By Robert Croan The turbulent life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-54) reads like a secular passion play about a troubled human being who suffered poverty, childhood polio and a horrific tram accident that left her in lifelong pain. In her paintings, Kahlo depicted herself as an anguished Madonna. No less important in her life, however, were her political views (a … [Read more...]
Soprano Jones stands out in Wolf songs at FGO Liederabend
By Robert Croan Lied is the German word for song (plural: Lieder). A Liederabend is an evening of German songs, usually the songs of the great 19th and early 20th-century composers – among them Beethoven, Schubert, Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf. Their songs were the popular music of their time, at first rooted in folksong but eventually expanding in scope to encompass … [Read more...]
Soprano Caballero subs beautifully as Mimi in FGO’s fine ‘Bohème’
By Robert Croan When the rock musical Rent opened on Broadway in 1996, the point of reference for many viewers was Giacomo Puccini’s opera – premiered a century earlier – La Bohème. Jonathan Larson’s musical was an updated version of the opera’s libretto, though with entirely new music. Fast forward two decades: at the Nov. 15 performance of Puccini’s La Bohème in the … [Read more...]