Mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, center, performs the role of Santuzza in “Cavalleria rusticana,” conducted by music director Riccardo Muti, right, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at Symphony Center on Feb. 6, 2020. (Credit: Todd Rosenberg)

The true magnificence of Mascagni’s 1890 opera – now focused entirely on the beauty of the music and the truthfulness of the singers, and stripped of the distractions of scenery, melodramatic acting and all the rest – was a great revelation.

Angelica Jade Bastién and Alejandro Riera appear on “Chicago Tonight” on Feb. 6, 2020. (WTTW News)

Brad Pitt is expecting to grab his first Oscar ever this Sunday night. Two local film critics share their predictions for this year’s awards.

Shel Silverstein, left, performs on “Soundstage” at WTTW in 1979. (WTTW News)

What does a song about a mythical creature have to do with one of Chicago’s most prolific – and unusual – artists? Geoffrey Baer explains.

The cover of Emily St. John Mandel’s book “Station Eleven,” left, and filming notices shared on Twitter, right, for the TV adaptation in Chicago.

As global health agencies grapple with the spread of the coronavirus, filming is underway in Chicago for “Station Eleven,” the story of a swine flu pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population. Welcome to the apocalypse.

Marin Alsop (Credit: Patrick Gibson)

Ravinia Festival just announced a major new hire, and she comes with an amazing pedigree: conductor Marin Alsop was mentored by Leonard Bernstein. 

Chicago artist Edo (WTTW News)

From clothing to digital art to painting, Chicago artist Edo sees color in all forms. “Color is my thing,” he says. “I want it to light up a room.”

Sister Frida Rage (left) vs. Aunt Nance at The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers’ 34th match CLLAW XXXIV: Good vs. Evil at Logan Square Auditorium. (Photo by Trainman Photography)

Strong ladies, a pop-up music festival, a walk in the woods and ice skating usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Photographer QT Luong at Kings Canyon National Park in California. (Courtesy QT Luong)

QT Luong is renowned for his photos of the country’s national parks. In 2019, he photographed what was then the newest national park: the Indiana Dunes.

White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti, left, and Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper preview the season on “Chicago Tonight” on Feb. 4, 2020. (WTTW News)

With spring training right around the corner, we look to the coming season with White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti and Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper.

Left: Cassidy Slaughter-Mason and Sean Parris in “How a Boy Falls.” Right: Kate Fry and Allen Gilmore in “The Mousetrap.” (Photos by Michael Brosilow)

Agatha Christie’s play, “The Mousetrap,” is now receiving a wonderfully entertaining revival at Court Theatre, while Northlight Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Steven Dietz’s “How a Boy Falls,” a compelling whodunit with very dark overtones.

Elsa Harris has played in Chicago churches since she was 12 years old and has performed around the world. We visit this “legend of Chicago gospel.”

(WTTW News)

A new collection of 2,000 stamps at the University of Chicago offers a unique look at North Korea. We stopped by the Regenstein Library to see it – and meet the librarian who acquired it.

Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, left, and Tyrann Mathieu celebrate after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo / David J. Phillip)

Patrick Mahome, the 24-year-old quarterback who was selected Super Bowl MVP, led the Chiefs to 21 straight points in the final 6:13 for a 31-20 victory Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers.

Pianist Paul Lewis performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a program that also featured Lewis as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. (Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg)

Fresh off a grueling but much heralded European tour, the CSO has returned to the Symphony Center stage with Sir Andrew Davis.

55 West Wacker Drive, originally the Blue Cross Blue Shield Building, is an archetypal example of brutalism. (WTTW News)

Love it or hate it, the architectural style known as brutalism has left its mark on cities all over the world. So what’s the story of brutalism in Chicago? Geoffrey Baer weighs in.

(Erich Ferdinand / Flickr)
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Hosting a more sustainable Super Bowl party can be as easy as buying snacks from the bulk bin and using cloth napkins instead of paper. Oh, and split the difference on pizza boxes.