Let's Go to the Opera

The Culture Edit, March 2nd-15th

Author

Susan Bannon
March 01, 2026

Opera is not a small endeavor, with small aspirations or small emotions. It swings for the fences, with over-the-top spectacle and human drama, plus the sheer musical force of throngs of vocal athletes backed by a full orchestra.

Case in point: Florida Grand Opera’s season-capping production of Puccini’s final opera, Turandot, with over 150 artists onstage and cutting-edge visual effects evoking the world of Imperial China. FGO has recruited a slate of international opera stars to deliver its iconic arias (it’s Nessun dorma, people!) and complicated romance. This is your last chance to see opera writ large this season, so get those tickets!

This past week, I got to sit on the jury for Filmgate Miami’s monthly short film showcase for Florida filmmakers, along with other, more qualified jurors (like Brenda Moe, Programming Director for Coral Gables Art Cinema, where they’ve been killing it lately). It was fantastic to see so many talented emerging filmmakers putting their heart and soul into telling local stories - and it happens every month. Highly recommended!

Oh, and it’s also your last week to catch Dear Evan Hansen at Actors’ Playhouse, a production that’s been getting rave reviews and selling out performances.

Let’s get planning…

Jump to: Music, Theater, Indie Cinema, Dance, Art Events, Opera, or Planning Ahead

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Art Events

Little River / Little Haiti Art Days

Homework Gallery, 2023’s “hormiga caribe” exhibit.

Not to be outdone by the Progressive Art Brunch, the Little Haiti Little River Art Days series is a quarterly open house of galleries and shops in what Time Out named one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. You can check out what’s on at Locust Projects, Homework Gallery, Collective 62, Dimensions Variable, and more, with free trolley service provided by the City of Miami.

Saturday, March 7th, 12-5pm, Various Galleries, Free

Neighborhood: It’s in the name

Nearby Eats: Soooo many! Fooq’s, Sunny’s, La Natural, Bar Bucce | Drinks: Imperial Moto (for coffee), Mi Chini (at Phuc Yea), Conventillo, Sunny’s, Magie

22nd Street Openings: Andrew Reed and Mindy Solomon

Image: “Promised Land” by David Barnes, part of the upcoming “Ruined Lust” exhibit at Andrew Reed Gallery.

I’m a big fan of making life easy, so the relocation of many of Miami's most exciting galleries to the same street in Allapattah over the past few years is cause for celebration in my book. On Saturday, March 7th, Andrew Reed and Mindy Solomon are both having opening receptions, for painter David Barnes and ceramicist Sydnie Jimenez, respectively. You can also stop by KDR to check out the Mònica Subidé exhibit that opened this past weekend and Voloshyn for an extended run of their Who’s There group show.

Saturday, March 7th, Receptions at Andrew Reed and Mindy Solomon 6-8pm, Free

Neighborhood: Allapattah

Nearby Eats: Hometown BBQ, Morgan's, Jon & Vinny's (at the Rubell), Asado & Wine Experience (3 hours of meat!) | Drinks: Las Rosas, Morgan’s

More Upcoming Art Events:

  • Sunday, March 8th: Dot Fiftyone Gallery celebrates the opening of Lydia Azout: Reflections…now, a survey show of the artist’s fifty years of working with metal and iron to “find something good in the world,” with an opening reception from 12pm-4pm.

  • Thursday, March 12th: Fountainhead, which has hosted national and international artists for monthlong residencies here in Miami since 2008, hosts its Session 2 Open House, where you can meet the current resident artists and get a look into their practice, 7-8:30pm.

Book Talks

Lauren Groff at Books & Books

Books & Books welcomes three-time National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestselling author Lauren Groff to discuss Brawler, her just-released collection of short stories. One of PEOPLE Magazine’s most anticipated books of 2026, Brawler’s stories follow protagonists wrestling with their darker angels and “trying to do the right thing for as long as they can.” Groff will be in conversation with author and UM Creative Writing professor Patricia Engel, whose collection of short stories, The Faraway World, won numerous awards in 2023.

Monday, March 9th, 7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, $34 for two, incl. one book copy

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Indie Cinema

Natchez: Screening with Director Q&A

Coral Gables Art Cinema presents a special screening of Natchez, winner of the Best Documentary Feature prize at last year’s Tribeca Festival, followed by a Q&A with director Suzannah Herbert. The film explores the complicated reality of Natchez, Mississippi, an antebellum tourist destination whose residents grapple daily (or don’t) with the darker side of its complicated past. The trailer gives you a sense of the charm, with strong underlying notes of horror.

March 7th at 1:30pm, March 8th at 2pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $16

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

The Princess Bride

Film Still: “The Princess Bride,” 20th Century Fox

In celebration of the life and work of legendary director Rob Reiner, Coral Gables Art Cinema hosts a special screening of cult classic comedy The Princess Bride. With an all-star cast (Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Cary Elwes) and a script loaded with all-time-classic lines (“Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya,” “never get involved in a land war in Asia”), The Princess Bride delivers the cinema version of true love.

