Category: Michelle DeYoung

  • * Notes * This week Michael Tilson Thomas conducts San Francisco Symphony (pictured left) in a program of Liszt and Bartók. The opening performance began with Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. Jeremy Denk played fluidly, but with clear articulation. Both Denk and the orchestra could sound blustery or playful as the music required. The staged version…

  • * Notes * Last weekend Jonathan Nott (pictured left, photograph by Thomas Müller) conducted Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The concert started with the former, the soloist being Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who played with clarity. The orchestra sounded neat and together. Schoenberg's music tends to…

  • * Notes * John Adams is conducting his nativity oratorio El Niño at San Francisco Symphony this week as part of Project San Francisco. The work was modestly staged, with direction from Kevin Newbury, set from Daniel Hubp, costumes from Paul Carey, and lighting from Kirk Bookman. The most charming bit might have been the…

  • * Notes * The first cycle of LA Opera’s Ring Festival concluded with Götterdämmerung last night. James Conlon kept the orchestra at a controlled pace, and the volume was never overwhelming. The brass was not terribly secure, even sounding chaotic at times. The horn calls were respectable, albeit very careful and slow. The chorus sounded lovely…

  • * Notes * Los Angeles Opera's first Ring cycle began with Das Rheingold last night. James Conlon had the orchestra sounding cohesive and supportive, though the musicians and singers were not always perfectly together. There were a few sour notes from the brass, but for the most part the playing was not bad. The voices of…

  • * Notes * San Francisco Symphony's Schubert/Berg Festival, entitled Dawn to Twilight, began yesterday evening with a performance of the Schubert's Rosamunde Overture. The playing was sloppy, and the entrance of the winds was rather poor. The brass sounded brash, as usual. Things picked up with Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder, as the soloist, mezzo-soprano Michelle…

  • June 11-13 2009: Le Nozze di Figaro June 25- 27 2009: Don Carlo July 9-11 2009: Ainadamar July 23-31 2009: Carmen Cincinnati Opera’s 2009 season includes Michelle DeYoung singing Princess Eboli in Don Carlo, Dawn Upshaw as Margarita Xirgu in Ainadamar, and William Burden as Don José in Carmen. Cincinnati Opera Official Site | 2009…