In Lyric Opera of Chicago’s new production of Handel’s
Hercules there is an undeniable interpretive strategy which prompts
the viewer to consider recurring elements of human emotion, e.g. jealousy,
rage, pity, among others.
Month: April 2011
Handel’s Hercules when the Music is Paramount
Americans define new territory for songs
They all wrote songs — lots of them: Ives, Bernstein, Rorem. In recital, however, the American product has never found a place on the perch claimed by Schubert and Schumann.
Ian Bostridge, Wigmore Hall
The most remarkable aspects of this fresh, illuminating performance of
Schubert’s Winterreise by Ian Bostridge and Mitsuko Uchida were the masterly control of dramatic form and the insightful, quite original, shaping of emotional content.
Akhmatova in Paris
The very name Mantovani strikes musical terror in the hearts of high minded Americans and Brits of a certain age. Now the same surname is evidently terrorizing Parisians.
Wuthering Heights, Minnesota Opera
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fe1d2968-69d4-11e0-89db-00144feab49a.html#axzz1Jyt92hUX
The Tsar’s Bride, Royal Opera House
In Russian-speaking countries, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride is much loved. In the west, it’s known mainly for its Overture. The Royal Opera House’s production is the first major production of the full opera in Britain.
Muti, Standing Tall
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704529204576257193932580966.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopBucket
Katarina KarnÈus, Wigmore Hall
In Britain, Katarina KarnÈus is closely associated with Grieg and Sibelius. Indeed, her career has almost been defined by her recordings of their songs for Hyperion.
Dallas Boris a monument to Tarkovsky
In those dark days before VCR and DVD, knowledgeable film buffs craved the
return of Solaris and Stalker to a local art house screen.
Christopher Maltman, Wigmore Hall
A Frenchman, three Germans and a Venezuelan-born French national: musical responses to Venice.