By Myles Ludwig Glorious. At some point in the fifth hour of my three-day trip into the enchanted forests of Artlandia, standing in the aisles of great hall, I sensed a shiver of collective Stendhal syndrome, as if a powerful aesthetic spirit might levitate the Convention Center, drawing it up into the cerulean sky above the city of West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2019
Opera Fusion mounts a delightful ‘Don Pasquale’
By Robert Croan Opera is an expensive enterprise, combining musical requirements (singers, orchestra) with all the trappings of drama (stage director, lighting, sets). South Florida is fortunate to be served by two big-league companies – Miami-based Florida Grand Opera, and Palm Beach Opera in West Palm Beach – as well as a smaller group that operates on a shoestring budget … [Read more...]
One-woman ‘Blonde Poison’ explores Holocaust ambiguity
In searching for plays for Primal Forces’ return to Boca Raton this season, artistic director Keith Garsson wanted to find a Holocaust-themed work, but not the usual downbeat drama in shades of black and white. He has found it in Blonde Poison by Gail Louw, based on the true story of Stella Kubler, who looks back on her younger self in Nazi Germany when she both saved many … [Read more...]
Huang sensational in Mendelssohn at strong ACO concert
It was fitting that in the first concert program after its founder’s passing, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra and a guest soloist could present an evening so full of life and eventful music-making. On Wednesday night at the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, the young American violinist Sirena Huang gave the orchestra and its audience an astoundingly vital reading … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Feb. 15-17, 2019
Film: Major League Baseball culminates each season with the World Series, but to find the true global champion, you have to view the World Baseball Classic, a tournament among 16 national teams, held every four years. Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel chronicles the 2017 Classic where Israel was a surprise contender because of loophole by that country which says that anyone … [Read more...]
‘Les Miz’ still packs a wallop in Kravis touring show
Since the touring production of Les Misérables currently at the Kravis Center’s Dreyfoos Hall was created to celebrate the musical’s 25th anniversary, that means it has been on the road for eight years by now. But you would never know it from the razor-sharp, tight and extremely well-sung performance that opened the weeklog run Tuesday evening. True, the physical … [Read more...]
‘Last Resort’ an engrossing tale of a lost Miami Beach
Among the countless quotable lines from Cocaine Cowboys, director Billy Corben’s influential documentary about the Miami Drug War, is this summary of the population of prewar Miami Beach, from one blunt observer: It consisted of “a lot of old people just sitting on rocking chairs waiting to die.” Corben didn’t linger on the porch sitters much. He cut to the chase, which is … [Read more...]
Pianist’s comedy needs stronger musicianship
There is a healthy tradition of clowning in classical music performance, as could be witnessed just this past Monday in New York when the splendid Chinese pianist Yuja Wang joined the British music-and-comedy duo of Igudesman and Joo for a night of general goofing around at Zankel Hall. Looking back a little bit further, we find compositional satire with Peter Schickele and … [Read more...]
Canada’s Gryphon Trio stellar at Flagler
The Gryphon Trio, a Canadian threesome that played the Flagler Museum music series in 2006, returned Feb. 5 to Whitehall with three works from the Austro-German canon. Violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys and pianist Jamie Parker offered music by Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms, playing the trios in chronological order, with Parker commenting as they went about … [Read more...]
Israel Philharmonic, Levi splendid in Bruckner at Kravis
By Dennis D. Rooney Zubin Mehta, longtime music director of the Israel Philharmonic, was originally scheduled to conduct at the Kravis on Feb. 5, but withdrew due to illness. His place was taken by Yoel Levi, the IPO’s first Israeli music director. A frequent guest conductor in the U. S., Levi, 68, was from 1978 to 1984 at the Cleveland Orchestra, initially as assistant … [Read more...]