Tag: Music Hall

Opera Fusion: New Works to host workshop for ‘The Hours’

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Kevin Puts

Opera Fusion: New Works, the forward-looking collaboration of Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to develop new opera, is hosting a livestreamed workshop on Monday for a new opera that is to be premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in the 2022-23 season.

“The Hours” is written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and librettist Greg Pierce, both of whose works have been performed by Cincinnati Opera in recent seasons. Puts is the composer of “Silent Night,” which was mounted here in 2014; Pierce was the librettist for “Fellow Travelers,” which premiered in 2016.

A free public livestream of excerpts can be viewed on Monday, March 15, 5 p.m.-6 p.m., at cincinnatiopera.org.

Greg Pierce

The composer and librettist will collaborate in real time with the artists to shape the work, which is receiving its first workshop in Music Hall’s Ballroom. Click here to see the cast.

Cincinnati Opera artistic director Evans Mirageas will also host a conversation with the creators during the hour.

“The Hours” is a commission of the Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The opera, which tells the story of three women whose lives have a literary connection, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Michael Cunningham, as well as the Paramount Pictures film. Click here to read about the film, which starred Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman.

Opera Fusion: New Works is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

 

 

CSO and Pops increase seating for in-person shows

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Socially distant seating at a concert earlier this year by the Cincinnati Pops

Up to 500 seats are now available for all in-person CSO and Pops performances at Music Hall. In accordance with the expanded capacity for indoor events ordered by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the orchestra has added availability for all in-person events this spring.

All performances will still be limited capacity with socially distanced seating and mask requirements throughout Music Hall. Read more about health and safety protocols.

In-person concerts at Music Hall continue this weekend with two different programs of Mozart with soloists Conrad Tao (Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major) and violinist Melissa White in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3, in G Major, “Strasburg,” MAR 12-14 in Music Hall.

A CSO concert viewed from the balcony earlier this year.

From personal experience, I have felt very safe with all of the protocols that are in place. Concerts are about 70 to 80 minutes in length with no intermission.

I’ve been told that some concerts have added performances due to demand. Now that more people are getting vaccinated, I’m very optimistic that the demand will increase.

Don’t forget, I’m reviewing concerts again. You’ll find them on the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Arts Front (it’s free to read). Last week’s performance of Mahler’s “The Song of the Earth” was unforgettable. Click here to read about it.

Tickets: 513-381-3300, cincinnatisymphony.org

Cincinnati Opera pivots to ‘Plan B’ for upcoming season

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In recent years, Cincinnati Opera has kicked off its season with a free Opera in the Park in Washington Park, OTR. Details on this and other events will be announced in late March.

Cincinnati Opera has made this announcement on its website today:

Last fall, when we declared our intention to return to live performances at Music Hall and SCPA this summer, we shared that we would continue planning on two tracks: the traditional season we’d announced, as well as a “Plan B” season in the event COVID-related challenges persist into the new year. While there have been many positive developments in combatting COVID since that time, the pandemic continues to limit the number of patrons who can safely gather for performances indoors.

So, we’ve made the difficult decision to set aside our original plans and move forward with “Plan B.” For the past several months, we’ve been investigating performance venues throughout the region that can accommodate both socially-distanced seating outside and beautiful, high-quality opera performances onstage. We have two primary goals: to keep everyone safe and to present a must-see summer opera festival. We could not be more excited to share our plan with you as soon as it’s complete; we anticipate doing so the last week in March.

Though it’s not what we’d originally planned, the 2021 Summer Festival will offer a thrilling, one-of-a-kind opera experience. This summer, we’ll be writing another unique chapter in Cincinnati Opera’s celebrated history. Thank you for being part of the story. Stay tuned for more information very soon.

Note: Watch for updates later in March about new opera titles, venues and ticket info.

To read about the season that was announced last Sept. and now canceled, click here.

