“What we see is what we see, and what we hear is what we hear,” Robert Wilson said on March 27, the second night of the three-night Campbell Lecture Series at Rice University. I know Wilson first as the director… Continue Reading
Some might say that opera is a dying art, but when Stephanie Helms thinks of Opera in the Heights, she sees a young, uncommon life form. As OH’s new executive director, Helms intends to engage the community more than… Continue Reading
My thoughts on Houston Grand Opera’s world premiere, A Coffin in Egypt, at Houstonia Magazine.
Whose voice do you hear singing “Send in the Clowns?” It has to be Barbra Streisand, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s the more classic Judy Collins or Frank Sinatra. Perhaps the original takes the cake, Glynis Johns? The flashier Judi Dench… Continue Reading
“There is only one Self. That Self is Light. The Self is ageless.” Robert Ashley died yesterday, March 3, at his home in New York. Articles popping up about it emphasize that Ashley was underappreciated and misunderstood. I had not… Continue Reading
Need an opera fix between productions at Houston Grand Opera and Opera in the Heights? Do you have five hours and a good internet connection? Generously, Théâtre du Châtelet’s production of Philip Glass’, Robert Wilson’s, and Lucinda Childs’ Einstein on… Continue Reading
What does Mozart’s 1787 Don Giovanni look like in 1960? Sure, a lot of opera productions don’t stick to the period in which an opera was actually written. But Opera in the Heights’ Don Giovanni embraces 1960 from the… Continue Reading
Verdi’s Rigoletto is built to be great. Love, revenge, and murder supported by an expert score that anticipates every nuance on stage makes this opera not only beloved, but practically fool-proof. Houston Grand Opera’s Rigoletto, a co-production with The… Continue Reading
A beautiful thing is not always easy to watch. Houston Grand Opera opens the new year with the American premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s The Passenger –a story that moves from a pristine ocean liner to an austere scene in Auschwitz.… Continue Reading
Although I should expect it by now, the voice in Robert Ashley’s compositions always catches me unaware and unprepared. Last week, I took a quick trip to New York to hear his latest work at Roulette on Wednesday, December 11.… Continue Reading