Young Kyang Yoo Archives - Cleveland Classical

Cleveland Opera Theater opens season with The Barber of Seville

October 2, 2018 by Jarrett Hoffman

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.”

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Cleveland Opera Theater to present Madama Butterfly: a conversation with soprano Dina Kuznetsova

April 24, 2018 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Mike Telin

Based on John Luther Long’s short story from 1898, Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly recounts the story of the young U.S. naval officer B.F. Pinkerton and his arranged marriage with the 15-year-old Japanese geisha Cio-Cio San. Although the premiere in February of 1904 was poorly received, Puccini’s fifth version of the opera, premiered in 1907, has become a mainstay of opera repertoire.

On Friday, April 27 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, April 29 at 3:00 pm at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, Cleveland Opera Theater will present a fully-staged production of Puccini’s heartbreaking opera. Tickets are available online.

“It’s traditional to say that Butterfly is about a clash of cultures, and of course it is — but not only that. It’s about a clash of various kinds of love and expectations,” soprano Dina Kuznetsova, who will perform the role of Cio-Cio San, said during a telephone conversation. The cast includes tenor Timothy Culver as B.F. Pinkerton, mezzo-soprano Sandra Ross as Cio-Cio San’s maid Suzuki, baritone Young Kyang Yoo as United States counsel Sharpless, tenor Mark Eldred as the matchmaker Goro, and bass Jason Budd as Cio-Cio San’s uncle Il Bonzo. Domenico Boyagian conducts the Cleveland Opera Theater Orchestra with stage direction by Scott Skiba. The production will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

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Pianist Yuja Wang creates magic with The Cleveland Orchestra (Nov. 28)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thanksgiving weekend concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra often center around a big-ticket soloist or a popular piece.

This year’s program offers both, thanks to star pianist Yuja Wang and Maurice Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

On Friday November 28, the snow cleared just in time for the crowds to arrive at Severance Music Center for the evening event. Led by conductor Petr Popelka, the resulting concert equally displayed the prowess of Orchestra and soloist over the course of three fascinating works.

György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto stood out in contrast to the lush textures and easy-to-follow melodies of the works that surrounded it. Premiered in 1988, its dissonant and avant-garde music might have come from another world. But both Wang and the Orchestra rose to meet the challenge of its devilishly tricky rhythms with an assured confidence.

[Read on…]

Les Arts Florissants make Vivaldi’s Four Seasons feel fresh and inspired (Nov. 18)

by Stephanie Manning

Performing a work as ubiquitous as Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons requires a delicate balance. At its best, the musicality and intention must be crystal clear, so that the end result feels as fresh as it does familiar. It’s a high bar, but one that Les Arts Florissants cleared with the utmost ease.

On November 18, the renowned French baroque ensemble visited Tuesday Musical to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s famous quartet of violin concertos. Soloist Théotime Langlois de Swarte led the spirited group in the Vivaldi-focused program, which also included works by Marco Uccellini and Claudio Monteverdi. [Read on…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra with violinist David McCarroll in Rocky River (Nov. 23)

by Daniel Hathaway

Let’s cut to the chase and simply say that it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect and moving performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto than the one David McCarroll gave with Daniel Meyer and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra on Sunday afternoon, November 23 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. We’ll come back to that thought.

The straight-through performance preceded the Beethoven with works by Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer and a youngish Aaron Copland.

Brouwer’s engaging and popular The Art of Sailing at Dawn evokes memories of growing up on the Great Lakes. A flute conjures sonic images of gulls, and subtle waves support a lovely oboe solo before the wind kicks up and dark clouds assemble. A storm erupts, but soon passes, leading to a quiet ending. [Read on…]

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