Archive: festivals
A Garland for Blanche's 100th
Saluting Blanche Moyse, the extraordinary Bach conductor, on her 100th birthday.
By Anne Midgette | September 23, 2009; 11:26 AM ET | Comments (2)
Short Circuits
The Sonic Circuits festival starts tonight, showcasing experimental and avant-garde music from around the world in concerts all over the Washington area, from clubs to concert halls.
By Anne Midgette | September 22, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Snapshots from Germany
A roundup from Germany: "Moses und Aron" opens Willy Decker's first season at the Ruhr Triennale; Christof Loy's "Louise" leads a critic's poll of best German stagings last season; and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra comes under scrutiny from government accountants who say it costs too much. Also: the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall is open for business.
By Anne Midgette | August 31, 2009; 07:15 AM ET | Comments (4)
Estival Festivals: VI. Bayreuth
The Bayreuth Festival ends tonight, after this week's announcement that the festival will start issuing DVDs of its productions, in a new partnership with Opus Arte, in November. Also: A Bayreuth competition on Wagneropera.net.
By Anne Midgette | August 28, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
MaestroCam
A fine extra feature on the website of the BBC Proms provides specific commentary about selected conductors: check out Maestrocam.
By Anne Midgette | August 24, 2009; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (3)
Opera as Drivel
"The Letter" raised the question from a friend about how important the content, or libretto, of an opera is to the finished product. (Hint: It's the music.)
By Anne Midgette | August 13, 2009; 06:36 AM ET | Comments (30)
Estival Festivals: V. Salzburg
The Salzburg Festival opened last weekend; today, it offers a live broadcast (via the Web) of its new "Cosi fan tutte," which will remain up for 7 more days.
By Anne Midgette | July 30, 2009; 12:10 PM ET | Comments (0)
Bay(reuth)watch
The Bayreuth Festival manages to open on schedule with an old "Tristan" and a new children's version of "Flying Dutchman." See it live on the Internet -- for a price -- on August 9.
By Anne Midgette | July 28, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (1)
Estival Festivals: IV. Santa Fe
Links to my review of the Santa Fe opera and Mark J. Estren's review of Monteverdi's "Ritorno d'Ulisse" at Wolf Trap. Plus a question: what makes people jettison their usual standards of drama when it comes to opera?
By Anne Midgette | July 27, 2009; 06:32 AM ET | Comments (7)
Estival Festivals: East Coast, West Coast
This past weekend at two American festivals: Music@Menlo in California, and Caramoor (specifically, Bel Canto at Caramoor) in the New York suburbs.
By Anne Midgette | July 22, 2009; 08:34 AM ET | Comments (0)
In Performance: Castleton Finale
Joan Reinthaler reviews the final orchestral concert of the Castleton Festival.
By Anne Midgette | July 21, 2009; 06:32 AM ET | Comments (0)
In Performance: Opera at Baltimore's Artscape
Charles T. Downey looks in on the American Opera Theater at Baltimore's Artscape.
By Anne Midgette | July 21, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: III. Baden-Baden
Anna Netrebko and Tchaikovsky's "Iolanthe" in Baden-Baden draw warm praise from one German critic.
By Anne Midgette | July 20, 2009; 06:49 AM ET | Comments (0)
In Performance: Apollo Tribute; Gala Benefit for WEMF
A link to Joan Reinthaler's review of the Kennedy Center's commemorative Apollo concert; Charles T. Downey reviews a benefit concert for the 2010 Washington Early Music Festival, which brings together eight local groups.
By Anne Midgette | July 20, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: Song of the South
A look at festival events this coming weekend in the DC area.
By Anne Midgette | July 17, 2009; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (1)
In Performance: Bach Festival Finale
Joe Banno reviews a reconstruction of a Bach organ program played by Mendelssohn in 1840, the final concert of the Grace Church Bach Festival.
By Anne Midgette | July 15, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: II. Views from the U.K.
Coverage of current festivals in the U.K.
By Anne Midgette | July 14, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: News Break
Bayreuth's technical staff threatens to strike, negotiates today with the festival administration; and Lorin Maazel announces the Castleton Festival's dates for 2010.
By Anne Midgette | July 13, 2009; 01:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: I. The Munich Opera Festival
Summer Festivals: the Munich Opera Festival under Kent Nagano, and links to reviews of its new "Lohengrin" with Jonas Kaufmann.
By Anne Midgette | July 10, 2009; 06:44 AM ET | Comments (3)
In Performance: Bach Festival Continues
Cecelia Porter reviews a performance of the Goldberg Variations as arranged for string trio.
By Anne Midgette | July 9, 2009; 11:03 AM ET | Comments (0)
Estival Festivals: An Introduction
Summer festival season is upon us: introducing a seasonal feature of festival coverage from around the world.
By Anne Midgette | July 9, 2009; 06:28 AM ET | Comments (3)
In Performance: Bach Festival opens
Joan Reinthaler reviews the opening of the Grace Church Bach Festival, a concert that included the "Coffee Cantata."
By Anne Midgette | July 7, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
King of the Castleton
Returning to Maazel, since he's returning to us: the Castleton Festival opens tonight, a spate of Britten opera performances, recitals, and orchestral concerts on the conductor's estate in Rappahannock County, Virginia, 1.5 hours (or so) from DC.
By Anne Midgette | July 3, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
In Performance: National Philharmonic Chorale
Cecelia Porter reviews the National Chorale in Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil.
By Anne Midgette | June 15, 2009; 06:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
In Performance: Local Reviews
Reviews of Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony; Joan Tower at the Crosscurrents festival; and Sasha Cooke at the Austrian Embassy.
By Anne Midgette | May 6, 2009; 06:34 AM ET | Comments (2)
In Performance: Local News and Reviews
Last night at the NSO; the start of the Crosscurrents festival. From today's Washington Post.
By Anne Midgette | May 1, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (4)
Opera Notes: New Opera for Baltimore?
Since the demise of the Baltimore Opera, other companies have been springing up to fill the gap. Now, Giorgio Lalov, who has for 20+ years run the touring outfit Teatro Lirico d'Europa, is attempting to create a permanent home for cut-rate opera in Baltimore.
By Anne Midgette | April 28, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
