On March 14, 2019, the Metropolitan Opera raised the curtain on the next run of performances for its new production of Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila.” Darko Tresnjak’s vision of ancient Israel is one that is both strange and stunning. While there is much to be savored visually, many aspects overplay certain elements of the opera, while not giving their due {…}
Although few people would now recognize his name, Carlo Gesualdo, was one of the most fascinating musicians of the Italian Renaissance. Born into a rich noble family in 1566, he became increasingly obsessed with music over the course of his life, and is most famous for his colorful madrigals, which pushed at the limits of tonal music. However, he is {…}
On March 7, 2019, lovers of classical music gathered at the Church of the Intercession for the latest installment of Unison Media’s celebrated series, The Crypt Sessions. These concerts, curated by company president Andrew Ousley, often sell-out in minutes due to not only the limited size of the crypt, but the world-class performers that fill its depth with music. This {…}
“Silent Night,” Puts’ first opera, received its premiere at Minnesota opera in 2011 and won a Pulitzer Prize the following year. According to its libretto, during a late December in World War I, French, German and Scottish troops found it possible to declare an unofficial “truce” and celebrate a common holiday in brotherhood. This story has been told in several other artistic formats including the French film “Joyeux Noël” on which Campbell based his libretto.
On March 7, 2019, the Metropolitan Opera was celebrating a historical evening. It was the final performance of Sonja Frisell’s legendary production of “Aida,” which has been around for 31 years. Yet for all the publicity that attracted a rapturous audience, the historical evening was business as usual and an anticlimax. The performance featured no tribute or any type of {…}
In 1920, the world famous tenor Enrico Caruso was in Cuba to sing the part of Radamès in Verdi’s “Aida,” for which he was to receive the princely sum of $10,000 per performance. During the rehearsals Caruso was in an anxious state, arising from his health problems, exacerbated by the Caribbean heat, and the threats he was receiving from the {…}
Even before the curtain rose on this Los Angeles Opera production of Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” which I saw on March 7th, 2019, I was excited by what I had read in the program booklet. LA Opera Music Director James Conlon’s article, “Clemency, Forgiveness and Love” with its emphasis on Titus’s closing message that “I know everything, absolve everyone {…}
Wagner’s “Der Ring Des Nibelungen” made its long-awaited comeback to the Met Opera on Saturday afternoon with a performance of “Das Rheingold.” The Wagner epic is always a major draw for audiences and the house was packed for the matinee performance which marked the return of the famed “machine” production by Robert LePage as well as a number of debuts {…}
“Night Songs & Love Waltzes” was an evening of romantic era bliss for listeners and lovers of all ages that took place at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and featured Ted Sperling’s MasterVoices choir and guest artist soloists Nicole Cabell, Kate Aldrich, Nicholas Phan and Nmon Ford. The program included 19th-Century Romantic German Song alongside Ricky Ian Gordon’s “Life is {…}