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LLOYD SCHWARTZ
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Beams of light and fright
What better place for an opera set mostly at a lighthouse than in a room with a vast curved window looking out onto Boston Harbor?
French music at the BSO; French opera at Boston Conservatory; plus, Peter Wispelwey, Judith Gordon, Russell Sherman and Frank Kelley, and Collage New Music
French music is tricky. It has an unmistakable accent, inflection, scent.
Hello, Helios!
There's a new group in town doing Baroque opera — not an easy ambition.
Pain and pleasure
What a turbulent time we've been having in Boston's musical life.
Fat Lady Sings Dept.
Fat Lady Sings Dept.
Musical chairs
There's lots of music to look forward to as we approach the end of winter.
Valedictions and salutations
Classical news good and bad.
Three guys who love Schubert
Three guys. Not singers, but they sing. Not pianists, but they play the piano.
Hi-Def
In his second week with the BSO, Ludovic Morlot led another stunning program originally designed for James Levine.
Grand Opera and Anti-Opera
To celebrate the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the opera Nixon in China , its three creators gathered last Tuesday afternoon on the stage of Harvard's Loeb Drama Center (home of the A.R.T.) to discuss their landmark opus.
Morlot's fire
Former BSO assistant conductor Ludovic Morlot has returned for two programs planned by and for former music director James Levine.
Double double
There's too much tinkering here with Verdi's first serious attempt to capture Shakespeare.
Lightness of being
Sixteen-year-old Boston pianist George Li is prodigious in more than one way. He's not merely a technical wizard, but a thoughtful and serious musician.
Merry war
Opera Boston began its season of relative rarities (two of them based on Shakespeare) with Berlioz's enchanting last opera, Béatrice et Bénédict, centered around the two most compelling characters in Much Ado About Nothing — witty antagonists who, in their "merry war," renounce love, until they are forced to admit they love each other.
Stringing along
For a moment, it seemed as if the Boston Symphony Orchestra was back in its full ripeness.
Popularity contest
The season-opening concerts I've been going to have made me think about two kinds of musicians: those whose performances become transparent, who allow the listener into the heart of the music; and those for whom their own abilities — technical marvels — seem an end, not a means to a higher end.
Candidissimo!
How could a musical with a dazzling score and a perfect cast have been such a dismal flop on Broadway?
Huh?
Australian born, Harvard-educated Nicholas Vines is a compellingly original composer, and his new Loose, Wet, Perforated (through September 25) is full of fascinating music.
From Boston Baroque to the Discovery Ensemble: More classical concerts than you’ll know what to do with
Here are 10 classical events I'm particularly eager to hear--just the tips of our many musical icebergs.
Dream Girl ?
This year Drew Minter and BMO gave us the young Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers , composed when he was 21 (it was his 11th opera!). It's an energetic comedy about a wily young woman who outwits the warlord who wants to add her to his harem.
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