Editor’s note: In tandem with the Palm Beach Opera production of The Marriage of Figaro, here is an interesting history of Mozart’s librettist and his connections to the United States. By Rex Hearn Mozart’s librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, became an American citizen at age 79. He and Mozart worked together on three operas — The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787) … [Read more...]
Finally, Charles gets his crown
The years of waiting are over. Charles III will be crowned king on Saturday. One other British monarch, Edward VII, waited 60 years for his chance to be king. Charles waited 73. Their mothers set records: Victoria reigned for 64 years, Queen Elizabeth II for 70. Charles’ coronation will be a grand affair. His high artistic standards have been cultivated over time, and … [Read more...]
The Queen at 96: Happy birthday, Your Majesty. You can retire now.
It’s April 21st, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II turns 96. We wish her a very happy birthday. Last February 6, the queen celebrated 70 years since she ascended to the throne at age 25, the same age as Elizabeth I in 1558, who reigned for 45 years. Elizabeth II’s long reign, now the subject of the Netflix series The Crown, has provided insights and some intimate moments … [Read more...]
Clarinetist, Palm Beach Symphony pay sublime tribute to Mozart
Into this crazed COVID world of variants popping up ad infinitum, there came a sublime evening of music-making given by the Palm Beach Symphony under the leadership of conductor Gerard Schwarz on Dec. 2 at their permanent new home: The Kravis Center. It was dedicated to four works written by Mozart in his last year of life, 1791. Each of the four pieces selected had special … [Read more...]
Dozen young singers make for a beautiful PB Opera Liederabend
Another night when Palm Beach Opera beats the virus with an outdoor song recital. This time the venue was the spacious veranda of the well-groomed National Croquet Center. Twelve singers, six each from the Benenson Young Artist and Apprentice Artist programs, were accompanied by the distinguished pianist Ksenia Leletkina, whose doctorate is from the Eastman School of Music … [Read more...]
Amid happy innovations, PB Opera mounts beautiful ‘Bohème’
The pundits tells us life will be different after the pandemic. By switching to outdoor performances Palm Beach Opera may have stumbled on a panoply of new ideas for its future. Using the iThink Financial Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds, with singers’s voices slightly enhanced, made for a reproductive quality not usually heard in smaller houses. Also, having … [Read more...]
Superb singers make PB Opera’s ‘Flute’ magical amid pandemic
It was different because of COVID: Palm Beach Opera held its season outdoors at the 6,000-seat iThink Financial Anphitheatre at the Fairgrounds (just one mile from the Florida Turnpike at the Southern Boulevard exit). The first of the major American opera companies to bravely adapt to an untested venue, the troupe’s general director, David Walker, thanked the people who made … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Symphony’s Russian finale shows Tebar’s mastery
Ramón Tebar conducts his orchestra like a man fine-tuning a grand piano. Responding to his every command, even the slightest hand gesture, the refined playing of the Palm Beach Symphony in its last concert of the season Thursday night at the Kravis Center was superb. Tebar is proving to be more than a fine orchestra builder. His conducting and orchestral control is … [Read more...]
PB Opera’s Liederabend a fine showcase for standout young singers
If you’re looking for the next Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti or Herman Prey, look no further than the Young Artists of Palm Beach Opera. I heard eight of them sing last March 16 in the lovely Royal Poinciana Chapel meeting room on Palm Beach, in which every seat had been sold. This was the opera troupe’s fifth annual Liederabend — German for “evening of song” — an … [Read more...]
RSNO, brilliant Benedetti make for exceptional night of music
Founded in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra in Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra added the word “National” in 1951 and in 1977, when Queen Elizabeth II became its patron, the word “Royal” took precedence as its prefix. Over the years great conductors have led the orchestra: Sir John Barbirolli, Walter Susskind and George Szell to name three. Its principal … [Read more...]