This Is What You Came For

The Culture Edit, January 19th-February 1st

Author

Susan Bannon
January 18, 2026

The Lifetime Miami Marathon & Half Marathon is running this coming Sunday, January 25th.

Winter is when it’s all happening in Miami. We’ve got a full calendar of performances, festivals, and events, plus gorgeous weather in which to enjoy it all. This is why we live here!

This weekend, we have the second of Florida Grand Opera’s three big productions of the season - Die Fledermaus, a beloved comic operetta with a plot that sounds like a 19th century version of The Hangover and some of the highest notes in opera.

It’s also your final week to catch Zoetic Stage’s production of The Inheritance, Part 1, which has been getting rave reviews, and your first week to see Gablestage’s new production of Sotto Voce, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz.

And if you care at all about classical music, you’ll know the Cleveland Orchestra is in town for their winter residency, with three blockbuster concerts over the next two weeks.

As for other big events around town, both the Miami Marathon and the Fairchild Chocolate Festival are happening this coming weekend, and I’ve heard there’s some kind of football game tomorrow.

Let’s get planning…

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Opera

Die Fledermaus

Florida Grand Opera presents Johann Strauss II’s glittering comedic operetta Die Fledermaus, bringing 19th century Vienna to life with sumptuous period sets and costumes, and featuring one of opera’s most challenging notes - the high D in Adele’s “laughing song." The plot follows an elaborate prank at a high-society costume ball that goes sideways and lands everyone in jail. (Typical Friday night.)

January 24th-27th, 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

Music

Cleveland Orchestra: Verdi’s Requiem

Award-winning soprano Asmik Gregorian joins the The Cleveland Orchestra for Verdi’s “Requiem.”

The Cleveland Orchestra, considered by many to be America’s best, opens its annual Miami winter residency with this blockbuster performance of Verdi’s powerful Requiem, featuring a host of elite guest vocalists, including opera singer Asmik Gregorian, and the full Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. With this much vocal power, the iconic “Dies Irae” movement might blow the roof off of Knight Concert Hall.

January 23rd-24th, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $41-$221

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Eight Bar, Bunbury, Mignonette | Drinks: Yamashiro, ViceVersa

Itzhak Perlman with the Cleveland Orchestra

World-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman celebrates his 80th birthday season with Cinema Serenade, an unforgettable concert with the Cleveland Orchestra celebrating iconic film scores. With his legendary technique and rich sound, Perlman brings to life John Williams' stirring theme from Schindler's List and Ennio Morricone’s beloved Cinema Paradiso, among others.

Wednesday, January 28th, 8pm, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, $69-$291

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Eight Bar, Bunbury, Mignonette | Drinks: Yamashiro, ViceVersa

More Upcoming Music Events:

  • Thursday, January 22nd: South Florida Symphony Orchestra welcomes pianist Svetlana Smolina for a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and Vaughan Williams’ haunting Fantasia, at New World Center at 7:30pm.

  • Thursday, January 22nd: Touring since 1956, the world-famous Glen Miller Orchestra lands at the Moss Center for an evening of Big Band classics, at 7pm.

  • Saturday, January 24th: Sanctuary of the Arts welcomes category-defying pianist Mike Gerber whose style combines classical works with jazz improvisation, at 7pm.

  • Sunday, January 25th: Claire Chase, internationally-known flutist, joins the New World Fellows for a chamber performance of works from her groundbreaking commissioning project Density 2036, at New World Center at 2pm.

  • Sunday, January 25th: Chart-topping Grammy-winner Diana Krall brings her smoky jazz vocals to the Arsht Center as part of her This Dream of You tour, at 7pm.

  • Monday, January 26th: Multifaceted jazz pianist Emmet Cohen leads a star-studded ensemble for an installment of his acclaimed Live From Emmet’s Place streamed concert series, at UM’s Frost School of Music at 7:30pm.

  • Wednesday, January 28th: the XXIV New Music Miami Festival is back with a contemporary chamber performance by andPlay, a modern violin/viola duo that champions new music, at 7pm at FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios.

  • Thursday, January 29th: acclaimed violist and educator Luke Fleming joins the Amernet String Quartet at Sanctuary of the Arts for the season highlight of their Amernet & Friends chamber music series, at 7:30pm.

  • Thursday, January 29th: UM’s Frost Opera Theater gives a free concert on McBride Plaza in downtown Coral Gables, 5:30-7:30pm.

