Everyone is familiar with the classic story of “Romeo and Juliet,” but this weekend CFA is spicing it up with an all-French opera rendition of the Shakespeare classic with English supertitles by Allison Voth. The performance is a collaboration between CFA’s School of Music Opera Institute and the School of Theatre and is hosted by CFA graduate students. The music is by Charles Gounod and the Libretto by Jules Barber and Michel Carré.

The performance will run from April 21-24, beginning at 7:30 PM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2:00 pm on Sunday at the Boston University Theatre. Tickets are free with a BU ID, so don’t miss out. Tickets for BU alumni, WGBH members, Huntington subscribers, students and senior citizens are $15, and $20 to the general public.

The Huntington Theatre is located at 264 Huntington Avenue. To buy your tickets online, visit the Boston Theatre Scene or call the Box Office at (617) 933-8600.

Arts Live at BU provides a central portal to a range of artistic, cultural, and creative pursuits across BU’s campuses; opportunities to attend off-campus cultural events; and ways for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to interact with one another through the arts. At Arts Live you can find information about arts-related programs with a spotlight on events featuring and produced by BU students, as well as what’s happening in the arts community of the Greater Boston Area.

Arts Live is having their official launch party today from 4-6 PM in the Francis D. Burke Club Room in Agganis Arena (925 Commonwealth Avenue). Attendees will enjoy performances by Fusion and the BU Pep Band and art work by CFA students. Attendees will also have a chance to win the following raffle prizes:

- 1 of 10 iPod shuffles (third generation – priceless!)
- A Commencement Weekend package for two (Pops and buffet),
- Eastern Standard $150 gift certificate
- Four tickets to BU Hockey home opener
- Huntington Theatre Company tickets
- Suite seats to Sesame Street Live

To attend RSVP ASAP at RSVPArts@bu.edu. For more information click here, or follow @ArtsLiveatBU on Twitter.

Benjamin E. Juarez

“Benjamin brings to Boston University an impressive spectrum of experience as an artist and leader in the performing and visual arts, a passion for creating a world-renowned conservatory, and a vision for the role of the arts in the fabric of a modern research university,” said Brown. “I have great optimism for the future of the College of Fine Arts under his leadership.”

Juarez’s forward technological thinking, coupled with his vast knowledge of the world of arts and his administrative experience in academia, will advance fine arts education at BU.

Prior to being appointed dean, Juarez directed the Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico’s national arts center, running professional schools in music, dance, arts, theater and film, research centers, the organization’s TV channel, and more than 20 theaters and performing spaces.

Earlier, Juarez served as director of cultural activities for Universidad Anahuac del Sur. For a decade from 1992, he led an international research project on Mexican cathedral music that provided for the transcription and performance of hundreds of works composed between the 16th and 19th centuries. The work yielded a dozen CDs bankrolled by UNESCO and other funders.

Now, 40 years later, BU will bring closure to the class of 1970, as reported in a recent Boston Globe article, with over 300 members of the class coming back to campus to take part in the 2010 Boston University commencement.

A complete list of programs for the class of 1970 can be found here.