Sunday, March 8th, 4:30pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $22

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

More Upcoming Cinema:

Opera

Florida Grand Opera: Turandot

Florida Grand Opera saves the best for last this season, welcoming renowned French-Italian tenor Roberto Alagna for Puccini’s final showstopper, Turandot. Best known as the vehicle for possibly the most transporting aria in all of opera (Nessun dorma - yes, that one), Turandot has it all: high-stakes drama, breathtaking spectacle, and a legendary score. *If you plan to attend the Saturday premiere, be aware people get really dressed up. So if you’re looking for an excuse to break out the tux or ballgown, this is it!

March 7th-10th, Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht Center, $32-$357

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Brasserie Laurel, Casadonna, Klaw | Drinks: Klaw rooftop, ViceVersa

Dance

Dimensions Dance: Salon Series (New Works)

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami performance of Yanis Eric Pikieris' “Voyager.” Photo: courtesy of Pikieris

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. My only complaint about this exciting young troupe is that we have so few opportunities to see them. So you don’t want to miss their spring Salon Series (New Works) at the Moss Center, featuring new ballets-in-progress by their company choreographers.

March 6th-8th, 7:30 evenings, 3pm Sunday, The Moss Center, $25-$45

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.

Dance NOW! Miami: Program II

Choreographer Tandy Beal’s “Forest Dreams.” Photo Credit: Jenny Abreu

Dance NOW! Miami presents a stacked program of original contemporary work, headlined by Bridges NOT Walls, their acclaimed meditation on our divided political climate, which has evolved through international and national performances since its premiere in 2017. The evening also includes the world premiere of Artistic Director Hannah Baumgarten’s 1933, a cabaret-inspired work addressing the rise of Hitler, and West Coast choreographer Tandy Beal’s Forest Dreams.

Sunday, March 15th, 7pm, Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, $20-$50

Neighborhood: Aventura

Nearby Eats: Xino Chinese (inside Reunion Ktchn), Abbalé Televivian Kitchen, Pubbelly Sushi | Drinks: Reunion Ktchn Bar

More Dance Events:

  • Friday, March 6th: International Ballet Stars, a touring company of dancers led by principals from Ukraine, presents a performance of Swan Lake at the Fillmore Miami Beach, at 7pm.

Theater

Dear Evan Hansen

Actors’ Playhouse presents the South Florida regional premiere of Dear Evan Hansen, the show that took Broadway (and musical theater kids nationwide) by storm in 2017. Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, Greatest Showman) knocked it out of the park with the score, setting up numbers that shred the heartstrings, but require serious vocal power. Fortunately, AP has pulled together an impressive cast of regional and national actor/singers to deliver the goods.

Through March 8th, 8pm evenings, 3pm matinees, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, $50-$100

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Zoetic Stage: Merrily We Roll Along

If you aren't on the Musical Theater Nerd Alert System (MTNAS), you may not know that Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical Merrily We Roll Along is getting a production by Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center this month. If you are, I don’t have to tell you how this complicated, bittersweet work flopped in its Broadway debut only to become a cult classic, with iconic Sondheim songs like the achingly romantic Not a Day Goes By. You’ve only got three weeks to see it, so get those tickets!

March 12th-April 5th, Carnival Studios Theatre at the Arsht Center, $78

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Music

A Few Cheery Songs About Death

Tony, Emmy, AND Grammy award-winning composer David Yazbek (Dead Outlaw, The Band’s Visit) has a lot on his mind, and he enjoys unloading it on unsuspecting audiences like us. He’ll be visiting the Colony Theatre for a night of Cheery Songs About Death, performing songs from his Broadway shows and albums, plus riffing on his successes, failures, and general angst.

Saturday, March 7th, 8pm, Colony Theatre, $45-$90

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Mimi Chinese, Paya, Uchiko | Drinks: Brother’s Keeper, MILA

St. Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell

The Arsht Center welcomes back superstar violinist Joshua Bell and the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra for a one-night-only performance. Bell will take center stage as conductor and soloist for Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, a beloved repertoire piece for the orchestra that he’s played to appreciative audiences worldwide.

Saturday, March 14th, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, 7:30pm, $48-$206

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Brasserie Laurel, Casadonna, Klaw | Drinks: Klaw rooftop, ViceVersa

More Upcoming Music Events:

Planning Ahead

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

Friday, April 10th

Say Nothing Author Patrick Radden Keefe

Books & Books welcomes The New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe, whose 2019 true crime sensation Say Nothing was named one of the Twenty Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times Book Review. He’ll be discussing his latest nonfiction work, London Falling, about the mysterious death of a beloved son in London’s most gilded corners (spoiler alert: the Russians are involved).

7pm, Coral Gables Congregational Church, $48 (for two, includes one book copy)

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

April 10th-11th

Neon Nights at New World

Experience imagined with AI by NWS Media

For two nights only, the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center transforms into a neon wonderland for an immersive chamber concert by the New World Fellows, featuring a hit list of chamber favorites across 300 years, from Bach to Bernstein. The concert will rove across multiple platforms for three 20-minute sets, surrounding the audience with music and light.

Performances at 7:30pm & 9:30pm, New World Center, $100

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

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