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From bookish young poet to Hell on Earth.

Verlaine and Trakl, complete at last

Second life for two Symbolists

Here is a pair of worthy possibilities for the poetry-lover in your life: A complete work by Verlaine and a first-time ever translation of Trakl's early poems and dramatic works into English.

Andrew Mangravite

Dec 22, 2012 Articles 2 minute read

Monastryska: Voice over figure, just like the old days.

Verdi's "Aida' at the Met

Grandiosity, anyone?

At last, a Metropolitan Opera production that finds critics and audiences in agreement.

Steve Cohen

Dec 19, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Howet, Scofield: When does the clash of ideas start?

"Freud's Last Session' at the Arden (2nd review)

The last thing you might expect from an encounter between the founder of psychoanalysis and a great Christian apologist is a snore. Freud's Last Session. By Mark St. Germain; Ian Merrill Peakes directed. Through December 23, 2012 at the Arden Theater's Arcadia Stage, 40 N. Second St. (215) 922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org.

Marshall A. Ledger

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Wilson's "Piano Lesson' in New York

The black man's secret (that Willy Loman lacked)

Here is the essential recurring conflict in August Wilson's 20th Century cycle: the struggle of African-Americans to define themselves while at the same time bringing the past forward with dignity. Music, it turns out, plays a pivotal role.

Carol Rocamora

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Weilerstein: Not too proud to play with amateurs.

The audience gets into the act

Could you sing Mozart?

When amateurs and children perform complex and demanding works, disaster is often the likely outcome. Nothing of the sort happened this weekend, which tells you something about the sophistication of Philadelphia music lovers.

Tom Purdom

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Walter as Birdboot: Three critics at one paper!

Stoppard's "Real Inspector Hound,' at Curio

A critic's lot is not a happy one

Unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound is pure farce. This time it's theater critics who get caught in his existential web.

Jake Blumgart

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

William Trost Richards at Pennsylvania Academy (2nd review)

Worlds you can hold in your hand

Imagine trying to create a detailed watercolor landscape the size of a postcard. William Trost Richards painted conventional large works too, but above all he demonstrated that good things come in small packages.

Andrew Mangravite

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 2 minute read

Sebald rarely mentions the Holocaust, but it's the key to his labyrinth.

Grant Gee's 'Patience (After Sebald)'

The past slowly yields its secrets: W. G. Sebald and Germany's conscience

In the 11 years since his accidental death in 2001, the German writer W. G. Sebald has been acknowledged as one of the significant literary figures of the late 20th Century. Grant Gee's Patience (After Sebald) is a fine attempt to capture the textures of Sebald's elusive but compelling prose in cinematic terms.

Robert Zaller

Dec 18, 2012 Articles 7 minute read

Orchestra plays Wagner (without the words)

Wagner without words

You might argue that Wagner without words is stupid, since most of his music was written to support opera librettos. But there's something to be said for hearing Wagner performed by a large orchestra, fully exposed in front of the audience.