Tenor Andrea Bocelli made his North American opera debut with “Werther” in Detroit this weekend. One critic calls the performance brave and given with charm, but his untrained voice was “inadequate and ultimately boring.” – Detroit News
(AND: Other reviews – New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune)
Month: October 1999
AN AMERICAN DREAM
San Francisco Ballet goes to London for the first time ever and wows the critics. – Financial Times
CANADIAN JUDGE BANS BROADCAST OF FILM
nominated for top Canadian film honor while Saskatchewan murder trial is on. CBC
SHUFFLING THEATERS
“Ragtime,” “Pimpernel” (maybe) to close on Broadway. Theater notes. New York Times
THE JAZZ CANON
A case for the 20 most important jazz recordings ever. – Commentary
PIRATE HUNTING
Music theft has become rampant on the internet. Now a plan by the global music industry to fight digital pirates. – Wired
THE SOUND OF NEGOTIATION
Toronto Symphony musicians have been on strike for five weeks – they haven’t negotiated for a month. This week they offered to come individually to orchestra board members homes and play for them – and plead their case. – CBC
WOODEN WONDER
When an instrument upstages the performer playing it. – San Francisco Chronicle
(PREVIOUSLY: PAGANINI’S FAVORITE VIOLIN – a Guarneri called “the Cannon” – is brought out only for special occasions. This week it got only its second-ever concert in America. – San Francisco Examiner 10/28/99)
GREVE IN MONTREAL
A six-month stage hands strike threatens the health of the city’s dance company Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. – CBC
EXPLAINING NATURAL PHENOMENA IN CULTURAL TERMS
John MacDonald’s inaugural speech as head of Australian art at the National Gallery of Australia. Sydney Morning Herald