Classical Music Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 26

BWW Reviews: A SCORE TO SETTLE with Rita Costanzi
by Brett Considine - August 11, 2014

The harp is a unique musical instrument that can elicit so many emotions. Rita Costanzi's journey as a harpist reflects this array of emotions and shows how she has managed a career that has produced many A Score to Settle....

BWW Reviews: Thomas Hampson: An American Hero at Tanglewood
by Erica Miner - July 22, 2014

Few vocal performers of our day are as closely identified with American classical music as this renowned artist....

BWW Reviews: The Trumpet Shall Sound - Håkan Hardenberger Conquers Tanglewood
by Erica Miner - July 21, 2014

The Boston Symphony Orchestra's Saturday, July 19 offering at the Koussevitzky Music Shed, as Latvian-born Music Director designate Andris Nelsons helmed Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson's Bridge, Trumpet Concerto No. 1, with Swedish trumpet soloist Hakan Hardenberger...

BWW Reviews: PIXAR in Concert at SF Symphony
by Harmony Wheeler - July 18, 2014

The San Francisco Symphony plays Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, A Bug's Life, WALL-E, Cars, Up, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc. and Brave through Sunday July 20 at the building with perfect acoustics, Davies Symphony Hall. Film clips accompany their counterparts, and even the few Pixar films t...

BWW Reviews: National Symphony Orchestra, Morrison, and Benanti Bring Broadway to Wolf Trap
by Jennifer Perry - July 11, 2014

Yes, it's National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at Wolf Trap season again in the DC Metro Area. Last night's offering featured the NSO, Matthew Morrison, and Laura Benanti taking on some classic Broadway showtunes with a few pop hits thrown in for good measure....

BWW Reviews: Rain Doesn't Cool off the Legends of Classic Rock with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
by Paul Batterson - June 30, 2014

Don't tell John Elefante that violins don't belong in rock and roll. The former Kansas front man came from a rock band where the violin was essential to the band's sound. Elefante and the Legends of Classic Rock incorporated the Columbus Symphony Orchestra into a rain delayed set of rock standard...

BWW Reviews: An Odd Pairing Makes for a Unique Night for Ben Folds and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
by Paul Batterson - June 24, 2014

At first glance, Ben Folds and Albert-George Schram would appear to have nothing in common. Schram, a white-haired maestro with a greying mustache and a soft smile, is the Resident Staff Conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Folds, the bespectacled pop star/pianist with an acerbic sense of h...

BWW CD Review: San Francisco Symphony's WEST SIDE STORY is a Triumph
by David Clarke - June 23, 2014

When it comes to contemporary classics in American musical theatre, just the sheer mention of Leonard Bernstein's WEST SIDE STORY is enough to get any fan of the medium listening. His clever orchestrations, drive and ambition, and unique construction made the show a hallmark of the genre that is sti...

BWW Reviews: OTSL's DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES Grandly Rewards Your Patience
by Steve Callahan - June 20, 2014

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened the fourth production in its June festival season--'The Dialogues of the Carmelites', by Francis Poulenc. The cast features some St. Louis favorites: Kelly Kaduce, who gave us that jaw-dropping Salome five years ago, now plays a much timider leading lady-...

BWW Reviews: OTSL's '27' Opens to Ovations
by Steve Callahan - June 18, 2014

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has just opened a new commissioned work entitled simply '27'. With music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Royce Vavrek, it brings us into the world of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas....

BWW Reviews: Opera Philadelphia's A COFFIN IN EGYPT -- Von Stade is Wonderful, But It's Otherwise Mummified
by Marakay Rogers - June 16, 2014

Von Stade out of retirement is cause for celebration, but there's no other purpose to the vehicle for it...

BWW Reviews: RHAPSODY IN GERSHWIN a Tribute to the Gershwin Brothers Opens at Quality Hill Playhouse
by Steve Wilson - June 11, 2014

Rhapsody in Gershwin currently plays at the Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City, Mo. The musical tribute to George and Ira Gershwin runs through July 6. The Gershwin brothers wrote songs for Broadway, jazz clubs, films, and concert halls in the 1920s and 1930s. The production is part of the Qua...

