When producing a new Monteverdi “L’Orfeo” Premiering at Opera Santa Fe on July 29th, something about it might sound a little odd. Sure, there will be the usual Orfeo, in this case the tenor Rolando Villazon, and a familiar catwalk scene at the conductor Harry Beckett. If the staging by Yuval Sharon, one of the … Read more
The Malaysian government suspended a music festival in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday, a day after the frontman of British pop rock band The 1975 kissed a fellow band member and criticized the country’s anti-gay laws. “There will be no compromise against any party that defies, despises and violates Malaysian laws,” Fahmi Fadil, Malaysia’s … Read more
“Don’t walk around much anymore.” (1967) Bennett considered Count Basie and Duke Ellington the two greatest conductors he had ever heard, and with the great Milt Hinton on bass and regular Joe Newman Basie on trumpet, he swung easily and cheerfully on Ellington’s jazz standard. Bennett had something close to awe of the great jazz … Read more
Mr. Donato began leading his own groups in the early 1950s while also working as a sideman. He played the accordion on Luiz Bonfa’s debut album, released in 1955, as part of a studio band that also included Antonio Carlos Jobim. Mr. Jobim produced Mr. Donato’s debut album, “Chá Dançante” (1956), and Mr. Donato wrote … Read more
The new video for country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” takes place outside a Tennessee courthouse where an 18-year-old black man is attacked and lynched by a mob. Mr. Aldean came under fire after posting the video, which included violent news footage of looting and unrest during protests in American … Read more
Was there ever a more likable, pure pop character than Tony Bennett? Throughout his career beginning in the 1940s, Bennett, who died Friday at the age of 96, has maintained one mission, amiable and consistent. Never chase trends. He wasn’t defensive either. Instead, he’s allowed listeners—and, in recent decades, much younger duet partners—to come to … Read more
Oprah’s fanbase is often built around a preoccupation—enthusiastic, provincial, outspoken—with distinctive voices. Maria Callas, Rene Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Luciano Pavarotti – all of them are instantly recognizable by the bell alone. It is no coincidence that all of these singers have been outstanding recording artists. Teatro Nouveau, the brainchild of bel canto specialist Will Crutchfield, … Read more
dear listeners, A long-awaited day has finally arrived: the cinematic collision of matter and antimatter exemplified by summer’s two biggest and perhaps most thematically disparate films, opening on the same date. To everyone who celebrates, very happy Barpenheimer for you. Talking about “Barbies” and “Oppenheimers” runs the risk of relying on lazy stereotypes about the … Read more
In the 1950s, Mr. Bennett toured for the first time, played Las Vegas for the first time and married for the first time, to Patricia Beach, a cheerleader who watched him perform in Cleveland. The marriage was established in the 1960s, swamped by Mr. Bennett’s perpetual touring, but their two sons would end up playing … Read more
It’s no wonder, then, that the most expressive element of “Here Lies Love” (along with Clint Ramos’ costumes, which also move beautifully) is the choreography by Annie-B Parson. Based on small hand gestures and large traffic patterns, it suggests a fuller range of human participation than mechanical production and narrow focus sometimes achieve. Is it … Read more