By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily
News
This article was first
published today in the above papers.
The upcoming fortnight brings several important concerts —
and those don’t include the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s “Mahler Project,” which
came to an end this afternoon at Walt Disney Concert Hall as Gustavo Dudamel
and the L.A. Phil playede Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Without even catching a
breath, here’s some of what’s upcoming:
On Saturday night at 7:30, Los Angeles Opera resumes its 2011-2012 season at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion with the first of seven performances of Verdi’s “Simon
Boccanegra” using a production from Royal Opera, Covent Garden in London.
Plcido Domingo, the company’s general director, will sing the title role,
which is noteworthy because the part was written for a baritone. Domingo, of
course, has been one of the world’s great tenors for half a century but this
role now suites for his voice, which has deepened. LAO music director James
Conlon will conduct the orchestra and, as usual, delivers a preconcert lecture
an hour before each performances (in addition to Saturday, performances are
Feb. 15 and 21 and March 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 18 and 26 and March 4 at 2
p.m. Information: 213/972-8001;
www.laopera.com
Grant Gershon will lead his 115-voice Los Angeles Master Chorale and a wind orchestra next Sunday at 7
p.m. in Walt Disney Concert Hall in a program of music by Bruckner (Mass in E
Minor and “Os Justi”) and Stravinsky (“Symphony of Psalms”). Information: 213-972-7282;
www.lamc.org
The Pasadena
Symphony continues its season February 18 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Ambassador
Auditorium with a program of music tinged by the Middle East. Bulgarian
conductor Rossen Milanov leads the PSO in Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” (from
which came the song “Strangers in Paradise” made famous in the 1953 Broadway
musical “Kismet”); Rimsky-Korsakov’s version of “Scherezade,” with
concertmaster Aimee Kreston playing the solos that portray the Arabian princess
spinning tales for 1,001 nights; and Saint-Sans Piano Concerto No. 5
(“Egyptian”), with Colburn School graduate Esther Keel as soloist. Information:
626/793-7172; www.pasadenasymphony-pops.org
If you weren’t able to attend the performance of Mahler’s
Symphony No. 8 last night at the Shrine Auditorium, you can see and hear the
“Symphony of a Thousand” live in movie theaters from Caracas, Venezuela on Feb.
18 at 2 p.m. via the “LA Phil LIVE” series. Actually, this performance will
reportedly be “Symphony of 1,600” with Gustavo Dudamel leading both the Los
Angeles Philharmonic and Simn Bolivr Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, eight
soloists and more than 1,000 choristers. Several local theaters will show the
telecast and an “encore” performance is set for Feb. 29. For my review of last
night’s performance, click HERE. Telecast
information: www.laphil.com/laphillive
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(c) Copyright 2012, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved.
Portions may be quoted with attribution.