BWW Reviews: Baltimore Symphony and Folger Theatre Combine for a MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
by Charles Shubow - June 06, 2014

The Baltimore Symphony, Folger Theatre Company, and Baltimore Choral Arts Society Women's Chorus combine for a musical delight....

BWW Reviews: Arvo Pärt Triumphant at Carnegie Hall
by Peter Danish - June 04, 2014

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir perform music of Arvo Part at Carnegie Hall to enthusiastic crowd....

BWW Reviews: FANTASIA at SF Symphony
by Harmony Wheeler - June 03, 2014

Classical music and drawn animation might be considered things of the past, but they had glorious relevance at the Davies Symphony Hall this past weekend. The Disney cartoons of 1940's revolutionary Fantasia played in brilliant, restored, high-definition color alongside clips from Fantasia 2000 with...

BWW Reviews: OTSL's MAGIC FLUTE Delights St. Louis
by Steve Callahan - May 27, 2014

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened its thirty-ninth season with a bang. Their production of The Magic Flute is unlike any other you've seen (or ever will see)....

BWW Reviews: Philadelphia's Piffaro Scores A Hit With Its PRISONERS AND PENITENTS Season Close
by Marakay Rogers - May 23, 2014

The internationally noted Renaissance ensemble performed music to lament one's fate by, inside one of Pennsylvania's most historic prisons. It's worth performing anywhere....

BWW Reviews: Bernard Haitink Conquers the NY Philharmonic in Mahler's 3rd Symphony
by Peter Danish - May 20, 2014

Bernard Haitink conducts the NY Philharmonic in Mahler's 3rd Symphony...

BWW Reviews: Michael Pink Conjures A Majestic Masterpiece in MIRROR, MIRROR
by Peggy Sue Dunigan - May 19, 2014

Michael Pink's World Premiere Mirror, Mirror conjures a spell that leaves the audience speechless except for the applause of a standing ovation in Uhlien Hall at Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with the Milwaukee Ballet Company, Andrews Sill and the Milwaukee Ball...

BWW Reviews: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Pays Tribute to Kander and Ebb with ALL THAT JAZZ at Strathmore
by Jennifer Perry - May 16, 2014

Stellar vocalists and instrumentalists deliver a fine and worthy tribute to John Kander and Fred Ebb....

BWW Reviews: NICHOLAS PARNELL VIBES VIRTUOSO Is a Wide Ranging Collection of Fine Music
by Barry Lenny - May 07, 2014

Nicholas Parnell has taken the vibraphone as his own, developing an impressive technique and a significant following as a soloist....

BWW Reviews: WNO's THE MAGIC FLUTE is a Magical Experience, Musically and Visually
by Audrey Liebross - May 07, 2014

THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflote), Mozart's last great work, is sometimes viewed as the precursor to musical theater. Mozart's friend, actor-producer Emanuel Schikaneder, wrote the original libretto in the German vernacular (as opposed to the more upper crust Italian) as a 'singspiel,' a play with m...

BWW Reviews: WNO's Eye-Popping MAGIC FLUTE Casts a Musical Spell
by Jeffrey Walker - May 04, 2014

A winner from start to finish, THE MAGIC FLUTE features Mozart's score, a delightful new translation, superb casting, and the stunning design work of Jun Kaneko. Perfect for fans and novices, this MAGIC FLUTE is a must see....

BWW Reviews: Susan Graham in Recital with Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
by Stephen Raskauskas - April 29, 2014

No one likes cancellations, especially performers. Luckily, when both mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Bradley Moore were ill and had to cancel their April 2nd recital in Philadelphia, they were able to reschedule within just a few weeks. Considering both Graham and Moore have quite busy calen...

BWW Reviews: Soprano Karita Mattila Shimmers in Strauss's FOUR LAST SONGS at Carnegie Hall
by Richard Sasanow - April 16, 2014

Of all the music that Richard Strauss wrote during his long career—and he'd composed almost 60 songs and more than 40 piano works by the time he was 18—perhaps none are more gorgeous and moving than his FOUR LAST SONGS (VIER LETZTE LIEDER). Finnish soprano Karita Mattila's performance on Saturday ...