the best new events in the world of the arts in march

The Dandelion Chandelier Luxury Calendar for The Arts highlights noteworthy events around the world in March 2018 in ballet, modern dance, performance art, classical music, opera and jazz – as well as new art museum exhibits and installations. Looking for ideas for date night? Or for a transporting art exhibit? Look no further. For the rest of the Luxury Calendar, click here. 

Given that March is Women’s History month, it’s fitting that this month’s Arts Calendar is filled with strong female roles and performances, including La Traviata in Sydney, Elektra at the Met and Kelli O’Hara in Cosí fan tutti.  In the visual arts, the National Museum of Women in the Arts opens Women House (on International Women’s Day, natch) and Adrian Piper, Laura Owens and Taniho Rein receive comprehensive solo exhibitions. But talented men also get their turn in the spotlight this month, including Paquito D’Rivera and Joshua Bell at Lincoln Center, Picasso in London, Grant Wood at the Whitney, David Bowie in Brooklyn and Cezanne in DC. We’re gender-agnostic on this one — we’re totally getting ourselves to as many of these as we can.

Performing Arts

The always popular La Traviata opens at the Sydney Opera and features lavish sets and exquisite costumes with Nicole Car making her debut as Violetta – March 1-27

Christine Goerke sings her first Elektra at the Met in Patrice Chéreau’s landmark production – March 1-23

The Ballet Company of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is performing The Sleeping Beauty at Beijing’s National Centre for Performing Arts – March 2-4

Paul Taylor Modern Dance returns to Lincoln Center with a lineup of dances including 13 classics and a world premiere – March 6-25

Christopher Maltman and Kelli O’Hara star in Phelim McDermott’s clever vision of Mozart’s comedy Cosí fan tutti at the Met; its set in a funhouse environment inspired by 1950’s Coney Island – complete with bearded ladies, fire eaters and a Ferris wheel – March 15-April 19

At Jazz at Lincoln Center, NEA Jazz Master, Carnegie Hall Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and 14-time Grammy Award winner Paquito D’Rivera explores one of his favorite albums: Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings. D’Rivera and his ensemble will perform selections from the original recording, arrangements of unrecorded tunes from the project, and new takes on Parker’s work with Latin jazz legends like Machito and Chico O’Farrill – March 16

Benvenuto Cellini opens at the Paris Opera with a glamorous gala event on March 20 – Previews March 17, Opens March 20

Joshua Bell leads the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at Lincoln Center; the evening’s program includes pieces by Mendelssohn, Wieniawski and Beethoven – March 19

The Royal Opera House in London is reviving Kenneth MacMillan’s masterpiece of modern ballet, Manon, as part of continuing celebrations of MacMillan’s profound impact on British ballet and to mark the 25th anniversary of his death – March 29-May 16

Coraline premiers at the Barbican Theatre in London; its the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera based on Neil Gaiman’s much-loved story – March 29-April 7

Visual Arts

David Bowie is makes its final stop at the Brooklyn Museum with over 400 objects, including the artist’s original costumes, handwritten lyric sheets from famous songs, original album art, photographs, and videos.  Highlights of the exhibition include more than 60 custom-made performance costumes, including six designed by Freddie Burretti for Ziggy Stardust / 1980 Floor Show and seven designed by Kansai Yamamoto for Aladdin Sane – March 2- July 15

At the Whitney, Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables brings together the full range of the artist’s work, from his early Arts and Crafts decorative objects and Impressionist oils through his mature paintings, murals, and book illustrations – March 2 –

Centuries of royal treasures from India come to the United States for the first time in an epic presentation of Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – March 4-Aug 19

The Rijksmuseum’s High Society exhibit will showcase over 35 spectacular portraits of wealthy people from international museums and private collections around the world.  The highlight of the exhibition is Rembrandt’s pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit – March 8-June 3

At the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C, the new exhibit Women House explores the role of women in American culture through photography, video, sculptures and large-scale installations – March 8-May 28

The Tate Modern in London mounts its first exhibition of Picasso entitled Picasso 1983 – Love, Fame, Tragedy based on the pivotal year in his life and works – March 8- Sep 9

The World of the Fatimids at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto showcases the Fatimid dynasty’s significant influence in arts and sciences; based in present-day Cairo, their advancements surpassed virtually all other contemporaneous civilizations. The show will include an array of objects that include ceramic, rock crystal, and ivory – March 10–July 2

Emerging Japanese artist Taniho Reina gets a solo show for her lush, vibrant paintings in Taniho Reina: Resonance at the Yokohama Museum of Art. Rich with detail, her canvases explore the origins of life – March 17-April 22

Pacific Sisters: Fashion Activists at The Museum of New Zealand is a celebration of mana wāhine, indigenous identities, and the role this collective has played over the past 26 years – through their collaborative works across fashion, performance, music and film – in giving voice and visibility to Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand – March 17-July 8

Cézanne Portraits moves from London’s National Portrait Gallery to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC; its the first exhibition devoted to the famed post-impressionist portraits – March 25 – July 1

Laura Owens at the Dallas Museum of Art is a survey covering 20 years of the artist’s bold and experimental work – March 25 – July 29

Occupying the entire sixth floor and the Marron Atrium at the MoMA, Adrian Piper: A Synthesis of Intuitions 1965–2016 will chart the artist’s five-decade career; there will be 290 works on display, including drawings, paintings, photographs, multimedia installations, videos, and performances. Piper has produced pioneering work in the field of Conceptual art, influencing generations and receiving the Golden Lion Award for Best Artist at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 — but this is her first major career retrospective – March 31- July 22

See other March 2018 Events:

— Travel

— Food & Drink

— Planes, Yachts & Autos

— Fitness & Sports

— Fashion & Design

— Entertainment

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