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AVA's "Jubilate': Religion as opera

Taking opera to church

AVA's budding opera stars added operatic flair to the school's annual foray into religious music, performing as if they'd constructed characters who were singing their pieces.

Tom Purdom

Dec 04, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Williams: A lower, darker, warmer Rosina.

AVA's suburban "Barber of Seville'

Opera in the 'burbs: Not just another performance

Like everything else in life, opera in the suburbs can be quite different from opera downtown. And sometimes it's even better.

Steve Cohen

Nov 25, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Spanish songs by Lyric Fest (2nd review)

What musicians can learn from politicians

Four artists from the Academy of Vocal Arts sang an all-Spanish program. Given all the talk about America's growing Latin population, it's about time.

Steve Cohen

Nov 20, 2012 Articles 3 minute read

Prokofev preferred his cantata to the film.

Orchestra plays "Alexander Nevsky' (3rd review)

The wedding of a live orchestra with the film of Alexander Nevsky may be fascinating, but Prokofiev's music really conveys more power when it stands alone, uninterrupted by long pauses for dialogue, sound effects and silent scenes.

Steve Cohen

Nov 20, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Spanish songs by Lyric Fest (1st review)

Three unpredictable women

Lyric Fest transformed a concert of Spanish and Latin American songs into a complex historical trip through two continents.

Tom Purdom

Nov 20, 2012 Articles 4 minute read

Beethoven at work: Propinquity will do the trick.

How composers really work

Advice for aspiring composers: Stop all that strolling, and just stand still

Many people think composers do our composing on long walks. But to get any real work done, you've got to attach your posterior to a chair and have music paper in front of you. Consider how I composed “Softly and Tenderly.”