Film to tell story of ‘Blind Injustice’ exoneree profiled in book, opera

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Mark Godsey joined six people who won release from prison by the Ohio Innocence Project for crimes they did not commit: Rickey Jackson, Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt, Eugene Johnson, Nancy Smith, and Clarence Elkins. They were profiled in his book, “Blind Injustice” and the subsequent opera premiered by Cincinnati Opera at Music Hall in 2019. Jackson is now to be the subject of a film/documentary. Photo by Space Cabin Studios/provided by Cincinnati Opera

You may have read Mark Godsey’s book, “Blind Injustice,” or seen Cincinnati Opera’s production of the opera, based on the book — if you were lucky enough to get a ticket in the sold-out run. Now one of the Ohio Innocence Project’s exonerees, Rickey Jackson, who at the time of his release was the longest-serving person in U.S. history to be exonerated, is the subject of a film being produced by Cleveland-based Zodiac Features.

Portions of the film were shot at UC College of Law in the mock courtroom, the law library and inside the OIP offices.

“I have a fantasy of Rickey Jackson in a tuxedo with his family on a red carpet in France,” said producer Matt Waldeck, in my article today in the Cincinnati Business Courier.

A recording of the opera written by Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote and premiered by Cincinnati Opera is set for release in February. Watch for more news about that soon.

The year in review in the arts

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The CSO’s first digital experiment last spring in Music Hall was music for four musicians.

What a year! If you’re a musician or a music fan, you probably remember the last live concert you attended or performed before Covid-19 shut down the country in March. Mine was on March 10: My granddaughter’s middle school orchestra concert.

Looking back, I realized that my annual “best of the year” in performances could only apply to the 10 weeks before we were locked down. So I wrote my Year in Review column for the Business Courier in two parts, as BC — Before Covid — and after.

Soprano Angel Blue wowed in Barber in a CSO livestream.

There were some unforgettable shows during both periods. In the second half — a season of screens — I am still enthralled by the Sept. 26 CSO digital program streamed from Music Hall, conducted by Louis Langrée. Gorgeous-voiced soprano Angel Blue gave an emotional performance of Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” a piece rarely heard. And what a treat it was to hear Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” as originally scored for 13 instruments.

And in a rare live performance by Cincinnati Ballet outdoors at Sawyer Point, I loved a new work for four dancers, choreographed (and danced) to Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat (fourth movement) by soloist David

Cincinnati Ballet danced at Sawyer Point

Morse. It was thrilling to see the exuberance and strength, the lifts and turns of the entire company. The program was enhanced by performances by a CSO quartet and Cincinnati Opera singers Victoria Okafor and Maria Miller.

You can read that column here (it’s free).

Earlier this year, local critic and retired opera singer Rafael de Acha asked people in the arts to answer the question, “What have you been during during the pandemic?” for his blog, rafaelmusicnotes.com.

I thank him for that, because it made me look back at how I had the opportunity to document the impact of the pandemic on our arts community in the pages of the Business Courier. Here is some of that column:Read More »

Lights, cameras, action: Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker at Home’ to debut tonight on WLWT

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From a previous production, principal dancer Melissa Gelfin De-Poli (this year’s Sugar Plum Fairy) performs with Cervilio Miguel Amador; Photography: Peter Mueller

Tonight, for the first time ever, Cincinnati Ballet, WLWT (Channel 5) and Frisch’s have teamed up to present televised performances of the holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” This year’s “The Nutcracker at Home presented by Frisch’s” will premiere in Prime Time, 8 p.m. December 22, with additional re-broadcasts throughout the holiday season on both WLWT and MeTV, Cincinnati channel WLWT 5.2.

The re-imagined, one-hour broadcast is “a holiday gift to the community,” says Cincinnati Ballet President and CEO Scott Altman.

The performance was recorded in Music Hall using safety protocols. The production will introduce new choreography by Artistic Director Victoria Morgan with support from artistic team, who worked with Emmy award-winning Director David Ashbrock to adapt the ballet for television.

Please look below to see the entire cast.

Due to the pandemic, dancers will wear masks and follow socially-distancing guidelines, but Morgan said audiences will enjoy an up-close, immersive experience of The Nutcracker like never before.

“With eight cameras capturing moments from every angle, even on the stage itself, this is a truly unique experience,” said Morgan. “Those magical moments we share together each year remain in this production — Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, plus we’ve added a few surprises just for this broadcast version.”

Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Carmon DeLeone and 35 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
musicians recorded a special score for the performance at Music Hall in late November. DeLeone
also spent many hours editing the music for this special broadcast. A streaming version of the
production will be also available to watch for a limited time after Christmas. More details to come at
cballet.org.Read More »

Cincinnati Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ to be digital only

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After high hopes of mounting an in-person, socially distanced “Nutcracker” this season, Cincinnati Ballet has announced that the production will be digital only. The reason is due to the ongoing surge of coronavirus locally.

“Given the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases across the region, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person performances of The Nutcracker at Cincinnati Music Hall,” said Cincinnati Ballet President and CEO Scott Altman, in a statement. “We have a responsibility to the community to do all we can to stop the spread of COVID-19. While we will dearly miss performing for live audiences, we are producing and recording a re-imagined, hour-long performance everyone can enjoy in the comfort and safety of their own homes. We could think of no better gift for the community this holiday season.”

It is being reimagined as The Nutcracker at Home presented by Frisch’s Big Boy, and performances will be free.

The performance will be recorded at Cincinnati Music Hall following strict health and safety protocols. The production will feature Artistic Director Victoria Morgan’s whimsical choreography, Main Company dancers, and gorgeous sets and costumes.

“All those magical moments we share together each year remain in this production,” said Morgan. “Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, plus we’ve added a few surprises just for this digital version.”

A unique element is that the company’s partner in the pit, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, will create a recording of Tchaikovsky’s score for this special performance. Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Carmon DeLeone will conduct 35 CSO musicians for the recording at Music Hall.

Cincinnati Ballet successfully created live, in-person performances for Ballet in the Park and Cincinnati Made earlier this season.

More details will be announced in the coming days. Information: cballet.org.

James Conlon adds advisory title

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James Conlon

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) announced on Oct. 17 the appointment of James Conlon, conductor laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival, as its Artistic Advisor. Conlon will begin his role in September 2021, following the conclusion of BSO Music Director Marin Alsop’s historic 14-year tenure.

Conlon has affirmed that he is not a candidate in the BSO’s upcoming Music Director search. The orchestra plans a “multi-year, international search” of visiting conductors beginning in its 2021-22 season.

Conlon will be leading three concert weeks per year in each of the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 seasons, and will fill duties off the podium, such as fill orchestral vacancies. Ironically, his first appearance will mark his debut with the Baltimore Symphony.Read More »

Impressions of the CSO’s “Live from Music Hall”

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Louis Langrée leads the CSO and violinist Augustin Hadelich in a rarely heard violin concerto for “Live from Music Hall.”

Question: How is recording a concert for livestream different from a regular recording session or an orchestra rehearsal?

“It’s a very strange, weird experience,” said CSO maestro Louis Langrée, during a recording session at Music Hall last week. “Because, when it’s a recording, you record bits, and you might do a run-through and make patches on what didn’t work. There is all this editing. We can’t do that. So we run it twice, and if there are places, or some movement where either I need to do it again, or the film director needs to do it again, we run it a third time.”

You may have noticed that the orchestra is facing the acoustical shell, with backs to the hall — not only to hear each other better but because the visuals looking out into the hall are pretty on film. The musicians are widely spaced, with Plexiglas between the winds. Playing without an audience is odd for the musicians and maestro.Read More »

Cincinnati arts in top 20 of U.S. communities

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CCO musicians performing at Pyramid Hill sculpture park, Hamilton
May Festival Chorus

A new report from the National Center for Arts Research names Cincinnati in the top 20 of large communities for arts vibrancy. The report takes “a data-driven approach to assessing characteristics that make up a community’s vibrancy rather than base the ranking on our own opinion about locations or on a popular vote.” Four measures were analyzed: supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture on a per capita basis.

It’s interesting that such a report would come out during a pandemic, when most arts organizations closed their doors in March, and have been struggling to survive ever since. The reason, the report says, it offers the report “as a celebration and reminder of the arts’ enduring importance, resiliency, and vibrancy.

“We should not forget the essential role that the arts play in fueling community development, emotional health, cultural literacy, social cohesion and integration, and creative expression. Ultimately, the communal nature of arts participation will be a strength to communities hungry to come together again and affirm existential meaning after prolonged isolation, trauma, and polarization.”

Indeed.Read More »