How often does opera — that medium in which so many elements can cause major derailment — defy so many odds? I had to see La Gazza Ladra (July 18 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in a one-night-only semi-staged performance), if only because Teatro Nuovo offered the opera a long-shot hope for redemption. Few people have explored the forgotten works of the 19th … [Read more...] about Rossini goes commando in Teatro Nuovo’s ‘La Gazza Ladra’
Nixon in China comes to Princeton, literally smarter than ever
Though John Adams' first opera, Nixon in China, never felt particularly foreign, everybody from singers to directors to conductors to critics needed a few decades to determine what's there and how to draw the most out of it. The new Princeton Festival production played only two performances, June 23 and 30 at the McCarter Theatre Center, but did so with a welcome sense of … [Read more...] about Nixon in China comes to Princeton, literally smarter than ever
“Don’t make me go out there alone!” — Leonard Bernstein’s last tango with ‘Candide’
By the time he made his way to the podium, Leonard Bernstein was clearly in trouble. Well after the entrance applause died down, he needed to compose himself, and he aggressively massaged his forehead just for a minute. But in stage-time, it seemed more like ten. He was about to begin a concert performance of Candide with the London Symphony Orchestra and an … [Read more...] about “Don’t make me go out there alone!” — Leonard Bernstein’s last tango with ‘Candide’
David Lang holds no prisoners in his new, gloves-off opera
David Lang's music is too pleasurable to be called experimental. Though his language takes the minimalist aesthetic to a very personal place — the little match girl passion being a prime example — it's the message, not the music, that may make some listeners uncomfortable. As much as his new opera prisoner of the state feels like a major stylistic move toward mainstream … [Read more...] about David Lang holds no prisoners in his new, gloves-off opera
Goodbye to the commercial music industry, hello to the rock stars next door
The New York City subway is not, on any given day, the place to hear the music you need. It’s public in the extreme — in one of the world’s most public cities. And yet that’s where music ambushed me, a few months ago, in the form of a singer-guitarist whose high, sweet voice seemed to address my psyche with disarming directness. He was hoping for $1. I gave him $5. He … [Read more...] about Goodbye to the commercial music industry, hello to the rock stars next door