In recent years, Cincinnati Opera has kicked off its season with a free concert in Washington Park, OTR
Passing on this notice regarding tonight’s outdoor opera concert in Washington Park:
Due to the ongoing threat of inclement weather, and out of concern for the safety of our audience, artists, crew members, and staff, the outdoor Opera in the Park concert scheduled for Sunday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. has been canceled.
The CSO Brass Institute performance will go on as scheduled at 6:00 p.m. but will take place indoors at First Lutheran Church located adjacent to Washington Park at 1208 Race Street.
This is always a busy time of year for Cincinnati’s classical music organizations. I’ve heard some extraordinary concerts between covering the concerts of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (you can find CSO, May Festival, Cincinnati Opera and other reviews here).
Here are a few of my impressions of some other shows, including the debut of a new piano quartet, a stunning piano duo recital and a world premiere at concert:nova:
Linton Chamber Music series, April 24: Besides the piano trio literature, piano quartets are among my favorite genres. So I couldn’t wait to hear the debut of a new ensemble at the Linton Music Series, the Espressivo! Piano Quartet.
Its anchors are the indefatigable Jaime Laredo (violin) and Sharon Robinson (cello), who also serve as co-artistic directors. Rounding out the quartet are pianist Anna Polonsky and violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, both superb artists.
In the wake the death of the esteemed pianist Joseph Kalichstein, who died in March 2022 at age 76, Laredo and Robinson did not want to revisit the piano trio literature that they shared for decades with their extraordinary pianist, “Yossi.” I’m so glad that they have decided to explore the quartets. The “Encore” concert I heard at Congregation Beth Adam was deeply rewarding.Read More »
Baritone Elliot Madore performing at Memorial Hall on Sunday/ Photos provided by Gayna Bassin
When soprano Valerie Eickhoff canceled her debut with Matinée Musicale on about three days notice last week due to illness, it was sheer luck that another singer was available to step in. And conveniently, he lives in Cincinnati. Baritone Elliot Madore wowed the audience on Sunday evening in Memorial Hall with a wide-ranging program that opened with the Liederkreis Op. 39 by Schumann and ended with Rogers and Hammerstein’s “My Boy Bill.”
Madore is a star who is busy singing in opera houses around the world while he is also teaching the stars of the future at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His collaborative pianist was CCM professor Donna Loewy, who had never played with him before. Madore joined the faculty in August of 2021, and we learned later that this was his Cincinnati recital debut.Read More »
Anthony McGill performing “Principal Brothers” No. 3 by James Lee III
The Linton Music Series presented two inspiring concerts this month in memory of founding artistic director Dick Waller. I want to share some terrific photos taken by Tina Gutierrez for Linton, along with a few thoughts about the programs.
Yesterday, Linton welcomed back an old friend, clarinetist Anthony McGill. The principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic started his career as a 21-year-old associate clarinetist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. McGill spoke a bit about Dick Waller, former CSO principal clarinetist, who “showed him the ropes” and shared many dinners with him.
McGill opened the program with a wonderful work by his friend, James Lee III, “Principal Brothers” No. 3. Each of Lee’s “Principal Brothers” series is dedicated to a symphony music who is Black and a principal player. No. 1 is a flute solo for Anthony’s brother, Demarre McGill, principal flute of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra; No. 2 is for Titus Underwood, principal oboe of the Nashville Symphony; and No. 4 is for Bryan Young, principal bassoon of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. Lee’s three-movement piece for Anthony McGill was a ideal vehicle for the clarinetist’s beauty of line and expressive phrasing.
The remainder of the program consisted of two of the great clarinet quintets in music: Mozart’s Quintet in A Major, K. 581, and Brahms Quintet in B Minor. McGill was joined by Linton co-artistic directors Jaime Laredo, violinist, and Sharon Robinson, cellist, as well as violinist James Thompson and violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt.
I recently received the news that former Cincinnati Opera general director and artistic director James “Jim” de Blasis has passed away at the age of 91. His daughter writes:
“During his career, which spanned nearly 50 years, Jim worked with and gave opportunities to many young opera singers, who went on to become famous in their field. He was ahead of his time in staging productions of rare operas and set the level of expectation of his casts very high. The result was always thrilling!”
De Blasis with Patty Beggs and James Morris Photos provided
Some of those “young rising stars” included James Morris, Tom Fox and Barbara Daniels. During his tenure, a “Who’s Who” of the opera world crossed Cincinnati’s stage — Beverly Sills, John Alexander, Kathleen Battle, Sherrill Milnes, Renata Scotto, Richard Leech and many more.
