Important public figures always have their obituaries written in advance. I did this one on Neil Simon years ago and was allowed to give it time, thought and research. Excellent editing was another plus. Then, this past Sunday, hours after his death was announced, the piece appeared on line. It's another one of those things that newspapers do better than other media outlets. An … [Read more...] about The Guardian in action: A great newspaper is ready upon the death of a great public figure (this time, Neil Simon)
‘Vanessa’ and ‘The Cradle Will Rock’: middle-aged operas speak to current ills
Even the mirrors lie in Samuel Barber's opera Vanessa. At least that's the world created in the new Glyndebourne Festival staging, which is likely to raise the profile of an opera that, sad to say, needs it. The production seemed to come out of the blue. Though the indoor intimacy of Vanessa fits this smallish, rural-England opera house perfectly, it's not characteristic … [Read more...] about ‘Vanessa’ and ‘The Cradle Will Rock’: middle-aged operas speak to current ills
John Luther Adams’s ‘In the Name of the Earth’: 600 singers make elemental music
"If you see 600 singers coming towards you, get out of the way." That advice from conductor Simon Halsey was no doubt a first for most people at the truly-full-house audience at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. But the Aug. 11 world premiere of the John Luther Adams choral work In the Name of the Earth was a singular occasion - 50 minutes of multiple choirs moving … [Read more...] about John Luther Adams’s ‘In the Name of the Earth’: 600 singers make elemental music
Mayr’s Medea at Teatro Nuovo: Stars evolved and aligned for the opera and La Rowley
Giovanni Simone Mayr (1763-1845) is hardly the sexiest name in opera history, but he became exactly that between the hours of 4 and 8 p.m. on July 29 at Purchase College, Make that 4:35 p.m. Mayr’s Medea in Corinto needed time to warm up. Having written roughly 70 operas between 1794 and 1823, Mayr shows how Mozartean opera evolved without Mozart. An output of such volume … [Read more...] about Mayr’s Medea at Teatro Nuovo: Stars evolved and aligned for the opera and La Rowley
Leonard Bernstein: Free from gender with nothing to prove or lose
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON - The pre-performance corridors of the Fisher Center at Bard College appeared to have been invaded by The Radical Faeries – a madly colorful, gender-ambiguous subset of the gay community. Maybe it was a typical day in the life of a liberal campus? No. The cast of Christopher Alden’s production of Peter Pan - the Leonard Bernstein version - was revving up for … [Read more...] about Leonard Bernstein: Free from gender with nothing to prove or lose