Classical News & Reviews
Icons by Oscar, The Works of Photographer Oscar Abolafia
Elvis. Cher. Grace. Elizabeth. Marlene. Sophia. Mick. Salvador. Not many are so iconic that a first name is enough to tell us who they are. They were captured by a photographer who goes by the name of Oscar Abolafia. You can call him Oscar. Icons ...
Acqua, Ristorante Italiano on Amsterdam Avenue at 95th Street
Just minutes from Symphony Space, Acqua is a favorite of Upper West Side neighborhood diners and visitors alike. Acqua is located 1 block from the 96th Street 1/2/3 lines, and exactly 1 block west of Symphony space. Enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in a warm, friendly atmosphere at Acqua. 718 ...
Review: NYCO Celebrates the LGBT Community With ‘Angels in America’
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, June 19, 2017
Commencing a new annual tradition of programming in honor of LGBT Pride in June, New York City Opera recently presented the New York premiere of Hungarian composer Pétér Eötvös’s 2004 operatic ...
Tanglewood Is Making Music Again With Stars Onstage And Up Above
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, June 16, 2017
New York City music lovers have many things to look forward to in the summer “off season.” Concerts in the park and Bargemusic to name just two. But the spiritual heart of the classical music world, ...
Caramoor Has Something For Everyone With This Summer’s Multi-Faceted Festival Lineup
ZEALnyc, June 15, 2017
As we move into summer, we begin the transition from our standard concert hall settings and begin enjoying music and theatrical presentations in the more natural surroundings of, well, nature. Summer festivals are a hallmark of the season ...
Berkshire Theatre Group Brings Musicals, Dramas and Farce to Multi-Venue ...
By Doug Hall, Contributing Writer, June 22, 2017 What do famous Hollywood legends and current film stars have in common with Western Massachusetts? A history and a connection to the Berkshire Theatre Group. Gracing the stage of the Colonial Theatre from when it first opened its doors ...
Kick Up Your Heels at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing
ZEALnyc, June 22, 2017 Certain events and traditions help us celebrate the changing seasons. While during most of the year activities take place indoors in concert hall venues and theaters, we know it's summer when everything starts moving outdoors. For three weeks each summer the plaza in ...
Review: 'Fulfillment Center,' A Quietly Moving Character Study
By Jil Picariello, Theater Editor, June 21, 2017 There's a long strip of a stage. A folding chair. And six orange cones. But something is missing in the lives of the folks in the new Manhattan Theatre Club production Fulfillment Center by Abe Koogler. Oh yes, fulfillment. ...
Summer on the Hudson: Sponsoring Free Events All Summer at ...
ZEALnyc, June 21, 2017 Summer on the Hudson, sponsored by the NYC Parks department, features an unbelievable number of special events and full day festivals for individuals, as well as the whole family. Dividing Riverside Park into sections, each area sponsors a whole range of performances and ...
Review: The Laudable But Rambling Path of ‘Bella: An American ...
By Christopher Caggiano, Contributing Writer, June 20, 2017 There aren’t nearly enough women or African Americans writing musical theater. Not by a long shot. So when someone comes along who is both, it’s really something to celebrate, even if the results don’t always measure ...
Patrick Wilson Replaces Steven Pasquale in New York City Center ...
ZEALnyc, June 20, 2017 While the 2017 Tony Awards are still fresh, New York's new theater season begins. Early and with turmoil. 1984, fresh from a successful run at London's Almeida Playhouse opens this week with a dystopian look at society that could speak to the import of social ...
'1984'—The First Broadway Production of the 2017-2018 Season
By Helaine Feldman, Contributing Writer, June 20, 2017 It’s a book; it’s a film, and now it’s a play. It’s George Orwell’s classic 1984, written in 1949, which gives a chilling look at a future marked by war, government surveillance and public mind control. ...
Review: NYCO Celebrates the LGBT Community With 'Angels in America'
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, June 19, 2017 Commencing a new annual tradition of programming in honor of LGBT Pride in June, New York City Opera recently presented the New York premiere of Hungarian composer Pétér Eötvös's 2004 operatic adaptation of Tony Kushner's great ...
Art Break: Life's a Beach With Mimi Gross at Shrine
By A. E. Colas, Contributing Writer, June 19, 2017 Art Break says how about heading to the beach on your lunch break? It’s not too far if you’re in the downtown area, just stop by Shrine Gallery’s newest show, Mimi Gross – At the Beach. ...
Tanglewood Is Making Music Again With Stars Onstage And Up ...
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, June 16, 2017 New York City music lovers have many things to look forward to in the summer "off season." Concerts in the park and Bargemusic to name just two. But the spiritual heart of the classical music world, really of the ...
