Los Angeles Opera made some cast changes for the last two performances of Don Giovanni, the most noteworthy being the addition of Angela Meade as Donna Anna (Julianna Di Giacomo played the role for the first five performances). The winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker Award and the Met’s 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award, Ms. … Continue reading
Last May, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented Don Giovanni with a vocally and visually strong baritone leading a solid cast in a thoroughly avant-garde production. Beginning tonight, Los Angeles Opera presents the same opera, with another hunky baritone leading a another solid cast, this time in an unapologetically traditional production. Judging by Wednesday’s final dress … Continue reading
Opening night for Los Angeles Opera’s latest production of Don Giovanni isn’t until this coming Saturday, Sept 22nd, but I’ll be back at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion tonight, live tweeting the final dress rehearsal. Unlike last Saturday’s gala opening of I Due Foscari (The Two Foscari), this time I’ll be in the front of the … Continue reading
Anna Prohaska, recently appearing as Zerlina in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s production of Don Giovanni, is seen here at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Salzburg Festival singing some different Mozart: Exsultate, Jubilate (K. 165) What makes the performance more impressive is that she was only given a few hours notice that she’d be performing … Continue reading
Happy Friday. In case you don’t make it out to any concerts this weekend, the concert can come to you: Between now and Monday at 12noon Eastern Time, the Detroit Symphony is streaming their recent performance of Music Director Leonard Slatkin conducting the Mahler Fifth Symphony and the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 with Emanuel … Continue reading
Following up regarding my last post about Friday night’s Los Angeles Philharmonic concert, here’s one extra little tidbit about Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade and the orchestra: As stated in both printed and online version of the program notes, the first performance was March 26, 1942, with George Szell conducting. Until this season, the most recent performance … Continue reading
It wasn’t supposed to be an all-Mozart program. What was originally announced as a Tchaikovsky/Sibelius program morphed a couple of times over the course of this season before landing on its final form. One of the subscribers wasn’t happy about all the repeated changes and made her opinion known during the “Casual Friday” post-concert Q&A. With … Continue reading
It was not your average Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Disney Concert Hall. Gustavo Dudamel was still on the podium for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s unofficial Mozart Month, but that was pretty much where “business as usual” ended. The LA Phil had decided that their first-ever complete performances of Don Giovanni would be full-blown productions, … Continue reading
I’ve been looking forward to attending the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s fully-staged Don Giovanni for a number of reasons: First of all, well, because it’s Don Giovanni and who doesn’t want to see and hear that under pretty much any circumstance? The appearance of Mariusz Kwiecien in the title role. It’s been a very good season for … Continue reading
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? The REAL Mozart? Today? Stephen T. Harper, writer extraordinaire, did. Or perhaps instead of wondering, he and his awesome wife, Christie Harper, actually met the guy. It’s tough to tell . . . they are both friends of All is Yar, so you … Continue reading
I almost always go to classical music concerts because I feel I must see/hear something on the program: a certain composer or his work, a soloist, maybe even a conductor. Other times it’s because I’m curious about a world premiere of a new work or a performer I’ve never heard before. This past Sunday at … Continue reading
All is Yar 