Arts & Culture: What to See in Boston

Despite making its home in what is still called the People's Republic of Cambridge, the American Repertory Theatre leavens the avant-gardewith the classic (in January, Chekhov's Seagull). 64 Brattle St., Cambridge; 617-547-8300; amrep.org.

Since his appointment as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchest ra, in 2004, James Levine has garnered both praise and criticism for his pursuit of a largely atonal repertoire. Meanwhile, the Boston Pops is a reliable source for show tunes and, in summer and early fall, fireworks-ready classics. 301 Massachusetts Ave.; 888-266-1492; bso.org.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History is best known for its 3,000 glass flowers. And there's the Mineral Hall, where gemstone-laden geodes and rainbow-bright rocks pried from meteorites are on display; any jeweler's catalogue is lackluster by comparison. 26 Oxford St., Cambridge; 617-495-3045; hmnh.harvard.edu.

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Closed Monday. 100 Northern Ave.; 617-478-3100; icaboston.org.

Four empty frames in the Dutch Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum mark the absence of thirteen paintings stolen in 1990 in what is considered the most significant art heist ever. Gardner herself was no stranger to publicity; though known for her namesake museum, which houses 2,500 works of American, European and early Roman art in her Italianate mansion, she also scandalized Boston society with her revealing Parisian fashions. Closed Monday. 280 The Fenway; 617-566-1401; gardnermuseum.org.

Construction on the new wing for North, South and Central American art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the grande dame of Boston museums, is projected to continue until late 2010. Next year's visitors, however, can ogle some distinctly non-American art: a blockbuster exhibition of fifty-five paintings by Titian and his contemporaries (March 15 through August 16, 2009). 465 Huntington Ave.; 617-267-9300; mfa.org.