Nobuyuki Tsujii, who is blind from birth, is unique among concert pianists in that he learns by ear. Colleagues record segments of a work, each hand separately and at intelligible tempi, then Tsujii works to memorize and synthesize the parts into a whole.
The mages, projected onto an advent-calendar-like wall, recalled to me Terry Gilliam’s cut-out sequences for Monty Python’s Flying Circus at times, or German expressionist cinema at others, all overlaid with a healthy dose of Edward Gorey.
Dido’s “mad scene,” her unrestrained rage and the ensuing lament Adieu, fière cité, requires a singer of considerable vocal heft, and while Bridges lacked a steely edge, she brought off the gran scena beautifully.
Lucy Shelton, an 80-year-old singer and a newcomer to opera who built her career on avant garde music, gave the kind of detailed interpretation only a life-long lieder singer could realize.
The point of the opera is that Art imitates life. Our entertainment, especially the commedia del’arte and its related forms, show us comic archetypes that frequently reveal brutal truths about human nature.
Scheppelmann frequently fields complaints of politically motivated programming. “Art has always been critical of the status quo,” she says, “and opera has always been political."
Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers chose to honor George Shangrow by carrying on, relying on guest conductors until selecting Clinton Smith in 2013. William White took over at the end of the 2018 season.
Sibelius's violin concerto painted a restive canvas over which soloist Ning showered musical fireworks – a regular crucible of every technical difficulty ever devised.