Yuval Sharon melds a modern work with Monteverdi in a staging at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; at the San Francisco Opera, Kaija Saariaho’s final opera is a both timely and timeless meditation on our capacity for evil. By Heidi Waleson June 18, 2024 at 5:19 pm ET A scene from ‘Innocence’ at …
Tag Archives: classical-music
THE GUITAR RULES
These reviews first appeared in The Quarterly of the Lute Society of America in significantly altered form. The modern guitar dominates the commercial music we hear in the west. Since the time of Elvis Presley and the Beatles, bands made up of fretted instruments and percussion have become the convention in popular music. The tradition …
La Serenissima – Italian Music for Lute (and others)
These reviews first appeared in The Quarterly of the Lute Society of America in significantly altered form. La Suave Melodia, Performance Practice in Italy 1600-1660, Ensemble Badinerie, Rahel Stoellger, flauto dolce, William Dongois. Cornetto, 68’09, 21 tracks, Accent Plus ACC10401, Recorded 2000, released 2010 Arguably, modern western musical harmony was born in and around the …
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Spoleto Festival USA Review: Timely Opera and Ancient Drama
‘Ruinous Gods’ struggles to find musical or narrative coherence in its depiction of the toll forced migration takes on children; Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson’s ‘The Song of Rome’ offers a sophisticated modern spin on Virgil’s ‘Aeneid. By Heidi Waleson May 29, 2024 at 3:11 pm ET Karim Sulayman PHOTO: WILLIAM STRUHS Charleston, S.C. In the past, …
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SEMPER DOWLAND
These reviews first appeared in The Quarterly of the Lute Society of America in significantly altered form. John Dowland (1563-1636) is indisputably the premier composer for the lute. He led a peripatetic life around Europe, including a decade in Denmark as the court lutenist, which brought a cosmopolitan experience to his composing. He was a …
‘Turandot’ and ‘Shall We Gather at the River’ Reviews: Classics in New Contexts
Washington National Opera performed a world premiere production of Puccini’s work with a new final scene by Susan Soon He Stanton and Christopher Tin; at Park Avenue Armory, Peter Sellars directed a program of Bach cantatas and African-American spirituals presented as a call to action against climate change. By Heidi Waleson May 22, 2024 at …
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‘An American Soldier’ and ‘Les Fêtes de Thalie’ : Modern Tragedy and Baroque Comedy at the Opera‘An American Soldier’ and ‘Les Fêtes de Thalie’
With music by Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang, an opera at New York’s Perelman Performing Arts Center about a viciously bullied Army private proved taut and haunting; uptown, Opera Lafayette’s production of Jean-Joseph Mouret’s 1714 work was a skillful, snappy delight. By: Heidi Waleson May 14, 2024 Brian Vu and Alex DeSocio …
‘The Anonymous Lover’ and ‘Handel: Made in America’ Reviews: New Angles on the 18th Century
Boston Lyric Opera gave the work by Guadeloupe-born composer Joseph Bologne a snappy staging without making a strong case for its score, while MetLiveArts deftly put the more famous composer’s work in a global context. By Heidi Waleson Ashley Emerson and Brianna J. Robinson in ‘The Anonymous Lover’ PHOTO: NILE SCOTT STUDIOS Boston and New York With opera …
Prototype Festival Review: Originality in Opera
The annual festival returned with an uneven slate of new works, from Huang Ruo’s oratorio ‘Angel Island’ to Heather Christian’s lively ‘Terce: A Practical Breviary.’ By Heidi Waleson Jan. 16, 2024 at 5:30 pm ET A scene from ‘Angel Island’ PHOTO: MARIA BARANOVA New York and Brooklyn, N.Y. At its best, the annual Prototype Festival, coproduced by Beth …
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