Traditionally, beyond the realm of pop music broadcasts on commercial radio stations, radio networks in the US have shied away from airing classical vocal music. Very occasionally, classical radio DJs will mix one choral work or operatic aria into a set of instrumental symphonic or chamber music. If a show is devoted entirely to vocal music, it's invariably sacred choral fare played to put The Devout in the mood for church on a Sunday morning.But because sung lyrics demand attention from the listener, and the general sensibility among radio … [Read more...]

When one of the country's top Baroque music orchestras puts on a concert of Handel blockbusters in the most imposing church in town with a live laser display and drum corps outfitted in Georgian military regalia, what's the outcome? Spectacular bordering on tacky, I imagined, when I first read the press release for American Bach Soloists' Fireworks Celebration at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.The actual event, which I witnessed yesterday evening, was contrastingly a weirdly subdued affair, even though the Cathedral was packed out. I'm in two … [Read more...]

Am rather sad to hear about the demise of the great British television arts series, The South Bank Show, which the ITV network has decided to can after 33 years on the air.Failing media budgets seem to be a major contributing factor to the decision to shut down the program. The other main reason cited by the network is to do with the departure of the show's long-term host, Melvyn Bragg, who's been running the programme since it started in 1978. In an article in The Times, the network is quoted as saying: "The South Bank Show and Melvyn go hand … [Read more...]

Having read all about her in newspapers and magazines and listened to friends and acquaintances enthuse about her voice, I finally got around to checking out Susan Boyle's singing abilities for myself on YouTube. The middle-aged, small-town British singing sensation caused global excitement with her take on "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables a few weeks ago on the UK TV talent show, Britain's Got Talent.Having watched the video footage, all I can say is that I feel slightly queasy -- nay, indignant -- about the audience's reception to … [Read more...]

I've been working on a story for the Los Angeles Times about the new generation of women conductors. The article is scheduled to appear in the publication's Calendar section this Sunday. As is so often the case, some of the most interesting details I learned in the process of reporting the piece -- regarding conductor Marin Alsop's ideas about how women conductors should and shouldn't use their bodies on the podium -- barely made it into the article itself because they were off on a bit of a tangent. So I thought I would bring the subject up … [Read more...]

I've been covering the performing arts in San Francisco for the best part of a decade and am lucky enough to experience theatre and dance productions in many venues across the city. It's a source of continuous delight to me that I still come across performing arts spaces that I have never visited before.This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing two theatre productions in spaces that were new to me as a theatre goer.The first was the studio space at the top of the Brava Center for the Arts in the Mission. Brava has been around for ages. It's … [Read more...]

August Strindberg's Miss Julie has always seemed like a dour play about class divide to me. The master-servant power games have dominated productions I've seen in the past. As a result, the play has generally felt old-fashioned. While the class system still exists to some degree in Europe and the US, it's just not as big an issue as it once was.Last night, though, I experienced a production of the play at Berkeley's Aurora Theatre which made me see the play in an entirely new light -- as a love story.Director Mark Jackson's fluid production … [Read more...]