Così fan tutte” is a peculiar opera. The last of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy, it was the least performed in the creators’ lifetimes, then largely disappeared for most of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. Successful performances after World War II at Glyndebourne brought new interest in the work, and its […]
Author Archives: James C. Taylor
James C. Taylor is a longtime correspondent for Opera Magazine and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, The Economist, New Jersey Star-Ledger, and other publications. He also edits and produces broadcast arts segments and shows for CBS News.
Posted inReview
Black Swan
Ours is an age of anti-heroes. In art and entertainment, knights in shining armor are out; we prefer tortured mobsters, spoiled scions, or people on the edge. Now, a sterling example of a romantic lead has been upstaged in his own opera once again. Lohengrin, the holy grail keeper who according to lore descends on […]
Posted inInterview
“You Have to Be Relentless”
To look at his schedule or to watch him huff, stomp and jab with his hands—without a baton, always—at the podium, Antonio Pappano would seem to be one of the hardest-working conductors in the classical music business. For much of the past two decades, he has led Italy’s finest symphony orchestra, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale […]
Posted inInterview
The Authenticity of Spirit
“See the music, hear the dance.” Listening to the Czech Philharmonic this fall, both at their home in Prague, the Rudolfinum, and in their many recent recordings under current music director Semyon Bychkov, that quote from George Balanchine often came to mind. What was different about these renditions of classics? The orchestra’s dark, rustic strings […]
Posted inInterview
The End of a Voyage
In his long career, Riccardo Muti, 81, has led top orchestras and run major opera houses; for a brief moment about a decade ago, there were rumors he would become Italy’s ceremonial head of state. Muti’s fierce stare is imposing and inspirational—he’s an Italian conductor out of central casting, but with better hair than Arturo […]
Posted inReview
Solving the “Turandot” Riddle
For nearly a century, conductors, directors and composers have been trying to finalize and fulfill the promise of “Turandot,” Puccini’s ultimate, unfinished opera. A who’s-who of 20th-century artists have tried and mostly failed. Until this past Friday night, December 2, in Amsterdam. At Dutch National Opera, director Barrie Kosky premiered a new production which makes […]
Posted inInterview
The Direction of History
Gambist and conductor Jordi Savall has recorded over 200 albums, most featuring music written before 1750—the year most mainstream conductors’ repertoire begins. Then, in 2018, Savall began a plan to perform multiple projects of Mozart and Beethoven. He was dipping his toe into the 19th century. Last week in Barcelona, Savall performed Schubert’s Eighth and […]
Posted inInterview
Cherish the Quiet
Valentyn Silvestrov is a Ukrainian-born composer who has lived long enough to write nine symphonies and have his music be censored by both Soviet apparatchiks and Putin’s police. He lived in Kyiv for 84 years until this March, when he left the country due to Russia’s invasion. Silvestrov now lives in exile in Berlin, but […]