Though the grandest and most dramaturgically ambitious of his operas, Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten is the one that most consistently eludes a convincing staging, and musically, challenges aren’t often surmounted. Walking into the opera’s opening night at the Edinburgh Festival in a Mariinsky Opera production, no seasoned Straussian would hope for a triumph. It never happens. … [Read more...] about Strauss’ impossible opera in Edinburgh
Abbado in Bruckner: Depth without weight
Sometimes the great symphony orchestra conductors find their ultimate muse a notch or two below Parnassus. One is Daniel Barenboim: After uneven years with the august Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he is doing the best work of his life with the Berlin Staatskapelle, formerly cloistered in East Berlin, and making up in soul and tradition what it lacks in glamor. Even more so, … [Read more...] about Abbado in Bruckner: Depth without weight
Condemned to LPs (in Lucerne?)
Tiny, wispy white feathers are everywhere on this Saturday afternoon in Lucerne, blowing across the sidewalks, floating on the water and flying through the air – thanks to the swan population that’s grooming itself after a hard day on the lake. White swans are a fixture in Swiss cities – the come with the river – but seemingly account for 10 percent of the population in … [Read more...] about Condemned to LPs (in Lucerne?)
Breaking News: Porgy and Bess survives its revisions – and sometimes thrives
Let’s start with a prediction: The much-revised Porgy and Bess that was unveiled for the first time on Wednesday at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge will go back to the opera’s original ending, not because it’s sacred and untouchable, and not because Stephen Sondheim went eloquently ballistic in the pages of the New York Times over reports of what was afoot. Put simply, … [Read more...] about Breaking News: Porgy and Bess survives its revisions – and sometimes thrives
Rodgers & Hart Anti-Cabaret: Thou Swell, Thou Anguished
During one of Malcolm Gets’ more ebullient television appearances – was it 1996 on The Rosie O’Donnell Show? - the final credits rolled while this stage and screen actor jammed with the band, playing keyboard as if auditioning for a second career. So why did he take so long to work with director John Doyle, who has actors accompany themselves and each other onstage with musical … [Read more...] about Rodgers & Hart Anti-Cabaret: Thou Swell, Thou Anguished