Bard Music Festival: Wagner and His World at Bard College
The New York Times, August 17, 2009

There are two things I omitted from this Bard Music Festival review that I wish I'd said, and one thing I wish I'd had space to elaborate upon. So, in order…

First: I wanted to mention, but just plain forgot under deadline pressure, that nothing from Richard Wagner's Ring cycle was included in the opening weekend's programs, which otherwise touched on everything from the fascinating if mostly hapless juvenilia that preceded Die Feen to the fully assured Parsifal prelude. Read Mark Swed's Los Angeles Times blog post for an account of what I missed during the second weekend.

Second: I dearly wish I'd had space and time to say once again that the Bard Music Festival is among the most deeply edifying arts presentations I've ever had the privilege to attend. Being among so dedicated and engaged an audience is a reward unto itself; nowhere else have I overheard such intense between-concert conversations… which only make you look forward to the next episode in an admittedly overwhelming presentation all the more fervently. That line you winced to see in Bard's press materials: part boot camp for the brain, part spa for the spirit? I'm very proud to have coined it.

Third (and please remember this if you're a singer): Pei-Yao Wang, mentioned way down deep in my review, was one of the most attentive, sympathetic accompanists I've ever heard. Witnessing her watching, listening and responding to her various partners at Bard was unquestionably among the highlights of this festival — right up there with the fabulous Christine Goerke nailing every role she sang.