Younis Raza

June 23, 2017

MTT and SF Symphony in “Music for a Modern Age.”

A spectacle! A spectacle! Michael Tilson Thomas and the SF Symphony put on a grand show last Friday, June 23, that went considerably beyond inventive and at times approached genius. Billed as “Music for a Modern Age,” the program opened with Charles Ives’ 1908 musings on tonality and life, and then ended with George Antheil’s 1925 in-your-face Jazz Symphony. In between were the West Coast Premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’ own...

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Categories: music

June 6, 2017

A sturdy Rigoletto at SF Opera

Cursed jesters and slippery Dukes Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto was unexpectedly crowd pleasing last Tuesday, June 6, at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House. Nicola Luisotti led the SF Opera in a careful production that emphasized the beauty of the craft rather than dwelling too deeply on the menacing action. But that was only a little surprising. Patrons strolled out wreathed with smiles after an evening of rape and murder, rather than...

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Categories: opera

June 3, 2017

West Bay Opera’s “Salome”

A Femme very Fatale in Palo Alto West Bay Opera took a dangerous concept and ran with it this past Saturday, June 3, at the Lucie Stern Theater in Palo Alto. Salome, the opera by Richard Strauss based on the play by Oscar Wilde, was loosely derived from a cautionary Biblical tale of debauchery, politics and the death of a saint. Conductor José Luis Moscovich and Director Ragnar Conde joined forces together with Mexico City’s Escenia Ensamble for...

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Categories: opera

May 26, 2017

Opera Parallèle’s “Les Enfants Terribles”

A compelling descent. Last Friday, May 26, Opera Parallèle explored the complex relationship between a brother and sister for a sold-out crowd at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Philip Glass’ opera, Les Enfants Terribles, was one long downward spiral of symbolism and obsession based on the poetry of Jean Cocteau and impelled by three pianos pounding away at a minimalist score. Cocteau wrote his story of destructive love in the...

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Categories: opera

May 19, 2017

The Oakland Symphony in “Guys and Dolls”

Slam dunk! The Oakland Symphony finished their season in style last Friday, May 19, at the Paramount Theater with a concert version of Guys and Dolls, a musical by Frank Loesser that premiered in 1950. Although unstaged and heavily cut, this was an opportunity to hear the music in all its sparkle and lushness, neither confined by the pit nor upstaged by costumes or clever dialogue. (And one must add that the choir did manage full costumes and the...

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Categories: music