‘A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness’ makes big smash at Lyric Opera
The leader of one of the most renowned rock bands in the world Billy Corgan is part of a one-of-a-kind tribute from Lyric Opera in a limited engagement.
The Smashing Pumpkins’ massive decade-defining double album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” will get an orchestral treatment.
Corgan achieved stratospheric fame as the founder, frontman, and creative force behind the legendary Smashing Pumpkins. A Grammy winner whose powerful songwriting, commanding vocals, and inventive melodies were the foundation for the album, Corgan now teams up with Lyric Opera of Chicago, his hometown company, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this groundbreaking album with his signature boundary-pushing, innovation and imagination.
The result is “A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness,” a new commission inspired by one of the greatest alternative albums of all time. You’ll hear Corgan and special guest artists, along with the epic sound of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, in a completely new, sonic and visual experience.
Whether you love the Pumpkins and are excited to hear their music in a sumptuous new dimension, or you simply crave the opportunity to hear a new work inspired by the unexpected, this promises to be one of the can’t-miss cultural collaborations of the season.
This event will run through November 30 at Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. For information, visit lyricopera.org.
‘Caterpillar’ film highlights the harms of plastic surgery
Endlessly struggling to feel seen, David Taylor becomes infatuated with a mysterious company’s promise to transform people’s lives by permanently changing the color of their eyes. After traveling to India to get the controversial procedure, he begins to question if this artificial beauty will give him the fulfillment he truly seeks.
His story is the subject of “Caterpillar,” a documentary about a medical firm in India that switches out natural lenses for colored ones at assembly line speed.
Said the director Liza Mandelup: “I knew I wanted to make a film that explores themes of beauty and identity in relation to how we see ourselves through images, filters, apps. I was doing a lot of reading about these ideas and themes.
“During this time I was on a shoot for another project, and I complimented this woman’s eyes. We got to talking and she told me she went to India and ‘got her eyes,’ and I honestly didn’t even understand what that meant. I later learned it was through a company called Bright Ocular. She said they had a YouTube channel. I went home that night and looked at their YouTube channel, and that was the beginning for me.
“I knew I could find a story with the themes I was interested in here. I always get narrative and doc ideas at the same time. I just start making contact and see what direction it’s going. We got full access to film at their clinic in India and it became pretty clear this would be a documentary. Everything happened from there.”
The subject of this documentary, David, was so obsessed with changing his eye color that he left colored lenses in even after threats of permanent eye damage.
David’s surgery was bad from the beginning after he traveled from Miami against his mother’s wishes. But he was determined and received the wrong eye color. But he was encouraged to go through with the procedure on his other eye.
There is so much chaos going on at the eye center, not just with David but with others, too.
This documentary has been popular on the circuit. The Film Stage’s John Fink wrote: “It is a fascinating character study that at any time can devolve into a dark comedy, a medical horror film, or, ultimately, a moving tale about the impossible quest for beauty and perfection.”
And I agree it’s part horror and a precautionary warning to folks who travel way out of the country seeking perfection.
David was a dreamer and felt that he was never good enough, even in the eyes of his mother. He diligently studied and researched eye colors that he thought would make him more attractive.
After his surgeries, he relished in the new attention he was receiving when he moved back to New York for a brief period. He was a star, until his light was dimmed when he discovered online chats about the ultimate dangers of the surgery.
There is a period of reflection, but even as the documentary ends, it’s not sure if David will ever remove his new “eyes into a brand new world.”
“Caterpillar” is available now On Demand at Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play and Fandango.