Blogcritics Category: Music: Opera

Music Review: East Village Opera Company - Olde School

Jon Sobel — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:20:58 EST

The operatic tradition has always had a place in rock and pop, but this band comes at it from the other direction.
The operatic tradition has always had a place in rock and pop. Elvis Presley and the Platters' Tony Williams, Pat Benatar and Heart's Ann Wilson, metal's Ozzy Osbourne and pop-rock's Dennis De Young, and of course Freddie Mercury, are all singers who have adopted, at certain times and to one degree or another, opera's highly...

Music Review: Andrea Bocelli - Incanto: The Deluxe Edition (CD/DVD)

Jen Johans — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 17:05:33 EST

Andrea Bocelli releases "A Love So Great" with his latest and greatest album to date...
While scientifically speaking I may only be one-fifth Italian, in my heart, I feel as though I’m one hundred percent Italian-American. In my earliest film-going memory that isn’t comprised of singing, animated animals, I vividly recall accompanying my Italian mother and grandmother to see Norman Jewison’s Moonstruck. And while...

Music Review: Beethoven's Wig - Beethoven's Wig 4: Dance Along Symphonies

Jennifer Bogart — Sun, 2 Nov 2008 08:44:24 EST

One part toe-tapping classical music, one part apt and entertaining original lyrics = Beethoven's Wig, an unforgettable introduction to great works of music for children.
My childhood memories are populated with a dense musical landscape. I recall twirling around the living room floor to the strains of Boy George, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov “Flight of the Bumblebee”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is my memories of dancing to classical music that evoke a feeling of true joy, trumping...

Music Reviews: AC/DC, Motorhead, Evergrey, The Lizards, Living Colour, Godhead, and Xystus

Marty Dodge — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:32:49 EDT

A power metal opera, some quality blues rock and a bit of (Living) Colour.
Lots of things are changing in my life right now, but who says it doesn’t need a soundtrack. Do I have one this week. Two great bands release their best in over a decade, probably more, and some interesting stuff under the radar. There was some complete dross that I won’t bother even mentioning, but overall quite a good week.AC/DC:...

Opera Review (LA): The Fly

Purple Tigress — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 15:17:23 EDT

Can bad science fiction made good opera? Not in the case of the recent outing of "The Fly" at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.
I have a weakness for bad science fiction; it's much funnier and less scary than good science fiction. When I heard that one of my favorite playwrights, San Gabriel Valley's native son David Henry Hwang, was writing the libretto for an opera based on the classic sci-fi movie, The Fly, how could I resist? Based on a short story by George Langelaan,...

Concert Review: LA Philharmonic Gala with Esa-Pekka Salonen Conducting

Robert Machray — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 12:46:42 EDT

The LA Philharmonica presents a Salonen gala with Dawn Upshaw, Audra McDonald, and Barbara Hannigan.
I attended the opening of the Winter Season and the last season for Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Principal Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was a black tie affair, with celebrities and wealthy patrons gathered for cocktail, dinner and the concert. The rest of us, well over half the house, just heard the concert, but what a concert it was. It...

Opera Review (LA): Il Trittico by Puccini at the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion

Robert Machray — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:16:27 EDT

William Friedkin and Woody Allen direct a smashing production of Puccini's last complete opera.
Il Trittico (The Tryptich) is last complete opera composed by Puccini. Turandot came later but was never completed except by later musicologists. Il Trittico is a collection of three operas, Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and the most famous, Gianni Schicchi, which has been described by maestro Donlon of the Los Angeles Opera as a "perfect opera." The...

Music DVD Review: The 2007 Newport Music Festival (Boxed Set)

Lou Novacheck — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:36:30 EDT

Newportthe most festive of festivals, says Bernard Levin of the London Times.
The Newport Music Festival is not just the icing on the cake, it’s the entire, too-many-courses-to-count meal of classical music in the US, and certainly the East Coast’s most elegant and anxiously awaited annual event. It brings together some of the most talented, cherished and sought after classical musicians from all over the globe...

Opera Review (Verona): Nabucco by Verdi at Arena di Verona

Robert Machray — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:48:42 EDT

The most beautiful-sounding chorus in opera is the real star of this fine production.
Nabucco was Verdi’s third opera and an instant success. The positive response to it secured him a place among the opera greats. At the time (the early 1840s), Rossini was all the rage; his three operas, Semiramide, Moses, and Otello, had met with universal approval.Whether Verdi felt competitive, or whether he just admired Rossini’s...

Music Media: Whitechapel, Gwar, Offensive Cover Tunes, Judas Priest, Drudgery, Vasco Rossi, "Saga - Ópera Extravagante," Drowning Pool

Chris Beaumont — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:47:19 EDT

Looking for some music? Look no further.
The journey into music videos has moved into its seventh week. Let's all count along! This week continues my compiling of videos and various musical related tid-bits for your viewing pleasure. Some will be brand spanking new, while others will just be things that I like. I am not great with the timeliness yet, but I hope you've been enjoying these...