Opera
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“Spotlight Illuminates Work by 2 Composers”The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2012 Just back from a brief but badly needed vacation to find the annual New Season issue of The New York Times Arts & Leisure section is out. I haven't had any time to digest this year's epistle, but for years now (since long,…
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Shen Tiemei and Jiang Qihu, by Ruby Washington/The New York Times Feng Yi Ting at the Lincoln Center FestivalThe New York Times, July 28, 2012 "…a brilliant morsel of theatrical art, flamboyantly conceived and compellingly staged." Sometimes, ebullience trumps eloquence. Anyway, there is one performance of Guo Wenjing's fabulous 45-minute opera remaining, tonight…
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Eglise Gutierrez, by Gabe Palacio/The New York Times I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Caramoor International Music FestivalThe New York Times, July 23, 2012 Seeking objective truth in reviews of live events is always a fascinating prospect. In this review, I'm very keen on Eglise Gutiérrez, more moderate but still positive on…
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Robert Ashley's That Morning Thing at the KitchenThe New York Times, November 24, 2011 Immersed as I've been in Robert Ashley's music just lately, coming to That Morning Thing was still a matter of some considerable mystery; there's not a lot of historical detail out there about the piece, arguably Ashley's first opera and certainly…
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Varispeed performing in the Essex Street Market. Photograph: Michael Nagle/The New York Times "A Fresh Stamp on a Veteran Composer's Work"The New York Times, November 9, 2011 Originally this was going to be two separate, straightforward reviews of concerts in which new performers, mostly young, took up works by the veteran composer Robert Ashley. Instead,…
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Jean-Paul Fouchécourt and Gaële Le Roi at Weill Recital HallThe New York Times, November 3, 2011 This thoroughly charming recital of French and Italian opera selections and songs was presented by the commendable Opera Lafayette, a Washington, D.C. company that specializes primarily in French opera of the Baroque and early Classical periods. Led by Ryan…
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Tri-Centric Modelling: Past, Present and Future(Le) Poisson Rouge/Issue Project RoomNew York City, USAThe Wire, September 2010 There was surely one burning question on the minds of the audience who packed the chic New York City nightclub (Le) Poisson Rouge to capacity on a Friday night for the first evening of Tri-Centric Modelling: Past, Present and…
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Frédéric Chaslin accompanies Kirstin Chávez.Photograph: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times Tobias Picker Composer Portrait at Miller TheatreThe New York Times, October 10, 2011 The title of this post refers to the notion of a concert that touches on multiple facets of a single composer's work over the course of an evening: the useful…
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21c Liederabend, Night One, at the KitchenThe New York Times, April 9, 2011 An outstanding event, but not my favorite piece of writing. Deadlines, word counts and basic human frailties are a continual challenge, and you don't win them all.
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Center for Contemporary Opera The Secret Agent at the Kaye PlayhouseThe New York Times, March 22, 2011
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Les Arts Florissants Anacréon and Pygmalion at Alice Tully HallThe New York Times, March 14, 2011
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Gian Carlo Menotti's The Saint of Bleecker Street at Dicapo Opera TheatreThe New York Times, February 26, 2011 Small caveats aside, this really is one of the best productions I've seen at the Dicapo Opera, a company that seems to be finding an identity of its own in part by preserving and celebrating mainstream American…
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The Juilliard Orchestra with John Adams at Carnegie HallThe New York Times, February 21, 2011 The night after this concert, I finally got to see the Metropolitan Opera's new production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China, presented in the original 1987 staging by Peter Sellars–more or less. Many reviews appeared after the premiere earlier…
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Photograph by Eric Calvi "Unleashing a Creative Deluge"The New York Times, December 7, 2010 A preview story regarding the composer, performer and director Mikel Rouse, whose latest stage creation, Gravity Radio, opens tonight at the BAM Harvey Theater with additional performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For many folks, the Thursday performance will be the…
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Andrea Bocelli at Madison Square GardenThe New York Times, December 4, 2010 Andrea Bocelli presents "My Christmas" at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ tonight, and there's no reason to think that things won't go just a bit more smoothly than they did on opening night: a Garden show less engaging than that of Justin…
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New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players: Utopia, Limited at Symphony SpaceThe New York Times, November 23, 2010
Night After Night 