Younis Raza – Page 43 – Repeat Performances

March 25, 2011

Castleton Opera at Zellerbach

The brutal and the ridiculous—as art. It is seldom possible to view works of art in context. We need to allow for the mores and prejudices of their time. That was painfully apparent at Zellerbach Hall last weekend, where the denigration of women was the context, if not the heart, of the Castleton Opera Project. Thursday and Friday they mounted The Rape of Lucretia,...

Categories: opera

March 4, 2011

Lucia di Lammermoor at Metropolitan Opera

A night at the Met: murder, madness and popcorn. The promise of technology is fickle, intersecting our lives in ways that can be devastating or impersonal. But occasionally that promise comes through, and our world makes small changes for the better. Two years ago the Metropolitan Opera started an experiment in simulcasts, and it has taken off like wildfire. Now thousands of movie theaters around the world are...

Categories: opera

February 26, 2011

Vienna Philharmonic at Zellerbach

Powerful—and anachronistic The Vienna Philharmonic came to Zellerbach Hall for three days in an unprecedented residency February 25 – 27. These were old-school Austrians with names like Johannes, as in Johannes Brahms, or Johann, as in Strauss or Bach. And there were seven Wolfgangs, as in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Their recordings are masterful, but in their group picture there are only three women and no people of color among a hundred and thirty...

Categories: music

February 23, 2011

Vienna Philharmonic comes to Berkeley

A taste of European mastery Cal Performances, under...

Categories: music

February 20, 2011

Sidney Outlaw recital in SF

Stirring program at Temple Emanu-El A remarkable young man came to San Francisco Sunday evening for the West Coast Premiere of A Time to Break Silence, a song cycle inspired by the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., and composed by Juilliard’s Wayne Oquin. Part of a long-running series of recitals for singers who have been associated with the SF Opera’s Merola and Adler programs, baritone Sidney...

Categories: music

February 7, 2011

Earplay at Herbst

Contemporary ensemble, timeless music Earplay, an ensemble dedicated to new music, opened their 26th season Monday evening, February 7, at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre. “Sound Science” proved to be an entertaining and noteworthy concert, with two of the four composers on hand to comment on their works. British composer Jonathan Harvey and American icon George...

Categories: music