“When was the last time you came out of a new opera — or ANY opera — feeling that you had had a vital, exciting dramatic experience? When was the last time you felt you had lost yourself in another world? It certainly happens. But in general, we judge opera by different standards. We don’t expect it to be as gripping as a work of spoken theater. The long passages of music, and the pace of the singing, slow everything down.”
Category: music
This Orchestra Is Asking People To Outrun Beethoven’s Fifth In A 5K
Well, that’s a new one: At its next free outdoor concert, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra is offering “a 5K run and boot camp workout for those so inclined and a delightful outdoor evening concert of popular classics for the rest of us.”
Germany’s Most Embarrassing Musical Export
It might not even be an export. It might only be possible within Germany: “Of the current top five albums on the German charts, two are schlager records. To put it into perspective, that would be like if the number three and four albums on the US Billboard Hot 100 were Christian rock about cats.”
The NYT’s Chief Classical Critic Is Not OK With The President’s Invocation Of Symphonies
Words you might not have expected from Anthony Tommasini: “‘Eleanor Rigby,’ I’d argue, is just as profound as Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony.”
The Music Business Simply Has To Get On Board With Gender Equality
Indeed: “Why hasn’t the digital revolution, which has transformed the music industry, extended to creating a 21st-century working culture, which allows for equal opportunities for all? Why isn’t this creative industry leading the way in creating diverse teams of people who will think differently, challenge the status quo and create a vibrant and dynamic business? Why does today’s music industry remain pretty much run by the same coterie as it was back in the days of Elvis?”
When Glimmerglass Goes To Attica
Francesca Zambello, the general director of Glimmerglass, described the story of Porgy and Bess, “recounting the twists and turns of a work about love, loss, race, murder, drug use, imprisonment, perseverance and hope. When she set the scene for one aria by saying that ‘a crap game starts,’ a murmur of recognition rippled through the audience. When she said that Crown, the opera’s villain, ‘murders someone impulsively,’ an inmate exclaimed: ‘Oh, man!'”
When Musicians Dance And Play
An interesting trend accelerates: “The challenge to classical presenters is to find ways to widen the sensory experience of a concert without losing depth or quality of sound — a concern that takes on novel forms when cellists or clarinetists are asked to play while lying on their backs.”
The Story Of A Songwriter Who Kept Some Songs For Herself
Julia Michaels, who has written hit songs for Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and Selena Gomez, says it was time for her to sing one of her own songs. “Shelly Peiken, who’s a really incredible songwriter, used to say ‘dare to suck.’ You never know what people’s reactions are going to be, so you’ve got to take chances.”
Opera Versus Gay Opera Versus Opera Queens, A Pocket History
Alex Ross: The culture indicated by the phrase “opera queen” became visible in pioneering openly gay communities of the late nineteenth century, and undoubtedly existed long before that. Even so, operas on gay themes have proliferated in recent years.
How SoundCloud Became A Hotbed Of Musical Innovation
On SoundCloud, genres thrive on amorphism, defined more by a song’s uncompromising sentiment—rage, anxiety, body-rolling euphoria—than the pulse of the beat or musical composition. (A casual listener might be inclined to label “Please B Okay” as simply house music.) This has given the Berlin-based platform a unique advantage not just in breaking unknown talent but in becoming a breeding ground for experimental sounds.