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Month: August 2015

BEETHOVEN, THIS TIME A MITE SHEEPISH

BEETHOVEN, THIS TIME A MITE SHEEPISH

Late Quartets, & ‘Transplant,’ in Intimate Berkeley Hall BERKELEY—The perfect trifecta to report: an unfamiliar ensemble, a new hall, and Beethoven music that was (once considered) very modern. To fill the August vacuum in classical music, the New Esterházy (String) Quartet tackled the formidable last five quartets, Op. 127-135, written by Beethoven in his last couple of years, when he was in failing health and pain. These works were so far ahead of their time, they raised hackles among critics,…

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SALOME MEETS THE OFFICE WORKER

SALOME MEETS THE OFFICE WORKER

Strange Updates to Biblical Sizzler SANTA FE, NM—Current-day producers love to revise scenarios of traditional operas, apparently to fascinate the regulars who have seen it 20 times already. Take Richard Strauss’ powerful one-act “Salome,” already performed here at the Santa Fe Opera in 10 previous seasons. The story may be Biblical, but that doesn’t mean it’s sacred. For the current Santa Fe Opera production, in the famous Salome Dance of the Seven Veils, not a single veil is thrown off….

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CIVIL WAR, SEEN FROM THE UNDERSIDE

CIVIL WAR, SEEN FROM THE UNDERSIDE

Higdon’s New Opera Spotloghts Homeland Ordeals SANTA FE, NM—How the Civil War poisoned even the most rural corners of the South is the theme of the opera tragedy “Cold Mountain,” a noble first effort by composer Jennifer Higdon premiered here Aug. 1. Higdon, 52, traces her own roots to the North Carolina highlands where the stark story based on the best-selling book is set. It’s a sprawling three-hour tale with close to 20 scenes and 28 singers in the cast….

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WAS IT THE FAULT’S FAULT?

WAS IT THE FAULT’S FAULT?

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MacMillan Thwarts the Jinxes at Cabrillo MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, CA—I was sure that San Andreas, whose great earthquake fault lay just 50 yards away, had jinxed the grand-finale concert at the Mission. But lo, a rousing James MacMillan trumpet concerto called “Epiclesis,” powerful enough to wake the dead and maybe nudge open the Pearly Gates, saved the day. Quoting ageless Gregorian chants calling to God, the veteran Scottish composer helped the cause of concert salvation Aug. 16. The fitting…

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SANTA CRUZ SPRINGS TO LIFE

SANTA CRUZ SPRINGS TO LIFE

With Cabrillo’s Contemporary Orchestral Sounds SANTA CRUZ, CA—The final weekend of the Cabrillo Festival is inevitably invigorating, with one new orchestral piece almost atop the other, sometimes with the ink barely dry. This is Music Director Marin Alsop’s baby, now in her 24th season on the summer podium here. Here she and the devotees can feast on contem porary sounds, created by figures either well-known (like Philip Glass) or otherwise. The esprit de corps in her festival orchestra is remarkable,…

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YES, THERE IS A THERE THERE

YES, THERE IS A THERE THERE

Much Disparaged Oakland Keeps Surprising OAKLAND—I don’t know if it’s the greatest little opera company around, but it certainly looks like the most enterprising. Given limited resources, the West Edge Opera has shuttled around several East Bay cities, and even changed names (formerly the Berkeley Opera). For its latest summer-season persona, West Edge has set three operas spanning five centuries in three different abandoned sites, none of them theaters. Via strong stage direction, it has reintroduced music theater into the…

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BERG’S OPERA ‘LULU’ IN OAKLAND

BERG’S OPERA ‘LULU’ IN OAKLAND

Daring, Imagination Carry off Modest Staging Oakland? “Lulu” in Oakland? Yes, Virginia, there really is action and daring culture in Oakland, even in the summer doldrums, to judge by the rousing and highly suggestive opera “Lulu” by Berg played in an abandoned railway station by the great risk-takers at West Edge Opera. Naturally, it was a wall-to-wall sellout, 500 fans a night. Fear not, West Edge—-your risks are well taken. Neither a tough-as-nails part of West Oakland nor nearby condemned…

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A ‘RIGOLETTO’ TO DIE FOR

A ‘RIGOLETTO’ TO DIE FOR

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Superlative Interactions of Jester, Daughter By Paul Hertelendy artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music and dance Week of Aug. 7-14, 2015 Vol. 18, No. 7 SANTA FE, NM—If “most unique” were a term usable by any one apart from hucksters, you’d have to apply it to the Santa Fe (summer) Opera, now in its 59th season. On a desert hilltop 7,000 feet above sea level with sweeping views of mountains, it has an indoor-outdoor theater roofed…

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EMERGING YOUNG CHAMBER-MUSIC COMPOSERS

EMERGING YOUNG CHAMBER-MUSIC COMPOSERS

Trial by Fire in Santa Fe SANTA FE, NM—On your high shelf labeled “significant ensembles I’ve never heard of,” save a good spot for the Flux Quartet, which has introduced more than 100 new works to our string-quartet repertory. They played the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, a humming summer-long enterprise with dozens of concerts, each with its own character, manned by diverse quality players from all over. Your yen for contemporary sounds would have drawn you Aug. 7 to…

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