Music

Simone Dinnerstein and Pam Tanowitz Dance

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Dancers around piano

This was an interesting concert, with the grand piano in the middle of the Moore Theater stage, dancers all around.

It started with the quiet opening, in the dark, then a faint light shows up on the pianist’s hands, slowly lighting up the stage. Then the dancer’s started moving, turning to the left, then the right.

It was a clever and beautiful piece, with the dancers moving to the music, modern dance. The sound was quiet, so we could hear them thump and swish on the stage. Sometimes too quiet, as some of the variations are slow and like a lullaby. But then a fast variation would come on, and the dancers would leap.

Hope Backstage article

Program NotesDownload

Tales of Hoffmann

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Tales of HoffmannIt is always impressive to see a full blown opera in our small town, at the aptly-named Lebanon Opera House in this case.

I tried to read to read the synopsis from the program, but didn’t really understand.  Fortunately it wasn’t too important, and the story became clearer as it unfolded.  The prologe and epilogue framed three independent acts focussing on a past love of the German poet Hoffmann.

The singing was beautiful, with the duets and trios in particular as highlights.  Even though I was sitting right next to the orchestra (on the front left side of the theater), the voices were strong and clear.  All the leads were great singers, and the campy villain was quite amusing, especially as Doctor Miracle in the second act.

An unusual touch was the admonition by Evans Haile before the start for the audience to shut of their cell phones of course, but also to unwrap their lozenges before the show started.  He had a good point, as the elderly crowd is wont to do that (and I can attest from the many chamber music concerts that I go to).

Valley News review

Rutland Herald review

Opera North Summer 2019 programDownload

Sally Pinkas Spring 2018

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From Aleppo to Manila: Music of War and Love

Stage set up as a Manila salon

A very sparse auditorium greeted Sally Pinkas for her spring concert.  I heard someone say only 90 seats sold. It really seemed like the wrong venue for the show.

The first piece was a modern one by a Syrian composer Kareem Roustom.  I liked the first and fifth movements in particular.  The second piece was a modern sonata by Frank Bridge that I sat through – sigh.

For the second half, rugs and chairs had been set up on the stage.  Sally wanted to recreate the feeling of a salon in turn of the century Manila, where there was a thriving arts culture.  She invited the audience to come up and sit around her, and so I did, on the yellow sofa just to her left.  This half of the program was really delightful.  It was a series of short melodic pieces by Filipino composers.  They are not in Spotify by the way.

Program notes

Hop Backstage article

Dartmouth Idol Finals 2018

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Dartmouth Idol is always a fun event, and this year proved true.  There were 6 strong finalist singers, with a great support from the band and backup chorus.

My favorite was Hanover local Kate Budney, veteran of many shows at Hanover High.  She sang very well with her solo Turn the Beat Around, even though her video intro had no sound.  For the duet, she was unfortunately paired with a much weaker Idol semi-finalist.

Eni Oyeleye is a bass, which is not your typical Idol performer.  His low voice and and first song was beautiful, with a good video to go along – Seriously.  But I think he clinched it with the second half with a fun mix of bass songs that had the crowd rocking.  He did end up winning, which wasn’t a surprise.

A lot was made of Soomin having a classical background, but she did just fine.

The show did not have as much Walt stuff as previous years, but still too much.  We don’t really need his asides during the show.

The judges were all past Idol contestants. I remembered Jimmy Ragan in particular. Judge Deby seemed completely random in her remarks.

Voting was by texting a value to a special number, so the results came in very quickly. Winner Eni, Caroline in second, and Soomin in third.

Dartmouth Idol Finals 2018 program

Video of show

Dartmouth News article

La Bohème

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Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi
Sonya Yoncheva as Mimi

Impressively stage crowd scene in Act II

This was a reprise of the live broadcast from the Met on the previous day.  I thought there would be better seating today at Spaulding, and I was right.  In fact there were so few people it could have been at Loews.  Maybe they were expecting a big turnout?

I hadn’t ever seen this famous opera, so I thought I should take advantage of this handy opportunity.

The things I didn’t like.  As it wasn’t live, I didn’t see the need for all the blather.  The whole show took about 3.5 hours, but the actual opera was maybe 2 hours.  There was a 15-minute intro, and 2 half-hour intermissions.  But as it was a repeat, did we need all that stuff?  I really dislike interviews with the cast midstream.  It detracts from the show.  I did like seeing them move the set though – quite impressive.

The things I did like.  The opera itself was wonderful, with a great cast, and beautiful singing.  It brought tears to my eyes on many occasions. It was entirely sung, and all the characters were strong.  Mimi and Rodolfo were both excellent.  The staging and set were great.  In fact that had been another draw, as the set was done by Franco Zeffirelli, and I learned recently that he had done the first production when then Met opened.

La Bohème program