By Dennis D. Rooney A concert featuring two young soloists with the Symphonia Boca Raton that took place in the closing days of this year’s Festival of the Arts Boca was themed “Russian Festival,” but might better have been styled “Festival of Extraneous Noises.” The Count de Hoernle Amphitheater is not a congenial environment for the performance of classical music. … [Read more...]
Despite noisy venue, amplification, Chang triumphs at Boca fest
By Dennis D. Rooney Presented as part of Festival of the Arts Boca, now in its 11th season, the March 10 concert featuring violinist Sarah Chang took place in an open-air structure at the north end of Mizner Park that was covered with a plastic tent. I have never found the experience of hearing classical music outdoors to be enjoyable. Its textures and sonorities require … [Read more...]
Semi-staged ‘Bohème’ comes off well at Boca Fest
Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème is one of the most popular operas in the world for a number of reasons, perhaps most importantly its abundance of mellifluous and beautiful Italian late-Romantic melody. But Puccini also was a man of the theater, and he knew how to craft a compelling theatrical package (after all, La Bohème has been staged regularly and frequently since February … [Read more...]
Branford Marsalis, Symphonia get Boca fest off to rousing start
By Dale King The Festival of the Arts Boca opened the musical portion of its 2017 program Friday night on a high note – actually, a number of high, low, harmonious and heraldic tones. The Symphonia Boca Raton, under the able leadership of conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, paid tribute to maestro John Williams with a full-on production of tunes from the Harry Potter films … [Read more...]