Posts by Ken Herman
Soprano Lise Lindstrom Returns to San Diego Opera Singing her Acclaimed, Signature Turandot
When San Diego Opera General Director David Bennett signed soprano Lise Lindstrom to sing the title role in Puccini’s “Turandot,” he was not exactly going out on a limb. She had performed it with acclaim at her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2009, not to mention a well-received San Diego Opera production in 2011 . . .
Read MoreVenezuelan Conductor Rafael Payare New San Diego Symphony Music Director
The 37-year-old Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare made an auspicious debut leading the San Diego Symphony last month, and the San Diego Symphony announced today that Payare will be its next Music Director, filling the vacancy left by maestro Jahja Ling, who retired in May 2017.
Read MoreSoprano Angel Joy Blue Debuts as Liù in San Diego Opera’s ‘Turandot’
Although Angel Joy Blue is making her debut as Liù in San Diego Opera’s production of Puccini’s Turandot that opens on February 24, the young soprano from Southern California has a long personal history with this famous opera . . .
Read MorePatel Leads a Glorious Sibelius Fifth Symphony to Remember
San Diego Symphony Associate Conductor Sameer Patel led a majestic, sonically luxurious account of the Jean Sibelius Fifth Symphony and introduced with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and the orchestra a new violin concerto by Adam Schoenberg.
Read MoreSan Diego Symphony’s ‘Beyond the Score’ Program on Rachmaninoff Prepares Audience for Music History Exam at Next Symphony Concert
Just as Robert Indiana’s familiar 1970 Love Sculpture became an apt symbol of the 1970s, the Swiss artist Arnold Böklin’s evocative painting “The Isle of the Dead” from 1880 captured the darker, mystical imaginings of fin de siècle Europe. Sergei Rachmaninoff turned Böklin’s painting into a dark tone poem, which he also titled “The Isle of the Dead” . . .
Read MoreZukerman Brings Uninspired Tchaikovsky to San Diego Symphony
After the San Diego Symphony rose to such great heights performing exciting, compelling new works in the recently completed “It’s About Time” festival, Pinchas Zukerman’s uninspired evening of standard repertory proved a crashing letdown . . .
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