Classical Music Theater Reviews Page 3

Review: 'O HOW GOOD' Choral Concert at Central Synagogue
by Joanna Barouch - March 30, 2023

It's truly amazing that one can walk by a place and be unaware of it, no matter how important it may be. Or what it looks like inside. I, for one, am not one of those people. I have been curious about New York City's Central Synagogue (in Midtown East) for a long time. And just recently I had the ch...

Review: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE NY PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall
by Peter Danish - March 16, 2023

What did our critic think of MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE NY PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall? Sunday's performance at the NY Philharmonic was nothing short of a lovefest. From the moment MTT entered the auditorium until after his last standing ovation, curtain call - well over two hours late...

Review: THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY at San Diego's Civic Center Theater
by Ron Bierman - March 15, 2023

Edo de Waart is now in his fourth year as Principal Guest Conductor of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. In his long career he’s headed orchestras on four continents and taught in this country’s finest music schools. It’s no coincidence that his frequent conducting appearances in San Diego have coin...

Review: The Vienna Philharmonic, Bruckner 8th at Carnegie Hall
by Peter Danish - March 14, 2023

What did our critic think of THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC AT CARNEGIE HALL at Carnegie Hall? As I sat in Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, awaiting Christian Thielemann and his mighty Vienna Philharmonic's final performance of a three-concert visit, I waxed nostalgic and drifted back to my very first he...

Review: THE SONG POET at Minnesota Opera
by Jared Fessler - March 10, 2023

What did our critic think of THE SONG POET at Minnesota Opera? The first Hmong story adapted for the operatic stage, St. Paul writer Kao Kalia Yang's memoir The Song Poet comes to life in this world premiere. It tells the story of Yang's family and her song poet father as war drives them from the mo...

Review: New Jersey Symphony Performs MAHLER 3RD at NJPAC
by Peter Danish - March 08, 2023

What did our critic think of NJ SYMPHONY MAHLER 3RD at NJPAC? NJ Symphony musical director, Xian Zhang has stated often that the Mahler 3rd is her favorite work of all time. This was evident from the instant she bounded up onto the platform until the time she stepped down some 99 minutes later. Duri...

Review: NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC FEATURES YO YO MA at David Geffen Hall At Lincoln Center
by Joanna Barouch - March 05, 2023

It’s always exciting to hear or see a musician’s performance debut. It’s doubly exciting when a musician of Daniela Candillari’s caliber makes her New York Philhamonic debut in the beautifully refreshed David Geffen Hall....

Review: BRUCH VIOLIN CONCERTO at Charlotte Symphony
by Perry Tannenbaum - February 26, 2023

A meteor named Mei-Ann Chen had an impact on Charlotte Symphony and its subscribers that was simply electrifying....

Review: THE SAN DIEGO OPERA'S PUCCINI DUO at San Diego Civic Center Theater
by Ron Bierman - February 16, 2023

The big question for the evening was how mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe would do as the first woman in professional opera to sing the baritone title role in Gianni Schicchi. But the question wouldn’t be answered until the second one-act opera in San Diego Opera’s “Puccini Duo.” Blythe was first a co...

Review: Tarmo Peltokoski Makes His U.S. Debut with The San Diego Symphony Orchestra at the Southwestern College Performing Arts Center
by Ron Bierman - February 08, 2023

What did our critic think of TARMO PELTOKOSKI As He MAKES HIS U.S. DEBUT WITH THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at Southwestern Colleges Performing Arts Center? We seem to be going through an unprecedented flood of young conducting talent. Finnland's Tarmo Peltokoski is an example. At 22 his recent-c...

Review: SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 5 at Charlotte Symphony
by Perry Tannenbaum - February 05, 2023

A worthy candidate for CSO's vacant musical directorship, Vinay Parameswaran brings a winsome personality and an eclectic modern program to the Knight Theater podium for his Charlotte debut....

Review: PROKOFIEV'S ROMEO & JULIET at Robinson Center
by Theresa Bertram - January 31, 2023

What did our critic think of PROKOFIEV'S ROMEO & JULIET at Robinson Center?...

