It was early December 1957, only a few days after the legendary Maria Callas made her Dallas debut. TIME magazine reported, “As of today, Dallas is on the map as an opera town along with New York, San Francisco and Chicago.â€Â I wonder, though, if today any of those cities could hold a candle to what’s going on here in northern Texas. I'm fully aware of the audacity … [Read more...] about Dallas After Callas
à la recherche d’une musique perdue
Every so often, a pianist comes along who changes my life. This happened in D.C., when I listened to Peter Serkin juxtapose Beethoven and Stefan Wolpe. It happened one night in a faded Victorian living room in Hartford, when Edmund Niemann played John Adams' Phrygian Gates, only a few years after the piece had premiered in San Francisco. It certainly was the case for … [Read more...] about à la recherche d’une musique perdue
Watching Tone Poems in Houston
Before moving to Houston, “Sound and Vision†suggested to me David Bowie’s flashy 1990 tour, the name taken from one of my favorite tracks on his legendary Low. But now the phrase reminds me more of Houston Symphony, with its ongoing “Sound Plus Vision†series. During the 24 years that I lived in Boston, I don’t recall ever seeing visual projections at Symphony … [Read more...] about Watching Tone Poems in Houston
Chanter, You Stay
He says his music continues an American tradition “exemplified by artists such as Charles Ives and Bob Dylan.†I could hear influences of both in a seven-minute excerpt from his latest opera, Voir Dire, on a libretto by Jason Zencka. Friday, I predicted that Matthew Peterson would win this year’s Opera Vista Festival. Saturday, it was announced here in Houston that … [Read more...] about Chanter, You Stay
Tonight: Opera Vista Festival Finals
It seemed inevitable that my love of television “reality†competitions would cross with my fascination in opera, but I had no idea this would happen in Texas. If you want to know what’s going on in contemporary opera today (and I mean that literally), you need to be here in Houston. The thrilling Opera Vista Festival introduced six composers of new operas on Wednesday, … [Read more...] about Tonight: Opera Vista Festival Finals