Mr. de Blasis worked with Cincinnati Opera for about 28 years. He was named Cincinnati Opera’s Resident Stage Director in 1968. He served as its General Director from 1973 to 1987. In 1988 he became its Artistic Director, a post he held until 1996.
In his 25th anniversary in 1993, it was reported that his record was only surpassed by Fausto Cleva. He’d directed 93 productions, including 15 company premieres. He oversaw the move of the Summer Festival from its longtime home outdoors at Cincinnati Zoo to Music Hall in 1972.
His innovations included the Cincinnati Opera Ensemble, which toured area schools, and the Young American Artists Program.
During his tenure, Cincinnati Opera programmed rare operas such as Maxwell Davies’ Resurrection and Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper. It also added musicals to its repertory — H.M.S. Pinafore, South Pacific and The Music Man — in an effort to broaden the audience base.
One of early highlights of the de Blasis era was a new interpretation of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, which changed the setting from Spain in the 1820s to the “Wild West” of 19th-century Texas. The production was later filmed by WCET and nationally televised on PBS in 1980.
Mr. de Blasis was preceded in death by his wife Ruth — who often delivered pre-performance lectures and provided narrations — and leaves his daughter Blythe de Blasis Watkins, son-in-law Brad Watkins, and grandchild Brenna Watkins.
The family wishes memorial contributions be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
With thanks to Eldred Theirstein’s Cincinnati Opera: From the Zoo to Music Hall.
Citing the recent surge in antisemitism across the country, Cincinnati’s Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center will waive museum ticket costs for the remainder of the year. The award-winning museum is open at historic Union Terminal from December 8 through January 2, 2023.
David Wise, interim CEO of the Holocaust & Humanity Center, said there is a need to educate the public about Judaism and the Holocaust at a critical time.
“As the only Holocaust museum in Ohio, our organization is in a unique position to bring the lessons of the Holocaust into the civic conversation. It is our responsibility to ensure the public can learn from the lessons of history, and this is a clear and immediate way for us to make an impact in this critical moment,” Wise said in a statement.
“We all must choose to stand up against antisemitism, and that starts with educating ourselves.”
There are daily antisemitic incidents around the country. Locally on Dec. 4, two men vandalized the Hillel House at the University of Cincinnati.
The Fox19 story reports that last year, the Anti-Defamation League reported that Ohio saw a 92% increase in antisemitic incidents, making 2021 the highest year on record.
Recent antisemitic rhetoric incidents coming from all sides of the political spectrum and ideological diverse actors highlight the problematic increase in Jew hatred. Read More »
UC’s College-Conservatory of Music is thrilled to present a spectacular evening of music and stories, featuring our incredible students and a sampling of CCM’s most notable alumni. Join us for a front-row seat to the world premiere of 30 Years of Stephen: The Music of Stephen Flaherty at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 in Corbett […]
Cincinnati Opera returned to its Music Hall stage this summer after a two-year hiatus due to Covid. I’m sure there was trepidation in the company about whether the audience would return, just as new variants were emerging. Happily, audiences came. In fact, the total attendance for three grand operas in Music Hall and two new operas in a smaller venue at SCPA was higher than that of the 2019 season before the pandemic hit.
“We count our ‘return to Music Hall’ season a great success,” said general director and CEO Chris Milligan.
The company saw extraordinary national media coverage with reviews in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and a story on NPR’s All Things Considered. Here’s a column about the international buzz surrounding this production.
Attendance exceeded that of the 2019 Summer Festival at 20,747, compared to 19,736 pre-pandemic.
The company met its revised revenue goal with $1.65 million in ticket sales.
Attendees from 42 states came to see performances.
There were zero canceled performances thanks to Covid-safety protocol.
I’ve just gotten word that tomorrow night’s concert, Saturday at CCM, “Cho-Liang Lin returns to Cincinnati,” with the violinist and various other artists, is canceled due to Covid. As soon as I get an update, I’ll post it here.
Do you love piano music? Awadagin Pratt’s “Art of the PIano” Festival continues tonight with a recital by Conrad Tao at 7 p.m. in Werner Recital Hall at CCM. He is the recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and was named a Gilmore Young Artist—an honor awarded every two years highlighting the most promising American pianists of the new generation.
His program is a combination of new music and classics:Read More »
must choose to stand up against antisemitism, and that starts with educating ourselves.”
