Thirteen young singers in two divisions have been named finalists in the 41st annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. The singers will perform Sunday afternoon in the Grand Finals concert at the Kravis Center. The competition began this week with 47 semi-finalists selected from an initial field of 259. The finalists will be vying for a total of $78,000 in donated prize … [Read more...]
PBO’s ‘Carmen’ alive to characters’ humanity, theatrical savvy
It’s tough to bring something new to a work as well-known as Carmen, but the current Palm Beach Opera production of Georges Bizet’s classic, if not groundbreaking, fills out the opera’s promise with just plain good theater. On Friday night, a stellar lead and a strong supporting cast, plus smart, interesting directing choices made this production, the last in the company’s … [Read more...]
PB Opera cast, conductor see continued vitality in ‘Carmen’
The young Frenchman Jean-Luc Tingaud is the associate conductor at the venerable Opéra-Comique in Paris, the same theater (though not the same building) where the opera Carmen premiered in March of 1875. Three months later, Carmen’s composer, Georges Bizet, died of runaway strep throat at the tragically young age of 36. Tingaud says the theater still has the original … [Read more...]
Sarasota Opera’s ‘Giovanna’ revealed Verdi gem
The Sarasota Opera likes to say that no other company in the world will have completed a Verdi cycle – a complete survey of all the composer’s stage works -- when it comes to an end in 2013 on the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s birth. The company’s just-ended production of Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc) was the 29th opera in the cycle, and its boast of exclusivity is a strong … [Read more...]
Mustafa jazz fest still going strong
South Florida has not lacked for jazz festivals over the years, but the road to musical fulfillment for local fans of this great art form has been rocky. Consider the once-promising Riviera Beach Jazz and Blues Festival, which from 2002 to 2008 drew people from around the Southeast before getting away from its simple musical formula and falling victim to financial … [Read more...]
Norton’s contemporary art deserves its own space
The Norton Museum has an expanding collection of contemporary art, and, like many museums that evolve and grow from their initial purpose, it does not have a permanent exhibit space for it. Although significant, it would be difficult to justify replacing any of Ralph and Elizabeth Norton’s original collection, or changing the focus of current gallery space, and the museum … [Read more...]
Second cast excellent in PB Opera’s original, stimulating ‘Giovanni’
Like it or not, the cutting edge of European set and stage design came hurtling into Palm Beach Opera for its production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Stefano Poda’s creation arrived simultaneously with a cold blast of fresh air. It is visually stimulating and wholly original. The company took a chance on hiring this gifted young Italian director, 39, whose splendid costumes … [Read more...]
PB Opera’s bold, radical ‘Giovanni’ stumbles without statue
s Chekhov’s rule in theater was this: If you’ve got a gun on stage, you’re going to have to fire it at some point. By the same token, if you promise people a monster, you’re going to have to show it. But the Palm Beach Opera’s new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, which opened Friday night at the Kravis Center, dispenses with the climactic theatrical device of the opera … [Read more...]
Norton names new director; FAU sets Haiti relief concert
Norton names new executive director After a nearly year-long nationwide search, the Norton Museum of Art’s board of directors has named Hope Alswang executive director of the West Palm Beach museum. Alswang succeeds Christina Orr-Cahall, who left in May 2009 to become executive director of the Experience Music Project (EMP) Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in … [Read more...]
FGO’s ‘Lucia’ has good lead, iffy concept
Florida Grand Opera’s current production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor has reimagined this opera in a way that falls short of success, but fortunately it does have a soprano in the lead role whose singing is strong enough to carry the heavy lifting of the Mad Scene and much else besides. Eglise Gutiérrez, a Cuban-born soprano now resident in Philadelphia, has … [Read more...]