Music
1932 results
Page 130
Henze's "Phaedra' by the Opera Company (2nd review)
The artist as his own legend
Hans Werner Henze is the major composer of German opera since Richard Strauss, but productions of his work on this side of the Atlantic are infrequent at best. His 14th and latest opera, Phaedra, is static despite the dramatic legend on which it's based, but the music is fresh and inventive, and Tamara Mumford outstanding in the title role.
Articles
6 minute read
Henze's 'Phaedra' by the Opera Company (1st review)
A spectacular new work of art
Hans Werner Henze's Phaedra demonstrates convincingly that contemporary opera can deliver the wow factor. The Opera Company of Philadelphia took a huge chance in staging this new production, and it paid off.
Articles
4 minute read
"Don Giovanni,' reconsidered
Will the perfect Don Giovanni please stand up?
If Don Giovanni is a “perfect” opera, why did Mozart cut and replace major arias? And why do many conductors (like Christofer Macatsoris) reinstate the original version?
Articles
5 minute read
Orchestra's "Damnation of Faust' (2nd review)
A century ahead of his time
After ignoring Berlioz's masterpiece for a century, the Philadelphia Orchestra has now performed The Damnation of Faust twice within two years. I'm glad the orchestra's management indulged Charles Dutoit, even if he taxed the audience's endurance.
Articles
4 minute read
"Coffee Cantata' by Philadelphia Bach Collegium (1st review)
Bach takes a coffee break
Bach's Coffee Cantata, about a soprano who's hooked on caffeine, offers proof that the great Johann Sebastian had a sense of humor.
Articles
2 minute read
Savoy Company's "Iolanthe'
Political humor, here and over there
At its 108th annual production, the theoretically amateur Savoy Company demonstrated once again that the enduring appeal of Gilbert and Sullivan is based on qualities that transcend nostalgia.
Articles
2 minute read
Orchestra's "Damnation of Faust' (1st review)
Dutoit's long goodbye
Charles Dutoit ended his penultimate year as chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra with a grand finale worthy of his long (albeit sometimes shabby) relationship with the Philadelphians.
Articles
3 minute read
Tempesta di Mare restores Telemann, Fasch and Janitsch
Treasures from the Red Army
By scouring the Red Army archives, Tempesta di Mare resuscitated a few baroque gems, not to mention some quirky valveless horns.
Articles
4 minute read
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Orchestra plays Beethoven and Stravinsky (2nd review)
Beethoven's grandest finale
Charles Dutoit's Ninth didn't quite make it into the circle inhabited by Sawallisch and Milanov. But it came close, even if the soloists didn't quite measure up to the occasion.
Articles
3 minute read
Orchestra plays Beethoven and Stravinsky (1st review)
From Ravenna to Elysium
If Beethoven's Ninth is the great choral symphony of the 19th Century, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms is in many ways a 20th Century riposte. In pairing them, Charles Dutoit bridged two eras; in playing them, the results were uneven though the effort worthwhile.
Articles
6 minute read