The music may sound awful. But it's real. And it's honest. That was artistic battle cry first in the late-1960s, in rebellion against the ultra-packaged pop music of the 1950s, and then a decade later, with less-cheerful drugs, when punk rock went up against ultra-slick disco. Now, this populist Expressionism lingers in indy films, indy rock or in the lunatic fringe of … [Read more...] about Artistic Honesty: Do we need it? Want it? Is it automatic Dadaism?
Guillaume Tell: It had everything but a future
In the haphazard rogue’s gallery of Rossini’s 39 operas, Guillaume Tell stands apart: As much as it grew out of his past, it was far more than one could have hoped for. Rossini had effortlessly become famous and stayed that way by putting forth rather less effort. Beethoven, of all people, all but encouraged Rossini to under-achieve: “Never try to write anything else but opera … [Read more...] about Guillaume Tell: It had everything but a future
Dancer in the Dark – The Opera
...though it's titled Selma Jezkova, after the central character of the Lars von Trier film. The story has the key operatic element - a tragic heroine - and a Nordic noir brutality that's quite ideal for the often-fearless Royal Danish Opera (one of the co-commissioners) and modernist composer Poul Ruders, who has taken on difficult subjects such as The Handmaid’s Tale. I … [Read more...] about Dancer in the Dark – The Opera
Postcards from Oblivion
Eternity is not something most people learn to live with until they’re dead – or serving an extremely long prison sentence. That latter group – not one that the public likes to hear from – is given voice by French composer Thierry Machuel (b. 1962). Even a Francophile such as myself had never previously heard of him. But a new, lavishly packaged box set that includes two CDs … [Read more...] about Postcards from Oblivion
Rare Birds in Uncertain Times
“You’re a rare bird....a very rare bird.” That wasn’t a compliment. It was a grave warning from a Philadelphia psychiatrist friend shortly after I moved there from that city of rare birds, New York. The Philadelphia Inquirer music critic position, which I took in 2000, offered a chance - the first in my multi-decade journalism career - to do the work that I knew I was … [Read more...] about Rare Birds in Uncertain Times