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Archives for October 2018

Cleveland Orchestra: Prokofiev & Bartók with Yefim Bronfman (Sept. 27)

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by Daniel Hathaway

It’s difficult to explain why there were so many empty seats in Severance Hall for The Cleveland Orchestra’s third subscription concert of the season on Thursday, September 27. Did Prokofiev + Bartók + Prokofiev scare people away? Had binge-watching the Kavanaugh hearings all day sent folks into a decline? Were subscribers opting for the Orchestra’s big benefit on Saturday instead? Those who passed up hearing the performance — for whatever reason — missed out on one of the most remarkable evenings in recent memory. [Read more…]

Cleveland Opera Theater opens season with The Barber of Seville

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by Mike Telin

It’s difficult to say whether Mozart’s or Rossini’s opera based on Pierre Beaumarchais’ tale of the resourceful character of Figaro is more popular. In April of 2017, Cleveland Opera Theater staged a brilliant production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and this weekend, the company will take on Rossini’s hilarious prequel, The Barber of Seville. Dr. Bartolo plans to marry the young Rosina, although Count Almaviva has other plans and enlists the help of the enterprising barber to win her for himself. The two-act comic opera is filled with forbidden love and amusing disguises, as well as a gossipy music teacher, and a crafty bride-to-be.

You can hear Rossini’s Barber at the Maltz Performing Arts Center this Saturday, October 6 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, October 7 at 3:00 pm. The cast includes Young Kwang Yoo in the title role of Figaro, Corrie Stallings as love interest Rosina, David Margulis as the conniving Count Almaviva, Jason Budd as Rosina’s guardian Dr. Bartolo, Frank Ward as the music teacher Don Basilio, and Gillian Hollis as the governess Berta. Stage direction is by Scott Skiba, and Domenico Boyagian conducts the Cleveland Opera Theater orchestra. The production is sung in Italian, with English supertitles. A Pre-Show, Opera-101 lecture will be held 60 minutes prior to each performance. Tickets are available online.

“Barber is a wonderful first opera for people to see,” Boyagian said by telephone this past weekend. “It’s clean humor and the music does a wonderful job of explaining what is going on. It’s light and bubbly, which is what the bel canto style is all about.”  

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir at Maltz PAC (Sept. 23)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The centennial of the armistice that ended World War I has inspired several concerts this fall. The latest of them was “Remembrance: Music of War, Peace & Comfort,” an affecting performance by Cleveland Chamber Choir on the new Silver Hall Series at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. On Sunday, September 23, in an event that was part concert, part memorial service, Scott MacPherson led his 32-voice chorale in a beautifully curated program of music from six centuries that makes a “universal statement about the suffering that war brings to all people, especially the families of loved ones lost.” [Read more…]

Sylvia Berry to join Les Délices in “Mozart in Paris–Part 2”

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Fortepianist Sylvia Berry will headline a series of performances with Les Délices as the period instrument ensemble gets down to business with its tenth-anniversary season. “Mozart in Paris–Part 2” will feature a surprising arrangement of Mozart’s Gran Partita, readings of his strange and humorous letters, and pieces by three of his contemporaries: Boccherini, Schobert, and Cambini.

Northeast Ohioans can catch Les Délices at Akron’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 pm, Lakewood Congregational Church on Saturday, October 6 at 8:00 pm, or Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights on Sunday, October 7 at 4:00 pm — preceded by a talk at 3:00, and followed by a celebration of the ensemble’s anniversary at Edwins. Purchase tickets here.

Anyone with an extra ounce of curiosity is also welcome to drop into some rehearsal time on Wednesday, October 3 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at Herr Chapel, free of charge as part of the LD@Work series.

I reached Sylvia Berry by telephone after she had recently finished moving to a new house in Weymouth, MA — near Boston. That’s hardly a great time to be interviewed, but she was gracious and fun, in addition to being a walking Grove Dictionary of Music.

[Read more…]

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