Michael Haneke's 'Amour': Love and death

Facing the end

An elderly French couple faces mortality with courage and devotion in a game that can't be won but does reveal both the tragedy and the honor of the human condition. With Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant in restrained but almost unbearably poignant performances.

Robert Zaller

Feb 23, 2013 · Articles · 7 minute read

Dolce Suono's dialogue with Debussy

If Debussy could talk….

Dolce Suono exploited an extra-special Old School Tie and continued its celebration of Debussy's 150th birthday with a program that included a composer Debussy didn't like.

Tom Purdom

Feb 19, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Mask & Wig Club's "Beautopia'

124 years old, and still silly

Mask and Wig Club's Beautopia is set in a 25th-Century dictatorship, where citizens are ranked by physical appearance. Does this plot line sound familiar?

Jim Rutter

Feb 19, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Composing on deadline (Part IV)

With a little help from Frank Lloyd Wright, George Eliot and my daughter

My piece was pretty much finished when I sent it to both of the intended performing groups for feedback. They informed me that my high F's weren't playable on the shawms. What to do? Rewrite everything? No time for that.

Kile Smith

Feb 19, 2013 · Articles · 7 minute read

Opera Philadelphia's "Silent Night' (2nd review)

The monster of war

Silent Night is a very effective new opera that could be made even better with some judicious tinkering. The drama exudes a raw energy that doesn't shy away from the harrowing circumstances of war.

Feb 19, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

MacMillan's "Lungs' at Luna Theater

The parenthood trap, or: Just do it

Duncan MacMillan's Lungs portrays a young couple who spend maybe a little too much time analyzing whether or not to have children.

Alaina Johns

Feb 19, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Pennsylvania Ballet's "Balanchine/ Wheeldon/ Tharp'

Three big names, perfect together

The Pennsylvania Ballet's combination of George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon and Twyla Tharp provided a romp for audience and troupe alike.

Janet Anderson

Feb 18, 2013 · Articles · 1 minute read

East Coast Chamber Orchestra at the Perelman

A traveling town hall meeting for musicians

The East Coast Chamber Orchestra, an exceptionally talented and cohesive string ensemble, made a vivid impression with two masterworks of the war-haunted 1930s.

Robert Zaller

Feb 17, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Piety and wealth at the Art Museum (1st review)

Where did Jesus find such classy neighbors?

This display of Spanish and Portuguese colonial art attests to the rivers of artistic wealth that once flowed from these colonies to their mother countries. Here the emphasis leans heavily toward the spiritual.

Andrew Mangravite

Feb 16, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

Roman Mosaic at the Penn Museum

Birds and beasts in Roman Palestine

What's new and exciting in Philadelphia this year isn't exactly new: It's a huge Roman mosaic, probably commissioned by a wealthy entrepreneur almost 2,000 years ago to decorate the floor of his house in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, now Israel.

Anne R. Fabbri

Feb 16, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read