Cultish ‘Listeners’ Gets Lighter Shade of Dark As F-Bombs Rain Down
PHILADELPHIA – En route to Opera Philadelphia, Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners, about toxic modern America, has softened into something pungent with dark comic edges. But how many times can we hear the f-word sung before it turns artificial?
Illicit Love As Passion And Tragedy Inflames Opera Amid The Faithful
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Set in a Mennonite community in Northern Mexico, Silent Light by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek creates a weave of ecstasy, guilt, and heartbreak in a production marking National Sawdust's 10th year.
Show Time! Renovated Movie Theater Set For Concert Hall Close-Up
PERSPECTIVE – When the San Diego Symphony Orchestra inaugurates the newly refurbished Jacobs Music Center on Sept. 28, it will mark the transformation of one of America’s great movie palaces into a state-of-the-art concert venue.
War’s Horror, Up Close And Lyrical: ‘Grounded’ Takes Wing At The Met
NEW YORK – What happens to the soul of an Air Force pilot when she gets an intimate view of the destruction she rains down on once-unseen targets? That's the churn summoned by composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist George Brant.
Reliving The Nightmare Of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ As Bleak, Harrowing Opera
SAN FRANCISCO – A revival of Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley’s opera based on Margaret Atwood's futuristic story about women reduced to child-bearers in a theocratic United States, the San Francisco Opera's take was unsettling in its clarity.
Orchestra In Transition Serves Latin Licks, But ‘Rhapsody’ Isn’t Bluesy
SEATTLE – After naming Xian Zhang as its music director-designate, the Seattle Symphony opened its season with conductor emeritus Ludovic Morlot leading an upbeat Spanish/Latin program capped by a tepid Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue.
In Valley 6,000 Feet Up, Gem Of A Music Festival Sparkles Four Decades
SUN VALLEY, Idaho – Situated in this flower-laden resort town, the Sun Valley Music Festival is unlike anything else in its posh setting: It's free. Writers from the Music Critics Association of North America had a close look at the spirited event.
Peering Into The Void: Concert Fare Explores Realm Of Mental Health
NEW YORK – The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center tapped into this year's Summer for the City theme with Schumann and the world premiere of Hannah Kendall’s He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.
Global Youth Ensembles Fill Carnegie Hall With Vibe Of Art And Energy
NEW YORK – Some of the summer's most exhilarating music-making emanated from 700 young musicians from five continents and 35 countries forming seven orchestras, a joyful meeting of minds at World Orchestra Week.
At A Mountain Festival, Opera Meets Musical As Puccini, Weill Converge
CENTRAL CITY, Colo. – In this historical mining town, Central City Opera's 92nd summer season brought together Kurt Weill's 1947 "Broadway opera" Street Scene and Puccini's La fanciulla del West, both presented in inspiring productions.
Opera At Glimmerglass, From Madcap G&S To Verismo, Faithless Gods
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – In its first summer season devised by new artistic and general director Rob Ainsley, the festival mixes a vaudevillian Pirates of Penzance with potent accounts of Pagliacci, La Calisto (pictured) and the grisly Elizabeth Cree.
Strait But Not Narrow: Washington Music Fest Transcends Mainstream
PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Situated on the edge of Olympic National Forest, a ferry ride from Victoria, B.C., the thriving two-week Music on the Strait festival featured pianist Jeremy Denk in music of Beethoven and parts of Ives' Concord Sonata.
TIME:SPANS Promises Relief From August Heat At Cool New-Music Fest
NEW YORK – August in New York City is hot and humid. That may be one reason why the esoteric offerings at the TIME:SPANS festival draw so well. The ninth edition unfolds Aug. 10-24 at the air-conditioned DiMenna Center for Classical Music.
Multifaceted Concerts Honor Koussevitzky As Tanglewood’s Founder
LENOX, Mass. – The Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons saluted the 150th birthday of Russian-born composer-conductor Serge Koussevitzky, the BSO's longtime music director and progenitor of the Tanglewood Music Festival.
At Tanglewood Festival, New Music’s Diversity Spoke In Many Accents
LENOX, Mass. – In six concerts, Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music, curated by veteran composers Tania León and Steven Mackey, offered works by two dozen composers embracing a wide array of distinctive styles.
Mehta, 88, And Old Pal Zukerman Reunite For Mozart At Modern Bowl
HOLLYWOOD – Conductor Zubin Mehta was back on the Hollywood Bowl stage after a 31-year absence, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With him in the refurbished venue was a friend and familiar partner, violinist Pinchas Zukerman.
’10 Days In a Madhouse’ Named Best New Opera By Critics Association
BREAKING NEWS – The work by composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch, based on an exposé of asylum abuses, is the winner of the 2024 Award for Best New Opera conferred by the Music Critics Association of North America.
Manic ‘Barber,’ Blistering ‘Salome,’ Plus Premiere: Opera In Quiet Iowa
INDIANOLA, Iowa – In an adventurous 52nd season, Des Moines Metro Opera also caught the nightmarish quality of Pelléas et Mélisande (pictured) and offered the world premiere of composer Damien Geter's American Apollo.
In The Rainy Northwest, New Festival Conductor And Breath Of Fresh Air
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The seemingly complicated business of finding a new music director for the Bellingham Festival of Music turned out to be an easy task. In his first summer here, Brazilian-born Marcelo Lehninger has proved to be a fine fit.
In Leadership Turmoil, Oregon Bach Festival Showcases Its Vitality
MOUNT ANGEL, Ore. – Though dogged by a seven-year interlude without an artistic director, the 54-year-old festival reveled once again in joyful performances of the music of Bach and a generous display of audience enthusiasm.