New York Philharmonic Goes Outdoors for Their Annual Concert Series in the Parks
ZEALnyc, June 12, 2017
The New York Philharmonic has completed its scheduled 2016-2017 concert season in David Geffen Hall this past weekend with Alan Gilbert as its Music Director before embarking to Shanghai for a series of concerts in July. So this week before ...
Review: Salonen Displays ‘Exquisite Range’ Leading the MET Orchestra at Carnegie
By Jose Andrade, Contributing Writer, June 12, 2017
Late spring/early summer is a special time in New York, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra makes great use of this time flexing their symphonic muscles, presenting orchestral works in New York. On June 3rd, ...
Review: ‘Das Rheingold’ Shines Bright at the New York Philharmonic
By Joshua Rosenblum, Contributing Writer, June 5, 2017
In the end, all the trouble started when the pretty girls made fun of the short, funny-looking guy who had a crush on them. Hurt and angry, he stole their gold. If I can’t have love, he reasoned, at least I ...
Review: Opera On An Aircraft Carrier—’Glory Denied’ By Opera Upper West
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, June 5, 2017
Perhaps the most fascinating component of this year’s New York Opera Fest was Opera Upper West’s production of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied on the ...
Review: The MET Orchestra Is a Commanding Force—Even Outside the Opera House
By Joshua Rosenblum, Contributing Writer, June 2, 2017
The MET Orchestra’s popular post-season appearances at Carnegie Hall are a grand opportunity to hear the celebrated ensemble outside of the opera house, center stage, playing symphonic music. Often the ...
Review: Conductor Jakub Hrůša In An Impressive Debut With New York Philharmonic
By Jose Andrade, Contributing Writer, May 29, 2017
An all-Czech program at David Geffen Hall this past Thursday evening featured the debut of Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša leading the New York Philharmonic in works by Antonín Dvořák (Violin Concerto and ...
Rebecca Clarke Is ‘Composer of the Week’ In Upcoming BBC Series
ZEALnyc, May 26, 2017
It seems odd that we are still playing catch-up with highlighting and bringing focus to the accomplishments of the vast majority of female composers, both domestically and internationally, but there you have it. Our media counterparts across ...
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Returns to Carnegie
By Mark McLaren, Editor in Chief, May 26, 2017
If you are a NYC classical music lover, you can save on travel expenses. Talent comes to you. And generally to Carnegie.
One important orchestra begins a three-night Carnegie run next week, following a ...
Rite of Summer Music Festival Begins With A Bang This Weekend on Governors Island
Colonels' Row, Governors Island
http://riteofsummer.com
ZEALnyc, May 25, 2017
Rite of Summer Music Festival returns for its seventh season this weekend on Saturday, May 27 with performances by Talujon Percussion. They will be performing a program entitled “Dark Full Ride,” which includes works by ...
Review: Perahia Brings His ‘Colossal Artistry’ to Carnegie Hall With ‘Electric’ Results
By Joshua Rosenblum, Contributing Writer, May 22, 2017
The celebrated pianist Murray Perahia was the first North American to win the prestigious Leeds Competition in 1972 when he was 25. Since then, he has accumulated numerous other accolades, a large ...
Review: Kyung Wha Chung Is ‘Unequalled’ Making History at Carnegie Hall
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, May 19, 2017
As predicted, it was quite an evening. Looking like God’s soldier, her magnificent ...
Violinist Kyung Wha Chung Prepares for a Series of Firsts at Carnegie Hall This Week
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, May 15, 2017
Bach’s modestly-titled Six Solos for Violin without Bass Accompaniment are the Mount Everest of that instrument’s literature, ventured again and again in the safety of the studio—there are ...
Review: The Met Woos and Wins With Its Season Finale of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, May 14, 2017
Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac entered the repertoire of the Metropolitan Opera in 2005, at the championing of Placido Domingo, and in Francesca Zambello’s expertly directed production ...
Music and Cocktails at The Miller Theater—Now That’s a Happy Hour!
ZEALnyc, May 12, 2017
Looking for a way to relax after a hard day at the office? Or maybe a way to hear a little music? Or maybe a place to have a drink? How about combining all these needs into ‘one-stop shopping’? The Miller Theater at Columbia ...
Review: Long-Forgotten ‘Los Elementos’ Lives Again—Olé!
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, May 5, 2017
New York City often sees American premieres, but scarcely after such long periods of neglect as endured by Los Elementos, a one-act opera composed by largely forgotten Spanish court composer Antonio ...
Review: A Taut ‘Der Fliegende Holländer’ Helmed By Nézet-Séguin
By Jose Andrade, Contributing Writer, May 3, 2017
The Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer on Tuesday, April 25 was full of electricity, amply generated by incoming Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin ...
Jennifer Rowley—A Rising Star (and one to keep your eye on)!
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, May 1, 2017
Jennifer Rowley is the very definition of a star on the rise. But, in an age when people become famous merely for being famous, this is the rarest of stars in an even more rarefied arena: a true operatic diva. ...
