The ASO's performance of Prokofiev’s "Romeo and Juliet" was a tour de force. (Photos by Jeff Roffman) JANUARY 10, 2020 Numerous works have been derived from William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. It’s the timeless and provocative story of two star-crossed lovers in Verona, unable to overcome the powerful divide between their families. “Heavy and light, [...]

DECEMBER 26, 2019 It’s a period of transition for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as it launches a high-profile search for music director Robert Spano’s successor and considers several of this season’s guest conductors as his potential replacement. The year also marked several stellar productions by The Atlanta Opera and recitals at the Schwartz Center for [...]

GIOACHINO ROSSINI’S LA CENERENTOLA was last seen in Atlanta in 2008, when the inimitable Jennifer Larmore starred as Angelina. Like Cinderella’s transformation before the ball, the Atlanta Opera has experienced a metamorphosis in the interim, offering contemporary works alongside the warhorses, hiring rousing singers, and mounting eye-catching productions. Now celebrating its fortieth season, the Atlanta Opera opened [...]

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster David Coucheron played strong lines on the Shostakovich piece. (Photo courtesy Atlanta Symphony Orchestra) NOVEMBER 12, 2019 Despite the claim of composer Dmitri Shostakovich that his final symphony contained no extra-musical meaning, doubt remains. Post-glasnost realizations make it more likely that his Symphony No. 15, which premiered in 1972, encompasses programmatic significance [...]

Dale Travis, center, as Don Magnifico, flanked by Elizabeth Sarian as Tisbe (left) and Bryn Holdsworth as Clorinda (Photos by Raftermen Photography) NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Everyone loves a good fairy tale. They’re relatable, tapping into deeply human themes like true love, heroism and justice. But there’s always an element of enchantment underlying a good fairy [...]

Ricardo Herrera and Catalina Cuervo depict the torrid marriage between Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. (Photos by Rafterman Photography) Mexican painter Frida Kahlo didn’t know that her art was surrealistic until the French poet André Breton told her. In Breton’s estimation, whether it was a self-portrait or a collection of images within What the Water Gave [...]

In 1996 Deutsche Grammophon released an album called, “Honey and Rue” featuring soprano Kathleen Battle, then at the summit of her career.  I purchased it at an independent record store during the final year of my undergraduate vocal studies at a small, southern college.  I can still remember the CD cover.  Kathleen Battle, sporting a [...]

ATLANTA OPERA capped its thirty-ninth season with Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata, presented at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in a lavish co-production with Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival and Indiana University (seen May 3). A triumvirate of important artists—director Francesca Zambello and designers Peter Davison and Jess Goldstein—collaborated to reimagine Violetta Valéry’s tragic [...]

Michael Mayes and Jamie Barton in AO’s Dead Man  © Jeff Roffman ATLANTA OPERA continued its 2018–19 season with Dead Man Walking, the adaptation by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally of Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir recounting her prison ministry at the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana in the early 1980s. On February 2, with both the composer and [...]

Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens performed at the Schwartz Center on March 22. MARCH 25, 2019 Atlanta is a city that attracts international artists. They visit us frequently, charming and edifying us with their artistry before moving on to the next city. But sometimes Atlanta is home base for these A-list musicians, as is the case for [...]