Kidon Choi
Kidon Choi on Pagliacci: 'We watch tragedy like it's entertainment.'
Interview'Pagliacci is about how private pain becomes public spectacle. The actors put on makeup and perform but behind the stage they are living with heartbreak and betrayal and violence,' says Choi. 'Today we see the same thing with social media. People put on a show of control and happiness but behind the scenes they feel loneliness and rejection.'
Pene Pati revels in superb accompaniment — in recital and the recording studio
ReviewHappily and with considerable elan, Pati traverses the collection, expressing passion, melancholy and joy (with a particular emphasis on joy) to create a charming and irresistible listening experience.
Golden Age: An Exception to the Rule
ReviewIt is, in all seriousness, a consistent breath of spring, and yes, like many an opera, it's full of sunshine and showers.
Elza van den Heever and the MET Orchestra: A stunning all-Strauss program
ReviewDelicacy and bombast strode hand in hand as they astonished with their surmounting of its dizzying transitions. Virtuoso playing came from every section of the orchestra and concertmaster, David Chan's prolonged and masterly solo work was precise and thrilling.
The Tin Angel: Le jazz cold
ReviewWe are told that 'Jazz clubs fade but the sound beneath the sound remains' -- one of the 'invisible assets' is the 'music' that the departed leave behind. A lovely idea, in theory. In this case, though, the 'sound beneath the sound' is not only 'invisible' but, like the non-existent jazz, inaudible.
The English Consort's Giulio Ceasare in Egitto -- Handel is the total package
ReviewSung with campy abandon by countertenor, John Holiday, his Tolomeo is a scene-stealing divo, edgy and pompous, whose obsequious charm is laced with poison. Hearing Holiday and Dumaux have at it is a reminder that Handel was a master of vocal effect.
Review: LA Opera's tear-jerking, star-studded, world-class Rigoletto
ReviewMy favorite, 'Cortigiani, vil razza dannata', left me in tears, as it was meant to; Kelsey allowed his voice and his dramatic performance to move through all the ranges of Rigoletto's emotions, ending with a simple heartbreaking plea, on his knees, for the return of his daughter.
Nina Stemme onstage at Carnegie Hall
ReviewPerhaps it was a collectively held breath at the sounds of the distant and desolate notes of the Liszt-transcribed Liebestod. Such is the magic of a soprano who can conjure Isolde's hallucinatory and surreal musing with emotional conviction. It is perhaps the most complicated and woeful moment in song. Yet Stemme and Pöntinen found clarity in the fog and guided us to its stunning conclusion.
Konstantin Krimmel: a commanding presence
ReviewThen we discover that Krimmel has perfect diction. It's a gift to the high born German texts of the Schubert and Loewe songs. They come through with a clarity that at key moments virtually eliminate the need for translation.
A collaborative artist: Kristin Hoff and the Mécénat Musica Prix Goyer
InterviewWhen I ask Hoff what it means to her to be lauded as a collaborative artist, she admits that the inclusion of the word 'collaborative' in the Prix Goyer is the only way she feels comfortable receiving such an honour.