Review: ANNE AKIKO MEYERS And THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY at The California Center For The Arts, Escondido
by Ron Bierman - January 11, 2023

What did our critic think of ANNE AKIKO MEYERS AND THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY at The California Center For The Arts, Escondido? Review: A New Violin Concerto Delights the Audience!...

Review: RING IN THE NEW - ADELAIDE CANTATA BAND at Pilgrim Uniting Church
by Barry Lenny - January 07, 2023

The calibre of the musicians was undoubted....

Review: 10th Anniversary PROTOTYPE Festival in NY Blasts Off with Du Yun's IN OUR DAUGHTER'S EYES
by Richard Sasanow - January 06, 2023

There’s more contemporary opera in New York these days than there used to be and I’ll drink to that. But there’s nothing else that does it with the panache of the PROTOTYPE Festival, the brainchild of Beth Morrison Projects and HERE....

Review: Spectacular Soloists at Chamber Music Society--Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, Oboist James Austin Smith and Harpist Bridget Kibbey
by Richard Sasanow - December 09, 2022

This week’s concert of Vivaldi and Handel at the Chamber Music Society (CMS)--with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, oboist James Austin Smith and harpist Bridget Kibbey--whipped the audience into a frenzy of delight with a combination of arias, sonatas and concertos at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tull...

Review: ISABEL LEONARD and PABLO SÁINZ-VILLEGAS Together at The Conrad in La Jolla
by Ron Bierman - December 05, 2022

Mezzo Isabel Leonard and classical-guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas are stars in their fields. Leonard has sung on two Grammy-winning opera recordings and won a Beverly Sills Artist Award at the Metropolitan Opera--and even guested on Sesame Street. He's garnered 30 international awards, including the...

Review: Blanc & Noir's New Album "IT'S ELECTRIC"
by Onur Alec Kadioglu - November 20, 2022

Brought together the naive timbre and touch structure of the Rhodes Piano, also known as the Fender Rhodes, the cult instrument of jazz, and the harmonic richness of J.S.Bach in the album 'It's Electric'. Time-defying and game-changing with a strong current that connects the past and the future....

Review: PARLANDO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: HEROINES AND HERETICS at Merkin Hall
by Peter Danish - November 14, 2022

What did our critic think of PARLANDO ENSEMBLE: HEROINES AND HERETICS at Merkin Hall;?...

Review: JOSHUA BELL PLAYS BRUCH'S FIRST VIOLIN CONCERTO at Ordway Concert Hall
by Jared Fessler - November 12, 2022

What did our critic think of JOSHUA BELL PLAYS BRUCH’S FIRST VIOLIN CONCERTO at Ordway Concert Hall?...

Review: The NY Philharmonic & Yefim Bronfman in Mozart and Bruckner at Geffen Hall
by Peter Danish - November 08, 2022

Upon entering it seemed like the entire audience had their phones out snapping pictures of the new space - the banter was almost uniformly positive. All in all, it is a vastly more attractive space than the old one. Some folks even shed tears as they gazed around....

Review: CARMEN Burns Bright in Canadian Opera Company's Latest Production
by Isabella Perrone - October 25, 2022

Quite possibly one of the best known opera comiques, CARMEN has returned to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts’ stage in a bright blaze....

Review: TOSCA Thrills Edmonton
by Sarah Dussome - October 24, 2022

One of the world’s most beloved operas takes centre stage in Edmonton....

Review: Celebrating Sondheim with The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhans Musical Hall
by Michael Rabice - October 24, 2022

What did our critic think of Celebrating Sondheim with The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at Kleinhans Musical Hall?...

Review: THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at The Rady Shell
by Ron Bierman - October 20, 2022

On this storm-threatened evening, Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer was clad in a yellow rain-slicker worthy of a bout with a North Atlantic gale as she told a surprisingly full outdoor-amphitheater audience, 'Now I know how much you love your San Diego Symphony!' She went on to explain a late change in co...