Younis Raza – Page 5 – Repeat Performances

February 4, 2018

Circa at Cal Performances

Defying genres and gravity Thirteen performers cast a spell of darkness and dislocation last Saturday at Zellerbach Hall, where Cal Performances invited a group to do what they called “blurring boundaries.” Defying the usual artistic genres, Circa, an Australian circus troupe, joined forces with two opera singers, director Yaron Lifschitz and composer Quincy Grant to reinvent Claudio Monteverdi’s early opera, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. Written in 1639, and based...

Categories: dance, opera

February 1, 2018

Berkeley Symphony explores French themes

Wandering towards musical truths Last Thursday, Feb 1, the Berkeley Symphony was led by guest conductor Keitaro Harada in a concert of French themes and composers. Beginning with the luminous visions of Fauré and ending with the stormy emotions of Berlioz, this was a concert of potent themes, but it wasn’t entirely successful. After their regular conductor Joana Carneiro announced that she was pregnant again and could not travel to Berkeley from her home in Lisbon, the orchestra...

Categories: music

January 19, 2018

Two one-act operas in Alameda

A wintry beauty… In a surprisingly polished pair of performances, Island City Opera, Alameda’s resident opera company, opened two one-act operas by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov last Friday, Jan. 19. While known for his powerful use of orchestral color and deep sympathy for native Russian folk themes, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote these two operas in very different styles. Mozart and Salieri, composed to a libretto by Alexander Pushkin, offered the idea that the composer Salieri...

Categories: opera

December 15, 2017

Kitka brings “Wintersongs” to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Oakland

Weaving a mid-winter spell Creating deep harmonies in the long nights of December, Kitka brought its Wintersongs concert to the Bay Area this past week. Although it makes its home in Oakland, this women’s vocal group is internationally famous for its explorations of the music of Eastern Europe and Georgia, and they have been creating fresh arrangements based on ancient scales for the last 39 years. Friday night’s program, Dec. 15, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland,...

Categories: music

December 7, 2017

Gemma New leads Berkeley Symphony in triumphant “Totentanz”

When the stars are aligned Great music, incisive conducting, fabulous soloist, enthusiastic musicians… yes, the stars aligned last Thursday night at Zellerbach Hall, where guest conductor Gemma New led pianist Conrad Tao and the Berkeley Symphony in an evening to savor. [caption id="attachment_1578" align="alignright" width="291"]...

Categories: music

December 4, 2017

Replacing Bruno: Santa Rosa Symphony tries out new conductors

Choices, choices: a job interview in the North Bay The Santa Rosa Symphony is in the middle of an exciting journey as they change artistic directors. Bruno Ferrandis, their beloved conductor, is stepping down and returning to France after eleven years at the helm. He balanced an electric tautness with depth of feeling, and the orchestra will surely miss him. But this year Sonoma audiences get to hear five different conductors strut their stuff, and they are even encouraged to offer...

Categories: music