Category: theater

Photos from the Cincinnati Symphony in the U.K.

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As you know, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is making an historic tour to the Edinburgh International Festival as well as the BBC Proms in London this weekend as part of their three-week European tour. Tonight, they play in Usher Hall in Edinburgh. One of the featured numbers is Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” featuring British actor Charles Dance (yes, that Charles Dance from “Game of Thrones”) as narrator.

Because I’m not traveling along this time, I’ll try to keep you updated as I get the news. After they arrived Wednesday morning, most musicians set out sightseeing in the hills, and I’m sure, to Edinburgh Castle, which is close to their hotel.Read More »

About that footbridge to Music Hall

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IMG_8653There are a lot of misconceptions in the online posts I’ve read about the Music Hall bridge that the city now says it will demolish and rebuild over Central Parkway. The elephant in the room that people are missing: There is no easy and safe pathway to the front door of Music Hall on Elm Street if you park behind the building, in the Town Center Garage on Central Parkway.

If the city-owned bridge, which leads from Town Center Garage to Music Hall, is rebuilt, the renovation team is pledging to construct a passageway into Music Hall from the Ballroom entrance on the second level — the new back door.

Here’s yesterday’s story.

Somehow amid expenditures of at least $135 million, planners decided not to provide a rear entrance to Music Hall. This intentional omission adversely affects many of the organizations that make Music Hall their home. People have been deciding not to renew subscriptions or to attend fewer concerts because of inconvenience and pedestrian safety.Read More »

A new color scheme for Music Hall

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Take a walk through Music Hall’s renovation by clicking here.

What do you think of Music Hall’s new color scheme?

Springer Auditorium’s new color scheme features dark taupe and cream throughout. Red seats will be installed this summer. The crystal chandelier is being restored to return to the hall.
A view of rosettes in the lobby areas shows the previous and new background colors, from rose to taupe.
Springer Auditorium’s previous color scheme featured gold trim and light cream with red seats and rose-colored and cream coffered ceilings.

Critic’s notebook: The chapter of the gods concludes

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Here’s one of the performances I’ve been lucky to catch this fall in Cincinnati.

Soprano Mithra Mastropierro was superb as Brunnhilde
Soprano Mithra Mastropierro was superb as Brunnhilde

Last month, Queen City Chamber Opera mounted the final installment, Act III, of Wagner’s opera “Siegfried,” at the Dunham Performing Arts Center on the West Side. The performance, which was well attended on a bright Sunday afternoon, marked the first complete performance of “Siegfried” in Ohio in a century. (It was in collaboration with the Wagner Society of Cincinnati.)

(The first two acts were performed in the previous two years. It’s a rather epic way to perform a Ring Cycle… )

What is so remarkable about the efforts of the company’s founding music director Isaac Selya is the quality that he has been able to achieve on a shoestring. His orchestra — complete with five extraordinary horn players, harp and timpani — filled nearly half of the auditorium floor.Read More »

Play of the day: Finding common ground in music and the NFL

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Concert pianist Emanuel Ax with Bengals Assistant Head Coach Paul Alexander.
Concert pianist Emanuel Ax with Bengals Assistant Head Coach Paul Alexander.

I love this photo. Here is Emanuel “Manny” Ax, one of the great pianists of the world, who just performed Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (and played it like a god) standing with Cincinnati Bengals assistant head coach Paul Alexander, right after the Bengals’ win against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium today.

I bumped into Coach at the CSO concert in Cincy on Thursday. I’m not surprised he was there. Besides the Bengals (where he’s also offensive line coach) he’s a dedicated student of classical piano. That’s right. He has even performed in public and written a book: “Perform,” comparing lessons he has learned at the piano with motivation and skill on the field.

As  I wrote in my review, it was a joy to hear Ax “perform” so beautifully in the “Emperor.” I was also able to catch him last week for a few minutes for a brief conversation after he arrived in Cincinnati, and was surprised to learn that he gets nervous, just like the rest of us.

I would venture to say, after watching today’s Bengals win and that amazing US Open Final, that sports and music have more in common than meets the eye.

Music Hall then and now

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Then:  This week, the May Festival provided me with the the 360 photo that was taken for posterity on the final night of the season, May 28, just before demo began. See if you can find yourself by moving your cursor around the photo: http://360around.com/panos/mayfest-tour/mayfest.html

Now:  You may have seen The Enquirer’s update of Music Hall’s construction project last week. I’ve included more of my own photos below.Read More »

Music Hall hopes and concerns

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Music Hall's Springer Auditorium will look quite different when it reopens after a $130 million renovation. Photo from Enquirer files
Music Hall’s Springer Auditorium will look quite different when it reopens after a $130 million renovation. Photo from Enquirer files

Perhaps you saw the article about Music Hall, — which closes in five months for renovation — informing visitors of what to expect in the coming months. But there was a sidebar that never made print.

The Enquirer asked this question of local concertgoers, Music Hall stakeholders and resident companies via e-mail and on Facebook: “As we move to 2016 and Music Hall closes in June for a massive renovation, what are your thoughts, concerns, and/or hopes about the project?”

Here are some of the responses:

“My main concern, as always, is for the acoustics of Music Hall. As you well know, even the smallest physical change can have a major impact on the acoustics. Let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best!” – Pat Nott, College HillRead More »

Best of 2015

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Everyone loves lists. Here are just 10 of my favorite concert memories from 2015. As soon as I wrote them, I realized there were many more I had left out, from the superb concert:nova concerts to Xavier Piano Series, the Linton Series, and a wonderful Mahler concert recently by the CCM Philharmonia. 

Best rock fusion: Shrieking fans, long lines snaking to the bars, a crush of people surrounding a band in the lobby – those are things you wouldn’t expect at a concert of the 120-year-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s second annual collaboration in Music Hall with Cincinnati’s MusicNOW Festival, founded by Bryce Dessner a decade ago, rocked. The March concerts included the debut of Dessner’s indie-rock band The National with Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony – a first for both.

Cincinnati Opera's Turandot
Cincinnati Opera’s Turandot

Best sight gags in an opera: Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte,” directed by Robin Guarino at CCM in April, had bawdy translations and hilarious sight gags that drew belly laughs. The updated production featured a Mid-Century Modern house with a hot tub, and a couple of swinging Albanian strangers looking like John Lennon and George Harrison had just wandered off the set of the “The Magical Mystery Tour.” It was brilliantly sung by CCM opera students and Mozart’s witty music was buoyant and fleet in the hands of conductor Mark Gibson.Read More »