Southern California Vocal Events from Jim Eninger’s
Clickable Chamber Music Newsletter from the South Bay
LAURI D GOLDENHERSH’s Weekly Highlights
It’s good to be back!
The last several months have been full of change, so many thanks are owed to Jim for allowing me to take a longer-than-anticipated hiatus from this newsletter.
But it’s an excellent week to return, as there are so many exciting concerts and operas coming up, this week and through the spring. Starting with this column, however, I’m adopting a new approach: “Three Wishes”, picking three vocal events or other happenings that offer particular enticement or are outstanding in some way. These are the events that I would personally love to see and hear, and occasionally those wishes may come true! Those who blog and otherwise write about the arts, of course, try to get to as many events as time allows, and hopefully you’ll be able to join us. (Perhaps to find a wish you didn’t know you had?) Admittedly, this is an honest, personal and very subjective approach to a recommendations column. But hopefully we’ll all have some fun, and will find some new adventures in the process. Like before, we’ll be archiving this column on the Singerpreneur blog (right here!) each week, in addition to any reviews we post, so please feel free to comment there if you have something to share.
So now, down to business! Here are this week’s Three Wishes, in chronological order:
Friday night, CLAZZICAL NOTES has curated a program celebrating Black History Month and the “Triumph of the Human Spirit”, with a diverse wealth of music related to the African-American experience. Moving easily from spirituals to selections from ‘Ragtime’ and ‘Porgy and Bess’ to jazz and a Langston Hughes-inspired work by composer LESLEY ADAMS, the concert features soprano GABRIELLE THOMPSON, bass-bari LAMARCUS MILLER, jazz pianist JONATHAN MONTES and accompanist GRACE CHUNG, with TIFFANY OWENS of Pasadena’s Arts and Culture Commission moderating. This FREE event will move you as much as it entertains. Get details here
It doesn’t seem like it could have been a quarter-century since OLIVIER MESSIAEN shuffled off this mortal coil, but 25 years later, JACARANDA again broadens our horizons in honor of the enigmatic composer’s life, with the unabashedly ethereal ‘La Mort du nombre’, pairing soprano SUZANNE WATERS and tenor TIM GONZALES as two souls traversing time, space, and a number of “Messi” keys, bringing us a chance to hear an evocative work that is too rarely performed. The piece is scored for the unusual combo of soprano, tenor, violin and piano, and with Waters and Gonzales joined by violinist JESSICA GUIDERI and pianist JACK DETTLING, this is sure to be a treat. Be sure to show up early to be part of the Pre-Concert Conversation at 7pm. Get details
Finally, the ultimate ice princess comes to SAN DIEGO OPERA, as Puccini’s ‘Turandot’ marks the return of LISE LINDSTROM to the Civic Theatre stage in the title role. Watch for ANGEL JOY BLUE as the tragic Liù and an exceptionally large chorus amassed for this run. Just need your ‘Nessun dorma’ fix? Tenor (and former bounty hunter) CARL TANNER has you covered: search YouTube for an astonishing preview. There are just four performances from Sat 2/24 through March 4, so read more and get your tickets by clicking here
May your music be glorious and your wishes come true. (I promise I’ll come up with a sign-off that’s not quite so Robin Leach-y next week, but I couldn’t resist, just once.)
Happy listening!
