One of the deficiencies of the city’s leading opera company, Washington National Opera, is that lately they think of Mozart as early opera. The last time the WNO staged an opera from before 1775 or so was Handel’s Julius Caesar in 2000 and the same composer’s Agrippina in 1992 before that. Baroque opera is one of my major interests, and Handel is great, but there is a century of Baroque opera before Handel, too. We…

>> Irvine Contemporary opens two solo shows on Thursday, by artists working in extremely different styles and techniques. On the one hand are Sean Foley’s creepy, colorful paintings and works on paper. (At first glance, the image on the gallery’s homepage conjures up images of old Ren & Stimpy episodes.) On the other are haunting new photographs by Gina Brocker of a family of Irish migrants. Chat up the artists about their work at the…

We here at DCist have long been fans of Cultural Tourism DC, a non-profit coalition of community organizations that encourage cultural tourism and promote “economic development and hometown appreciation of the capital’s rich variety of heritage and arts attractions.” We have found their online event directory and weekly newsletters a useful source of information on an eclectic mix of cultural events and sites around the city. Thus, we couldn’t help but agree to be an…

>> “Mexican Report: Contemporary Mexican Art” — the key show opening this week — will be exhibited concurrently at three art venues in the D.C. area. It opens at the Cultural Institute of Mexico this Thursday with at reception at the Institute starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a tour of the Meridian International Center (a five-minute walk, but transportation will be provided as well). “Mexican Report” consists of an extraordinary gathering of the…