FROM THE WEB: Kudos to LA Opera from an unusual source

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

Although the New York Times works hard to attract readers in Southern California, its arts critics rarely venture beyond the confines of the East Coast. Thus, it was notable that Music Critic Zachary Woolfe made the trip west for Los Angeles Opera’s presentation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which opened last Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Read his review HERE.

What made the review notable was that Woolfe’s focus was to laud the company for reacting quickly (in opera-world terms) after CEO Christopher Koelsch went to Berlin to see Komische Oper’s new, radical production of Mozart’s famous work (read my preview story HERE). After returning to L.A., Kolsche persuaded colleagues Plácido Domingo and James Conlon that LAO should substitute the Komische Opera production for the originally announced revival of LAO’s 20-year-old production by Sir Peter Hall and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe.

As Wolfe wrote: “The Los Angeles Opera’s late switch — this new ‘Flute’ was not officially announced until June — should be a positive example for the opera world, where artistic choices can be encased in amber up to five years in advance. Companies should be eagerly looking for new singers and stagings that can be presented in a matter of months rather than years. (O.K., I’d accept maybe a year or two.) This new ‘Flute’ shows that the results can be worth the rush and risk.”

Although I haven’t seen the LAO production, to judge from the critics the decision to change was more than worth the risk. Jim Farber’s review in the Los Angeles News Group papers (which include my papers listed above) is HERE. Mark Swed’s review in the Los Angeles Times is HERE. Timothy Mangan’s review in the Orange County Register is HERE.

What Woolfe didn’t say in his article was that Magic Flute was the first of two “last-minute” changes to the LA Opera 2013-2014 schedule. Six months after the season had been unveiled the company announced that it would add semi-staged concert performances of Andre Previn’s opera, A Streetcar Named Desire on May 18, 21 and 24, 2014. That omission was somewhat ironic, since Michael Cooper reported the story in the NY Times on Sept. 4.

Renée Fleming will reprise her starring role as Blanche DuBois from the original San Francisco Opera production. Patrick Summers will lead the LA Opera Orchestra. The production will be the semi-staged version that played at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at Lyric Opera Chicago. DETAILS.

Speaking of Mr. Woolfe, he posted quite an interesting article after attending nine — NINE! — performances of Bellini’s Norma at the Metropolitan Opera this fall. His premise was to evaluate how the Met sounds from nine different seat locations. Read the article HERE. Lisa Hirsch, in her “Iron Tongue of Midnight” Blog HERE, suggested he should have seen the Met’s production of Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten instead. To each his (or her) own.
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(c) Copyright 2013, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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FROM THE WEB: Two views of one performance

Concert-goers occasionally ask critics, “Were you and I at the same concert (opera, etc.)?” Here’s the latest version: two reviews of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Der Rosenkavailer.
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim in the New York Times
Martin Bernheimer in London’s Financial Times

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NEWS: Pasadena Symphony offers one-day, 65% off ticket sales on Dec. 2

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

One question I often am asked is, “What can I get a classical music lover for Christmas?” My answer always begins with tickets, because seeing a concert (recital, opera, whatever) live is still the best way to enjoy it.

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season comes this offer from the Pasadena Symphony: on Monday, Dec. 2 — for that day only — you can get 65% off of the price of any remaining single tickets for the balance of the 2013-2014 season at Ambassador Auditorium.

To take advantage of this offer, visit www.PasadenaSymphony-POPS.org, select the concerts you want, and use discount code 6CMON5 when checking out to get 65% off ticket prices. The sale ends at Midnight on Monday.

All concerts are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the dates listed below:
• January 11 — Nicholas McGegan, the orchestra’s new principal guest conductor, conducts Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6 and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with 13-year-old Umi Garrett as soloist. DETAILS
• February 15 — Kazem Abdullah leads Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Morten Lauridsen’s Midwinter Songs. DETAILS
• March 29 — Andrew Grams conducts music by Bolcom, Bruch and Schuman. DETAILS
• May 10 — Jahja Ling, music director of the San Diego Symphony, conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Israeli-born pianist Shai Wossner as soloist. DETAILS

For details and information, call 626/793-7172.
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(c) Copyright 2013, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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PREVIEW: KUSC to air Disney Hall “War Requiem” concert on Sunday

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News

If you weren’t able to attend the performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem Sunday in Orange County or Monday in Walt Disney Concert Hall, KUSC (91.5 FM in Los Angeles and www.kusc.org) will air the L.A. performance on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Details: www.kusc.org

James Conlon conducted The Colburn Orchestra, members of the USC-Thornton Symphony, three soloists and more than 400 choristers ranging from local universities to the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus in the performances.

Links to my preview story and my review are HERE and HERE.

BTW: A Caltech link has the complete text HERE so you can follow it. Although the diction was exemplary during the Disney Hall performance, being able to read Wilfed Owen’s gripping poetry would definitely be a plus.
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(c) Copyright 2013, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
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Have you ever thought … what the world would be like without music? … We would all be humans and life would go on, but it would be much more difficult to mourn our losses and celebrate our loves. God gave us music, I think, so that we would have some hint of what She is like. God sings to our hearts with music, telling us of love about which we would know much less if it were not for music.

— Andrew Greeley, “Star Bright”

Thanksgiving is a schizophrenic time from my perspective as a classical music columnist. On one hand, I like to list things for which Southern California classical music lovers should be grateful. However, it’s also a time to look forward to the holiday season, because for many people, Christmas comes alive through its music. But before we dive into the holiday music season, let us give thanks.

Many things remain constant year after year — music is, after all, a universal and, in some ways, a timeless art. Unfortunately, not every constant is a positive. Once again this year, we need to give special thanks for music educators in schools, conservatories and churches who struggle to keep the music candle shining in a society that increasingly finds it hard to believe that art is an indispensable part of the educational process.

Moreover, let us remember parents who know the value of music and the arts and who work hard to find the extra income necessary to give their children a music education. I believe there is a direct correlation between the decline in music education and society’s increase in violence. May we come to our senses before it is too late.

There are so many others — musicians, conductors, administrators, volunteers, patrons, audiences and others — who come together to enrich our lives through concerts, recitals, opera productions and other events. Many are unsung, working tirelessly behind the scenes. We need to remember, support and give thanks to all of them, especially at this of the year.

The best way of saying thanks is, of course, to attend concerts and, fortunately, there will be plenty of musical cheer offered during the holiday season, some of which I will list in my column on Sunday. Take the time in your busy lives to make music part of lives. And, to paraphrase songwriter Henry Smith, take time to give thanks with a grateful heart.
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(c) Copyright 2013, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.

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