| Date and venue | Title | Submitted by |
|---|---|---|
| 25-May-2013 Walt Disney Concert Hall | Alden's Marriage of Figaro at the LA Phil leaves out Da Ponte | Matthew Richard Martinez |
Even Emperor Josef II would have thought this was a bad idea. The real-life monarch depicted in Peter Shaffer’s fictional play Amadeus quite memorably forbade ballet in his court operas. But the absurdity of the dancers carrying on with no music playing in Mozart’s Act III convinced the Emperor that he was in the wrong. It’s too bad that stage director Christopher Alden wasn’t able to arrive at the same conclusion after hearing Mozart’s ballet music with no ballet dancing.
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| 16-Mar-2013 Barbican Centre: Hall | The Gospel according to Peter Sellars: The LA Phil bring a European première to the Barbican | Paul Kilbey |
Have you heard the good news? The Los Angeles Philharmonic have recently formed a partnership with the Barbican, and they were strutting their impressive stuff in London last week for their first International Associate Residency. Also: Christ died for our sins and was reborn.
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| 30-Aug-2012 Hollywood Bowl | Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos' crushing Carmina Burana at the Hollywood Bowl | Ted Ayala |
What a stark contrast between the visual and the aural at last Thursday’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl. On stage was the 79-year-old conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, appearing frail as he shuffled towards the podium; the gauntness of his features accentuated by his suit which hung loosely from his frame.Read full review... | ||
| 12-Aug-2012 Hollywood Bowl | Verdi's Rigoletto at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil and Dudamel | Ted Ayala |
A mid-19th-century Italian opera with the sound of the human voice front-and-center, and seemingly dependent on the trappings of the theater. If we want to keep the program conservative why not go with an opera by Mozart, Bizet, Wagner, or Weber instead? All of them used the orchestra with greater freedom and independence than we associate with Italian composers, many of whom composed for the orchestra as if it were little more than a giant guitar. Or so you would think.
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| 31-May-2012 Walt Disney Concert Hall | World première of Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary in LA | Ted Ayala |
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, brought its season to a close with a world premiere of an oratorio the orchestra commissioned from one of today’s greatest living composers. On paper the alignment of the LAPO, Dudamel, and John Adams appeared to augur well for a memorable close to a season abounding in memorable music-making. In its own way—or despite itself—the composer's The Gospel According to the Other Mary proved memorable indeed, but for reasons perhaps not intended by its creators.Read full review... | ||