Not all Broadway babies of a certain age look or sound like Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Many should be so lucky. But an alternative pairing is holding forth at the near-Times Square cabaret 54 Below this week through Aug. 25: Faith Prince and Jason Graae in a joint concert titled The Prince and the Show Boy. It reminds you how durable these two "certain age" talents are. … [Read more...] about When Broadway babies grow up – and keep getting better
Operatic survival in the Rockies with a poisoned kiss
The Central City Opera has survived Colorado’s gambling boom and now, as the town around it fades, is operating at a world-class standard – in what feels like the height of sociological incongruity. This summer’s production of The Turn of the Screw, Benjamin Britten’s elusive opera about children possessed by ghosts, took me deeper into the piece’s darker-than-dark heart … [Read more...] about Operatic survival in the Rockies with a poisoned kiss
Operatic divinity in New Jersey: Should Jesus and Mary sing coloratura?
The divine is insinuating itself into opera – and in doing so, is creating dramatic reversals of what certain kinds of music say and do. Though gods and goddesses were onstage almost exclusively in Baroque opera, everybody knew they were just us in disguise - and in the real world of church politics, they wouldn’t even rate the first stage of beatification, much less … [Read more...] about Operatic divinity in New Jersey: Should Jesus and Mary sing coloratura?
Remembering the patrician soprano Evelyn Lear…on New Jersey Transit
Evelyn Lear didn't need an active singing career to delight those around her. The long-retired, Brooklyn-born soprano, who died July 1 at age 86, had an all-too-short career as a lyric soprano with superb musical intelligence and considerable physical beauty. She set standards with her recordings of The Magic Flute, Wozzeck and Lulu, all on Deutsche Grammophon conducted by … [Read more...] about Remembering the patrician soprano Evelyn Lear…on New Jersey Transit
Nico Muhly’s many opinions on polygamists, opera and idiocy.
The brash young composer Nico Muhly – much to the surprise of many but probably not to himself – turned out to be right. When his opera Dark Sisters was premiered in New York City in November, many believed the ever prolific Muhly (yes, even more prolific than his longtime employer Philip Glass) had rushed through the composition of a chamber opera about Church of Latter-Day … [Read more...] about Nico Muhly’s many opinions on polygamists, opera and idiocy.