  • January 30th-31st: One of the world’s greatest pianists, Yefim Bronfman, joins the Cleveland Orchestra for a blockbuster performance of Beethoven’s powerful “Emperor” piano concerto, at the Arsht Center.

  • Friday, January 30th: Grammy-winning vocalist Patti Austin joins the Henry Mancini Orchestra for a big band tribute to the late musical visionary Patrick Williams, at 7:30 pm at UM’s Frost School of Music.

  • Sunday, February 1st: Maestro Eduardo Marturet and the Miami Symphony Orchestra welcome electric bass virtuoso Rodner Padilla for an evening of Latin American Soundscapes, at the Arsht Center at 6pm.

Theater

The Inheritance, Part 1

Zoetic Stage presents The Inheritance, Part 1, the most honored American play in a generation (it won basically all of the “Best Play” awards in London and New York, including Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle). The play reimagines E. M. Forster’s Howards End as a contemporary portrait of New York’s gay community, with gay men from different generations standing in for Forster’s clash of social classes. *Note: this show contains mature themes and content, including depictions of nudity and explicit material as part of the story.

January 8th-25th, Carnival Studios Theater at the Arsht Center, $67-$73

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Sotto Voce

Gablestage presents Sotto Voce, a lyrical meditation on memory, longing, and the legacy of the Holocaust, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics). The plot follows a young Jewish-Cuban researcher obsessed with the MS St. Louis, leading him to an 80-year-old novelist who is still haunted by the love she lost aboard the doomed voyage.

January 23rd-February 15th, 7:30pm evenings, 2pm matinees, Gablestage at the Biltmore, $40-$60

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Miami New Drama: English Only

Following the success of last year’s Dangerous Days, journalist and author Nicholas Griffin returns with another brand new work for Miami New Drama, English Only. Set in Miami in 1980, English Only unfolds in the wake of the Mariel Boatlift, when 125,000 new arrivals to South Florida ignited a fierce grassroots campaign to make English the county’s sole language - sparking a showdown with activists determined to keep Miami-Dade bilingual.

January 29th-February 22nd, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $40-$85

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Indie Cinema

Pure Luck: Screening with Director Q&A

The final night of the Miami Jewish Film Festival features Pure Luck, a riotous new comedy by acclaimed Israeli filmmakers and "Kings of Israeli Comedy" Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir (Netflix’s Bros). The plot follows two hapless TV repairmen in their search for a lucky break that spirals into a wild misadventure of murder, mobsters, and spectacular misfortune. Savyon and Amir will be on hand to introduce this southeast U.S. premiere screening, and will host a post-film talk.

Saturday, January 24th, 8pm, Michael-Ann Russell JCC, $15-$16

Neighborhood: North Miami Beach / Aventura

Nearby Eats: Xino Chinese (inside Reunion Ktchn), Barra Callao, Korean Kitchen | Drinks: Original Sin, Reunion Ktchn Bar

Key Biscayne Film Festival Opening Night

Our newest film fest, the Key Biscayne Film Festival was launched two years ago to much fanfare, highlighting cinematic work that spotlights island cultures and our fragile marine environment. This year, the KBFF is back with a full weekend of shorts and feature-length screenings, kicking off with an opening night showing of Blue Zeus, a documentary about Claire Staples’ fight to free a wild stallion and his family from the US Government, followed by a reception and Q&A with Claire Staples.

Thursday, January 29th, 6pm, Paradise Park on the Key, $50 (or $125 for a VIP festival pass)

Neighborhood: Key Biscayne

More Indie Cinema:

Art Events

Ema Ri: This Too Shall Pass

Locust Projects presents This Too Shall Pass, the first major large-scale solo show by Miami-based artist Ema Ri. The show marks a new stage in Ri’s work, incorporating large-scale video art alongside abstract wall drawings and sound art inspired by the natural world.

Saturday, January 31st, Opening Reception 7-9pm, Locust Projects, Free

Neighborhood: Little Haiti / Little River

Nearby Eats: La Natural, Bar Bucce, Blue Collar | Drinks: ZeyZey, Mi Chini at Phuc Yea

More Art Events:

  • Thursday, January 22nd: Fred Snitzer Gallery hosts a conversation with PAMM Associate Curator Maritza M. Lacayo and artist Deborah Brown, whose work is on view at the gallery, with a pre-talk cocktail reception, at 6:30pm (RSVP to [email protected]).

