The world rarely arrives in sonata form…
we could all use a good recap.
About this week
With news full of “coming soon” announcements and summer frolics, there’s certainly plenty to do, see and hear. The arts world also has a lot to say about change right now, with increasing diversity efforts and shifting attitudes… including attitudes about what “should” get funding. Here’s this week’s collection of links, in the hope that it will leave you better informed, plenty fired up and ready to get some things done. Go get ’em.
Lister News
Tracy Cox has announced that she’ll be at the Met again next season, playing two roles in a new opera about Malcolm X:
People & places
Renée Fleming Among Honorees of 46th Kennedy Center Honors — OperaWire, 6/21/23
She joins a group that also includes actor and comedian Billy Crystal; British singer-songwriter producer, and member of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb; rapper, singer, and actress Queen Latifah; and singer Dionne Warwick.
Lizzo donates $50,000 to boost representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music — Classic FM, 6/23/23
A week after the release of a report which found people of colour are still underrepresented within the orchestral field, Lizzo has donated thousands to help “transform young black musicians’ lives through the arts”.
At 80, Meredith Monk Is Still Seeking Ways to Communicate — New York Times, 6/25/23
In Monk’s work there is an immense, hopeful love, on the level of Whitman’s poetry and Tolstoy’s fiction, a striving toward, as she has said, “the wholeness that is found in cultures where performing arts practice is considered a spiritual discipline with healing and transformative power.”
Wild Up: Tiny Desk Concert — NPR, 6/26/23
“They’re the kind of pieces you breathe in as a musician, and they do their work on you,” he explains. “And when you breathe them out again, you’re breathing not only the piece but also a different version of yourself.” — Christopher Rountree
Reviews and Previews
Review: The refurbished Christ Cathedral, and its humongous organ, find unexpected magnificence — LA Times, 6/20/23
The Pacific SO Premieres MacMillan’s “Fiat Lux”—At Last — LA Opus, 6/21/23
Jonas Kaufmann Announces New CD ‘The Sound of Movies’ — San Francisco Classical Voice, 6/21/23
San Francisco Opera to Celebrate Pride — San Francisco Classical Voice, 6/21/23
Angels Vocal Art to Present ‘Tosca’ — 6/22/23
Apple Music vs. Amazon Music: A Comprehensive Comparison — groovyPost, 6/23/23
Mahler and the NY Philharmonic — and the Pertinence of his “Failure” Today — Unanswered Question, 6/23/23
Everest review – opera strains to scale mountain tragedy — The Guardian, 6/25/23
Mozart, Handel and cabarets will highlight Opera Neo’s 12th season — San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/25/23
Pacific Opera Project Opens with ‘Hansel and Gretel’ — OperaWire, 6/25/23
Nashville Opera Releases First-Ever Recording of Carly Simon’s ‘Romulus Hunt’ — OperaWire, 6/26/23
Too much fun
Your Classical Music Summer Jam, According to Your Zodiac Sign — Van Magazine, 6/22/23
Singer casually gives astonishing karaoke performance of Mozart’s fiendish ‘Queen of the Night’ aria — Classic FM, 6/23/23
Wait Wait for June 24, 2023: Live from Tanglewood! — NPR, 6/24/23
More links
Why Pop Radio Stations All Sound the Same — Kottke.org, 6/21/23
Dramatically shifting Grants for the Arts priorities point to changing S.F. arts landscape — San Francisco Chronicle (sub req.), 6/21/23
‘God, I really need a pint after that’: actors on the toll of dying on stage night after night — The Guardian, 6/21/23
The Last AI Boom Didn’t Kill Jobs. Feel Better? — Wired, 6/22/23
Tulsa Opera Cancels MainStage Productions for 2023-24 Season & General Director Resigns — OperaWire, 6/23/23
Conducting has long been a male-dominated field. A new documentary aims to change that — LA Times, 6/22/23
Have something to share?
Please do Contact us. We don’t cover events in this feature (submit those here), but we’re looking for news and reviews, staffing and casting announcements, congrats and kudos, arts news, and announcements that deserve special attention. Please send us your info, and we’ll help figure out where it fits on our site. Thanks, all!
