Tines’ American Songs Lift Theme Of ‘Truths’ At 60th Britt Music Fest
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – With a voice that can lift you up and carry you heavenward, Davóne Tines created an emotional journey in a cycle of American songs, capped in this "Truths Be Told" program by Shostakovich's 10th Symphony.
Mozart’s Rake Prowls Crumbling Society In Futuristic ‘Don Giovanni’
SAN FRANCISCO – A new production at the San Francisco Opera is brilliant musically, but director Michael Cavanagh’s setting in "the late 2080s" presents a jumble of ideas that never coalesces into a cohesive whole. Still, it has its moments.
Rallying From Disarray To Pull Together Verdi Requiem To Remember
SEATTLE – Few pieces seemed to be in place when conductor Giacomo Sagripanti took over the Seattle Symphony's troubled production. But in the end, orchestra, chorus and soloists combined for a performance at once gentle and grand.
‘Red Chamber,’ Chinese Epic Of Life’s Illusion, Scatters Its Petals Anew
SAN FRANCISCO – In 2016, San Francisco Opera premiered an operatic version of the Chinese literary classic Dream of the Red Chamber, giving the opera a visually spectacular production, which the company has revived for a run through July 3.
Nézet-Séguin And Met Orchestra Spread Light Through Carnegie Hall
NEW YORK – Over two nights, the orchestra and singers led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin offered splendorous programs of Strauss, Wagner and Berlioz. The crowds' lusty cheers were well merited by energized, dazzling performances.
South Korean Pianist Yunchan Kim, 18, Wins Van Cliburn Gold Medal
FORT WORTH, Tex. – Along with top honors at this quadrennial piano competition, Lim (center) received $100,000 and concert dates. The silver medal went to Anna Geniushene, 31, of Russia, and the bronze to Dmytro Choni, 28, of Ukraine.
3 Cliburn Gamers Roll The Ivories Once More, And Fortunes Change
FORT WORTH, Tex. – In the second concerto performances by three finalists at the Van Cliburn Piano International Competition, this critic reassessed his impressions of, from top, Clayton Stephenson, Ilya Shmukler, and Yunchan Lim.
Finalist From Ukraine Lights Up The Cliburn With Blazing Prokofiev
FORT WORTH, Tex. – In the competition finals, the 28-year-old Ukrainian whirlwind Dmytro Choni (far right) made Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 leap off the page in a stunning display of musical intelligence and keyboard athleticism.
In Cliburn Competition Concertos, 3 Pianists Swing For The Fences
FORT WORTH, Tex. – When I arrived at the ballpark, the game was in the eighth inning. At least, that’s how it felt when I got here for the final round of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and an intensive spate of concertos.
Spoleto Opera Honors An Extraordinary Slave Whose Life Mattered
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Spoleto Festival USA gave the belated world premiere of "Omar," an opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels about Omar Bin Said, who left the only known narrative by a slave written in Arabic.
LA Phil Powers Down Its Season With Revival Of ‘Power To The People!’
LOS ANGELES – If repertoire links to the festival's typical activist theme were sometimes tenuous, the program conducted by Gustavo Dudamel did put a progressive spin on the conventional structure of overture, solo feature, symphony.
Haitian Musical Legacy Resounds In Vivid Hues Of Orchestrated Songs
PORTLAND – Nathalie Joachim’s ability to honor tradition and innovate within it was on display in a group of songs from her album Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti). As flutist and singer, the composer performed with the Oregon Symphony.
Brilliant ‘Sundial’ Etches A Resonant Arc Across An Intimate Experience
DALLAS – Samuel Carl Adams' work for string quartet and percussion is all about resonances and acoustical space, and a performance at Meyerson Symphony Center enveloped the audience both musically and psychologically.
Ascending To The Stars On Messiaen Trek From The Canyons, Illustrated
SEATTLE – The experience of Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles..., performed by the Seattle Symphony under Ludovic Morlot, was blissfully reminiscent of other rare outings during his eight-year tenure as the orchestra's music director.
Rock ‘N’ Wry Handel: ‘Giustino’ In The Mojave, Sparked By A Trap Drum
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach Opera, recently buffeted by controversy as well as Covid, returned to the Baroque regietheater that branded the company in 1980s with a tradition-rattling al fresco production of Handel's convoluted opera.
Voices Of The Enslaved Resound In Multimedia Showcase Of Diversity
SAN FRANCISCO – A memorable display of racial and gender inclusion was offered in soprano Julia Bullock's project "History's Persistent Voice," works by five women of color played by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Christian Reif.
Violin Concerto Brings Fiery Edge To LA Phil’s Pan-American Initiative
LOS ANGELES – The concerto by Gabriela Ortiz, inspired by Mexican architecture and played by 18-year-old soloist María Dueñas, progresses from a mysterious Romantic opening movement to a jagged scherzo-finale with a slam-bang finish.
Opera ‘Hamlet’: Fewer Words, Words, Words; Yet Not To Be Missed
NEW YORK – The Met's powerful production of Australian composer Brett Dean's Hamlet, which premiered at the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival with several of the same singers, is well worth seeing. It runs to June 9 with an HD broadcast June 4.
A Bravura Performance Of Musical Memorial To A Brave Young Woman
ROCHESTER – Juliana Athayde, concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic, played the world premiere of Roberto Sierra's Violin Concerto, written in memory of music director Andreas Delfs' daughter Lydia, who died at age 23.
Duo Recital By Siblings Mirrors The Rare Story Of A Prodigious Family
NEW YORK – Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, pianist and cellist who offered an impressive program at Carnegie Hall, are among seven siblings, ages 25 to 12, all classically trained on string instruments or piano or both.
