Category: music

Or, more specifically, that is Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Tenor Jonas Kaufmann, who is singing Tristan in Boston: “You can never get rid of it. It is always there, stuck in your brain.”

In Washington, Andrew Jorgensen worked with Francesca Zambello on casting of such highlights as the 2016 “Ring” cycle and “Appomattox,” as well as the new operas commissioned for the annual American Opera Initiative. Jorgensen will only be the fourth leader in St. Louis’s 43-year history, after the founding director Richard Gaddes and his successor Charles MacKay, both of whom subsequently led the Santa Fe Opera.

Tchaikovsky had 14 entries in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, revealed on Monday. Mozart was the most popular composer, with 23 works in the Top 300.

We know that most ancient Greek poetry was meant to be sung; we know a lot about the instruments, the rhythms, and the music theory. A few examples of notated melody have survived the millennia. Oxford classicist Armand d’Angour has put all the evidence together. (includes video)

“Well, there are no microphones. … Once I’m out there, I have to depend on the acoustics of the room. I’m not going to give myself a bigger voice overnight; I’m not going to give myself more resonant power overnight. My head’s the size it is. … There’s something about a mic that does show everything – all the inconsistencies, all the vulnerabilities of the voice are heard with a microphone. Without it, you’re not. You can clear your throat; you can do things that aren’t actually heard out in the house.”

The story of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and its creators, Jay Gorney and E.Y. “Yip” Harburg.

“With an impressive resume that includes training as a singer and experience as a stage manager and production director, [Ian Derrer] previously worked with Dallas Opera, between 2014 and 2016, as artistic administrator. Since then, he has been general director of Kentucky Opera. … The company moved quickly to fill the position, vacated in January by Keith Cerny, its head for the previous 7½ years.”

Derek Bermel, artistic director of the American Composers Orchestra: “I’ve spoken to several artistic administrators and conductors who insist that their audiences aren’t asking for more of the new; their internal research shows that their audience wants to hear what they already know. When I hear that argument, I think, ‘Well, of course! Audiences haven’t experienced what they don’t know, so how could they possibly be clamoring for it?’ One of the responsibilities of curators is to introduce the public to work they didn’t know existed or to help bring it into being. Five years ago, how many regular music theater patrons were yearning to see a hip-hop musical? We all know that answer: very, very few. Today it’s impossible to get tickets for Hamilton. Some of that audience is coming from outside the typical music theater audience; all the better!”

The February 2019 tour, with vocalist/bassist Esperanza Spalding as guest artist, has been called off because the U.S. Embassy in Havana, which has withdrawn 60% of its staff after many of them suffered mysterious health problems, is no longer able to process visa applications.