  • Groundbreaking opera star Devóne Tines joins the New World Symphony for a second performance of Recital No. 1: MASS, his celebrated song cycle, at 2pm.

  • Central Fine Gallery celebrates the opening of El Otro Pozo Ciego / Night Vision, a group show of five Argentina-born artists, with a reception from 5-8pm.

  • The Miami short Film Festival continues to bring us short films from around the world with this selection of shorts from India, screening at the Deering Estate Visitors’ Center at 7:30pm, with a pre-screening reception at 7pm.

  • Contemporary flamenco duo Patricia Guerrero and Alfonso Losa perform their new work Alter Ego for the final night of the Arsht Center’s annual Flamenco Festival, at 8pm.

Happening NEXT Week:

Because maybe your friends are busy this week. Or you're busy this week. Or this week just seems too soon to pull your act together and make a plan.

Tuesday, March 11th

SFSO at New World: Mozart’s Requiem

Award-winning Maestra Sabrina Alfonso leads the South Florida Symphony Orchestra in a special all-Mozart performance at New World Center. Joining SFSO and the South Florida Symphony Chorus will be a quartet of special guest singers - soprano Katherine Henly, mezzo-soprano Maggie Reneé, tenor Norman Shankle, and bass-baritone Neil Nelson - for Mozart’s haunting, emotional Requiem Mass.

7:30pm, New World Center, $25-$100

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Also on March 11th:

Thursday, March 13th

Fiddler on the Roof - Opening Night!

If you had to choose only one theater performance each season, Zoetic Stage’s annual musical wouldn’t be a bad choice. That’s because Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer reliably pulls together a sparkling cast to present fresh, powerful takes on Broadway classics in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater. This year, they’re putting on Fiddler of the Roof, a mostly lighthearted crowdpleaser that tracks the struggles of Tevye, a poor milkman trying to instill traditional values in his five daughters. Tickets are selling fast for this one, so book those tickets asap!

7:30pm, Carnival Studios Theater at the Arsht Center, $66-$76

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on March 13th:

Friday, March 14th

Dimensions Dance: Salon Series

Founded by former MCB principals Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra in 2016, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami has been shaking up classical dance in South Florida ever since with their contemporary ballet repertoire. Their Spring Salon Series performance will give the audience a first look at a new ballet in progress by award-winning Canadian choreographer Alysa Pires, alongside new work by other up-and-coming choreographers. Performances through Sunday.

7:30pm, The Moss Center, $40

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby Eats: Not much! Grab dinner at Platea or Golden Rule Seafood on your way down there and have some rooftop cocktails at Ivy Rooftop or martinis at Fox’s on your way back.

Saturday, March 15th

Britten’s War Requiem

Three of the world’s most celebrated singers - Christine Goerke, Ian Bostridge and Roderick Williams - join forces with the New World Symphony and Master Chorale of South Florida for Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. A famously moving call for peace, the War Requiem pairs the orchestra, soloists, choir, and organ with poems by British WWI soldier Wilfred Owen, who died at the front in that war after writing some of history’s most haunting antiwar poems, such as Dulce et Decorum Est.

8pm, New World Center, $75-$185

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Aviv, Paya, Blue Ribbon Sushi | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Barceloneta

Also on March 15th:

  • Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami presents their Spring Salon Series for the second of three performances at the Moss Center, at 7:30pm.

  • The Moss Center welcomes the American Patchwork Quartet, comprised of multiple Grammy winners who bring their diverse immigrant roots to the American Songbook, at 8pm.

Sunday, March 16th

Florida Grand Opera Meets Reggae

Florida Grand Opera and the Rhythm Foundation are teaming up to bring Miami a unique musical collaboration between opera and reggae for one performance only at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Featuring musical selections from Beethoven to Bob Marley, this lighthearted exploration of common themes between the two genres will include traditional reggae, opera, and a playful blend of the two styles.

7pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, Free

Neighborhood: North Beach

Also on March 16th:

  • Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami presents their Spring Salon Series for its final performance at the Moss Center, at 7:30pm.

Planning Ahead:

Miami's most anticipated events sell out and those new restaurants you want to try book up. Here are a couple of upcoming events to get on your calendar now…

Saturday, March 22nd

Emma Donaghue at Books & Books

Books & Books welcomes Emma Donoghue, author of the international bestseller Room, to discuss her latest novel, The Paris Express. Her new work of historical fiction captures the human drama around an infamous disaster at Paris’ Montparnasse train station in 1895. The accident was a point of international fascination thanks to some surreal early photographs. Emma will also be discussing her work as an award-winning screenwriter and playwright.

5pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, $27 includes admission for two and one book

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

March 29th-30th

Michael Tilson Thomas Conducts Beethoven’s Fifth

Widely considered to be one of the greatest living conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas is technically retired - from being Founding Artistic Director of the New World Symphony as well as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony. But he continues to make time for exciting performances with the New World Fellows when he can, and one of those is coming up at the end of March, when he will lead the NWS in a performance of Beethoven’s sublime Fifth Symphony, and welcome international superstar pianist Yefim Bronfman for Schumann’s beloved Piano Concerto. Tickets are very limited for the Saturday performance, but fortunately you can catch the free WALLCAST in adjacent Soundscape Park.

8pm Saturday, 2pm Sunday, New World Center, $155-$235 or Free WALLCAST Saturday night

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Tropezón, Mimi Chinese, Aviv | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Greystone Bar

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