Around the U.S.

Artful Hayes Bio Defines Complex And Great Singer

By Jason Victor Serinus
BOOK REVIEW – For those of us who mistakenly believe the history of African-American singers of opera and art song began with Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, Roland Hayes: The Legacy of an American Tenor is a revelation.

A Whispering Climax To Grant Park’s Summer

By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO – Edward Elgar’s biblical oratorio The Kingdom might be more reflective than dramatic, but it works on its own terms. Conductor Carlos Kalmar burrowed into its emotional core and shaped a refined interpretation.

‘Dream’ Revisits Nightmare Of Japanese in U.S.

By Jason Victor Serinus
SEATTLE – For its world premiere of the Jack Perla-Jessica Murphy Moo one-act opera An American Dream, about the "internment" of Japanese Americans in World War II, the Seattle Opera created a patron immersion.

New Higdon Opera Taps Into Personal Cost Of Civil War

By Paul Hertelendy
SANTA FE, N.M. – In the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Santa Fe Opera, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and baritone Nathan Gunn portray two ordinary Southerners whose lives are upended by the raging conflict.

On Teddy’s Hill: New Breezes Stir The Britt Festival

By Richard S. Ginell
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – In his second season as music director, multitalented Teddy Abrams has brought bold, inventive programming to a festival that, for decades, had registered barely a blip on the cultural radar.

Quixotic Quixotes, Or The Don Done Twice In One Day

By Marc Shulgold
CENTRAL CITY – Uphill from Denver, the marvelous baritone Robert Orth brought depth to Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha while a youthful cast aced Boismortier’s madcap French Baroque take on the Cervantes hero.

Revisiting Exotic Sound World Of Maverick Partch

By Susan Elliott
NEW YORK – To mount Delusion of the Fury, Heiner Goebbels and Ensemble Musikfabrik had Harry Partch's original musical instruments recreated. They are a wonder. Lincoln Center Festival hosted the production's U.S. debut.

Bach, By The Sea, Rubs Shoulders With Varied Fare

By Richard S. Ginell
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. – The theme of the 78th Carmel Bach Festival is “Bach, Bohemia and Beyond,” with Dvořák, Bartók, Zelenka, and even Ligeti in the mix with old Herr Bach, plus a concert version of The Magic Flute.

Tanglewood Flush With Fresh Music To Honor Center

By Leslie Kandell
LENOX, Mass. – For its 75th anniversary, Tanglewood Music Center commissioned a whopping 34 new pieces. Most are slated for this summer season, reaching critical mass during the annual Festival of Contemporary Music.

‘Ghosts,’ ‘Ginsburg’ Given Justice As Summer Delights

By Charles T. Downey
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two festivals have done their part to program beyond the familiar, with a boutique revival of Marie Antoinette's Versailles and a premiere comic opera on Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and Scalia.

Like Old Aerosol, New Opera ‘Fallout’ Lacks Some Punch

By Robert Croan
PITTSBURGH – “DDT is good for me-e-e.” That’s the ironic jingle in A New Kind of Fallout, by Gilda Lyons and Tammy Ryan, starring Lara Lynn Cottrill as a zealous fighter against chemical hazards. It's a Pittsburgh Opera premiere.

Yarn/Wire Weaves Off-Beat Blend In Close-Up Setting

By Jackson Cooper
NEW YORK – When two pianists and two percussionists formed a quartet in 2005, they arranged traditional music at first. Spawning new music is now Yarn/Wire's mission. At Lincoln Center Festival, they offered three world premieres.

Cactus Pear Fest Popular Balm In San Antonio Heat

By Mike Greenberg
SAN ANTONIO  – It seemed a quixotic adventure, 19 years ago, to launch a chamber music festival in San Antonio in mid-July, when the very streets melt and brains fry. But Cactus Pear was an immediate hit, and it's again underway.

Conlon Will Close Ravinia Run With Reprise Programs

By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO - After 11 years as music director of the Ravinia Festival, where he leads Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts, 65-year-old James Conlon will step down this summer. The maestro muses on his new horizons.

Feat Of Endurance Revisits Beethoven Night Of Premieres

By Jeff Dunn
SAN FRANCISCO – On the same date that Belgium fielded a Battle of Waterloo re-do, Michael Tilson Thomas re-created Beethoven's marathon Akademie concert of 1808, allowing a few extra breathers for his 21st-century audience.

Native American Songs Lend Spirit To New Symphony

By Kyle MacMillan
CHICAGO - Kenji Bunch's Symphony No. 3: "Dream Songs," an atmospheric work drawing on texts from the Sioux, Chippewa and Navajo nations, was premiered by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus under Carlos Kalmar.

‘Troyens’ Triumphs In San Francisco’s Splendid Staging

By John Rockwell
SAN FRANCISCO - David McVicar's striking production, which moves the action to the time of the Crimean War, is ignited by two powerhouse singers: Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandra and Susan Graham (right) as Dido.

‘Two Women’ Melds Cinema, Verismo In SF Opera Debut

By Susan Brodie
SAN FRANCISCO - Marco Tutino’s new opera is a flashy hybrid of verismo opera and neorealist cinema that tells of war crimes in an Italian village after Mussolini's fall. Vivid staging and a strong cast helped lift a listenable score.

Gilbert, NY Phil Light Fire Under Honegger’s ‘Joan’

By George Loomis
NEW YORK - Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic typically have mounted a major production at the end of the season. Their presentation of the French composer's oratorio about Joan of Arc may be the most spectacular so far.

Ojai Festival Hails Boulez Amid Blitz Of 47 Composers

By Richard S. Ginell
OJAI - This year's music director, percussionist Steven Schick, has programmed works by 34 living composers, including Pulitzer winner John Luther Adams, who'll be represented by two pieces in their West Coast premieres.
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