  • Saturday, January 24th: Coral Gables Art in Public Places sponsors a trolley tour of in(ter)vals, a series of site-specific works by prominent artists, including Emil Lukas and Pepe Mar, at 10am.

Dance

Monica Bill Barnes & Co: Many Happy Returns

“Many Happy Returns” debuted recently at New York’s Playwrights Horizons. Photo credit: Paula Lobo

The Moss Center presents Many Happy Returns, an intimate dance theater work by Monica Bill Barnes & Company that was a New York Times Critic’s Pick for 2025. (Gia Kourlas loved it, so we should go.) In the partly improvised show, narrator Robbie Saenz de Viteri co-creates the main character with choreographer and dancer Monica Bill Barnes, who dances her way through memories and past iterations of herself.

January 24th-25th, Lab Theater at the Moss Center, $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.

Dimensions Dance: Ballet in the Gardens

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, the young, contemporary ballet company run by former Miami City Ballet principals Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra, presents a night of dance under the stars at the Banyan Bowl amphitheater at Pinecrest Gardens. The program of neoclassical and contemporary works includes In Bloom by resident choreographer Yanis Eric Pikieris, plus selections from The Four Seasons by Pikieris, Vow by Ariel Rose, and Apollo & Daphne by Ben Needham-Wood.

Saturday, January 31st, 8pm, Pinecrest Gardens, $35-$43

Neighborhood: Pinecrest

More Dance Events:

  • Wednesday, January 21st: For opening night of the annual ScreenDance Miami Festival, Miami Light Project presents one short and one feature-length dance film at the Miami Beach Bandshell, at 7:30pm.

  • Friday, January 23rd: Continuing the annual ScreenDance Miami Festival, Miami Light Project presents Films You Gotta See BIG!, a double feature of dance films by Jennifer Lin, projected on the side of New World Center in Soundscape Park, from 7-9pm.

  • Sunday, February 1st: The internationally acclaimed Ballets Afrikans, the national dance company of Guinea, will bring their blend of traditional dance and stortelling to the Moss Center, at 3pm.

Book Talks

New Literary Series Launch at The Betsy

Books & Books is launching a new literary series with The Betsy Hotel, providing month-long mini-residencies to nationally recognized authors, plus monthly book talks. The inaugural talk will feature literary super-agent Alia Hanna Habib, discussing her new book, Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch.

Sunday, January 25th, 4pm, The Betsy Hotel, Free

Neighborhood: South Beach

Nearby Eats: La Leggenda Pizzeria, Tropezón, The Drexel | Drinks: The Piano Bar at The Betsy, Bamboo Room

Performance Coach Susan Chu at Books & Books

Books & Books welcomes author Susan Chu and entrepreneur Ana Chaud to discuss Chu’s new book, Own Your Next Move. In the book, Chu offers a practical and reflective guide for navigating career transitions, leadership growth, and personal reinvention with clarity and intention. Sounds like a great way to kick off 2026!

Wednesday, January 21st, 7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Nearby Eats: Dojo Izakaya, Salumeria 104, Sra. Martinez | Drinks: Books & Books Café, Cebada Rooftop

Planning Ahead

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

February 20th-22nd

Miami City Ballet: Into the Magic City

Back in 1985, seminal Miami arts patron Toby Lerner Ansin scraped together the funding to found Miami City Ballet, forever altering the cultural landscape of our city. To celebrate her 85th birthday, the company presents Into the Magic City, a program that celebrates Ansin’s pioneering spirit, featuring a World Premiere by perhaps the world’s leading ballet choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, entitled Roses from the South, Three Waltzes for Toby.

7:30 evenings, 2pm matinees, Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht, $35-$309

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Mignonette, Yamashiro, Casadonna | Drinks: Klaw, ViceVersa

February 21st-22nd

Davóne Tines: Anthem

Up-and-coming bass baritone Davóne Tines has been shaking up the opera world with his innovative concerts, and his Recital No. 1: MASS with the New World Symphony was one of the coolest things I saw last year - a blend of poetry, visuals, and song that brought down the house. So I’ll be in the seats for his return visit to New World this February, when he’ll be performing his Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM, which weaves spirituals, popular music, and spoken word poetry into “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

7:30pm Saturday, 2pm Sunday, New World Center, $25-$140

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Pauline | Drinks: Little Torch, Water Lion at the Sagamore

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