Review: ‘Babes in Toyland’—A Nostalgic Delight with MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall
By Sheila Kogan, Contributing Writer, April 28, 2017
A concert version of Babes in Toyland was presented at the exquisite Carnegie Hall on Thursday evening. First produced in 1903, the Victor Herbert operetta is considered a landmark because it was a ...
Review: Natalie Dessay Brings Artistry of the Highest Order to Carnegie Hall
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, April 27, 2017
It’s Natalie Dessay’s world; you and I just live in it.
Dessay is one of the sovereign communicative artists of our era, whose every moment onstage seems fully lived and completely expressed. ...
Review: The ‘Next Generation’ Is Showcased By the NY Phil
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, April 23, 2017
Three vital young musicians, as a group representing a younger demographic from which this audience might be accustomed to hearing en masse, helmed a concert by the New York Philharmonic that was ...
Tanglewood Is Building For the Future—Literally
By Doug Hall, Contributing Writer, April 21, 2017
The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home away from Boston, Tanglewood Music Center, is located in the Berkshire Hills, between Stockbridge and Lenox, MA. Recently an exciting and eagerly awaited announcement ...
Review: The Met’s New ‘Rosenkavalier’ Moves Timelessly Forward with a Timeless Renée Fleming
By Mark McLaren, Editor in Chief, April 14, 2017
After nearly fifty years, the Metropolitan Opera has staged a crisp, colorful, audacious and ultimately elegant new production of Richard Strauss’s touching comedy, Der Rosenkavalier. And in it the ...
A Superstar Makes a Life Change — a Conversation with Soprano Renée Fleming
By Mark McLaren, Editor in Chief, April 12, 2017
Tomorrow night, the opera superstar Renée Fleming comes to the Metropolitan Opera House in what will be her final performances as the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Fleming, ...
Review: San Francisco Symphony Is ‘Gripping and Wondrous’ at Carnegie Hall
By Joshua Rosenblum, Contributing Writer, April 10, 2017
In 1940, Béla Bartók and his family fled Hungary and fascism for the United States. By 1943, he was impoverished, in poor health, and in despair over his composing career. Fortunately for all of us, ...
Review: Munich Philharmonic, One of the ‘World’s Great Orchestras,’ in Concert at Carnegie
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, April 8, 2017
Valery Gergiev is one of today’s most controversial conductors, if the protestors outside Carnegie Hall are any indication, for political reasons as well as his bizarre, fluttery ictus. Recently, he led ...
Review: Uchida and Widmann Bring ‘Joyful Purity’ To Zankel Hall
By Christopher Johnson, April 4, 2017
Jörg Widmann, clarinetist and composer, had his New York recital debut at Zankel Hall this past Sunday afternoon. His partner was Mitsuko Uchida. And there was joy, as they say, in heaven.
As performers, Uchida and ...
Review: A Buried Treasure Is Unearthed In NYCO’s ‘La Campana Sommersa’
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, April 3, 2017
Respighi’s La campana sommersa was the toast of the town when the Metropolitan Opera gave it its World Deuxième in 1928, in an eye-popping production designed by Joseph Urban, conducted by ...
Review: ‘Transcendent’ Mitsuko Uchida in Recital at Carnegie Hall
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, April 1, 2017
Mitsuko Uchida, one of today’s most transcendent pianists, appeared at Carnegie Hall in a captivating program of Mozart and Schumann, music she has long been interpreting, balanced with the New York ...
Review: Matthew Rose Makes an Impressive Recital Debut at Weill
By Jose Andrade, Contributing Writer, March 30, 2017
For over a hundred years, one of the hallmarks of a classically-trained singer was a New York recital debut. Last Saturday night bass Matthew Rose carried on this tradition in fine fashion at Weill Recital ...
Music and Cocktails at The Miller Theater—How Can You Go Wrong?
ZEALnyc, March 24, 2017
Looking for a way to relax after a hard day at the office? Or maybe a way to hear a little music? Or maybe a place to have a drink? How about combining all these needs into ‘one-stop shopping’? The Miller Theater at Columbia ...
Review: Rossini’s ‘Otello’ In Literally an ‘Underground’ Production by LoftOpera
By Christopher Johnson, Contributing Writer, March 21, 2017
LoftOpera, a young, edgy enterprise based in Brooklyn, started up a few years back by asking itself, “What kind of show do we actually want to see?” The answer, they realized, was obvious:
Review: Salonen’s ‘Stunning’ Cello Concerto ‘Creates a Glimmering Sound Tapestry’ with the NY Philharmonic
By Brian Taylor, Contributing Writer, March 20, 2017
One of the highlights of 2017’s classical music season was undoubtedly this Thursday’s sold-out concert at the New York Philharmonic with the inimitable Yo-Yo Ma playing the New York premiere of ...