MetroPulse Stories: Classical Music

Knoxville Opera Delivers an Energetic, Sparkling 'Cinderella'

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:52:00 -0000

Simply stated, there are those operatic singers who consider themselves Rossini singers, and there are those who don’t. The diction and voice flexibility required for Gioachino Rossini’s characteristic style of rapid-fire runs of little notes is both an art and a craft—one that some singers luxuriate in naturally. Knoxville Opera, under executive director and conductor Brian Salesky, ended up with just such a solid cast of wonderful Rossini singers for its production last weekend of La Cenerentola (“Cinderella”), a production that bubbled and sparkled with typically melodic Rossini verve and a lot of lovable comedic energy.

Glass Slipper: A Q&A With the Stars of Knoxville Opera's 'Cinderella'

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:59:00 -0000

The work of the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini returns to the Knoxville Opera’s 2013 Rossini Festival with a production of Cinderella (La Cenerentola) featuring mezzo-soprano Leah Wool as Cinderella and tenor Michael Dailey as the Prince.

Knoxville Opera Revives Rossini’s 'Cinderella' for Rossini Festival

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:47:00 -0000

Audiences will find a few twists to the story they probably know very well.

UT’s 'Rape of Lucretia' Offers a Stylized Production of Britten’s Puzzling Chamber Opera

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:17:00 -0000

When the audience steps into the world of The Rape of Lucretia, the 1946 Benjamin Britten chamber opera that is being staged this weekend by the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre, they may discover some puzzling contradictions that have baffled theatergoers and critics alike.

KSO Takes an Adventurous Tour Through Spain

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:36:00 -0000

While gray skies and winter’s final chill were stubbornly resisting the onset of spring last weekend, inside the Tennessee Theatre was a different story altogether.

UT and KSO Demonstrate the Growing Vitality of Knoxville’s Classical Music Offerings

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:03:00 -0000

It wasn’t that long ago—six years, maybe—that I worried quite a bit about the amount and variety of classical music performances in Knoxville. While I still hold out hope for some new music venues, new local ensembles, and more booking of nationally known groups, the Knoxville classical music scene itself has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of visibility, joining other music genres in what is a recognizably diverse local music climate.

KSO Explores the Simple Pleasures of Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:55:00 -0000

One of the occupational hazards of writing about the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is that the composer’s addictive little phrases and orchestral textures seep into the recesses of the brain and stick there, ready to replay for days on end. Such was the case with the Tchaikovsky Polonaise on last month’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concert, and such is the case with the composer’s Symphony No. 3 in D Major, which concluded the KSO concerts last weekend.

Pianist Evgheny Brakhman Pays Tribute to Rachmaninoff’s Last Concert

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:15:00 -0000

The commemorative concert will focus on Rachmaninoff’s work as a composer and his professional life in the United States after fleeing the Russian Revolution in 1917, culminating in that fateful last concert in 1943 and centered heavily on his reputation and legendary ability as a piano soloist.

Veteran Singer and HBO Regular Anthony Laciura Directs Knoxville Opera’s 'La fanciulla del West'

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:45:00 -0000

The old theater cliché that “there are no small parts, only small actors” is regularly bandied about glibly—perhaps to justify scene-stealing or to motivate an otherwise unmotivated performer. In the overwhelmingly positive sense, however, this sentiment fully describes the multiple careers of singer, actor, and opera stage director Anthony Laciura.

First-Time Surprises From KSO’s Recent Guest Stars

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:58:00 -0000

There were a number of firsts for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and their Masterworks concerts last weekend—some matter of fact, some exciting, while others were, well, unfortunate.

KSO’s Chamber Orchestra Explores 20th-Century British Music

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:19:00 -0000

One of the real joys of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics Series has always been the potential for musical adventure, and even some discovery, that can be found in the vast territory outside of the usual full orchestra repertoire and in lesser-known works.

The Most Memorable Classical Music Performances of 2012

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:00:00 -0000

Choosing the most memorable performances of 2012 becomes something of a task, if for no other reason than that the overall performance levels have risen so noticeably. But here goes.

KSO Concertmaster Steps into the Spotlight as a Soloist

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:03:00 -0000

Two years ago, I reviewed a Knoxville Symphony Orchestra concert that centered mostly on the guest appearance of the violinist Midori and her performance in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor. On that same concert, however, was the audition appearance of violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz, who was one of the candidates for the KSO’s open concertmaster position. Although I just love it when I’m right, such a conclusion was fairly unanimous—Lefkowitz got the job.

Knoxville Opera’s 'Die Fledermaus' Emphasizes Comedy Over Music

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:17:00 -0000

Whether viewed as innocuous fun or lightheartedness run amok, Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus and its infectiously tuneful score have become, for modern audiences, an infamous vehicle for all manner of opera-company celebratory occasions such as galas and New Year’s Eve performances. In that way, Knoxville Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus last weekend was no different than many others.

KSO and UT Try Out New Performance Spaces for a Pair of Chamber Concerts

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:51:00 -0000

With new musical journeys in mind, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the University of Tennessee School of Music departed the beaten path to alternative venues for their small-ensemble concerts that invited listeners to explore the performance intimacy of chamber music, albeit in radically contrasting acoustic environments.

KSO's Rachmaninoff Concert Is an Auspicious Start to the New Season

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:50:00 -0000

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is probably one of those works, like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, that is so iconic in both atmosphere and melody that some think of it as too frequently performed. But, as the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra revealed last weekend, there is quite a bit of intensely satisfying depth to the work.

Clarence Brown Theatre and KSO Collaborate On a Brilliant Production of Sondheim’s 'Sweeney Todd'

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:54:00 -0000

Perhaps like no other recent work for the musical stage, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is so eminently adaptable and bendable as theater that it practically cries out for fresh treatments. In the case of the Clarence Brown Theatre’s current staging of the musical, a collaboration with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the production practically bursts out of the available width of the Clarence Brown Theatre stage, with the onstage orchestra and the dramatic space being afforded equal theatrical footing.

KSO Closes 2011-12 Season With Exhilarating Performance

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:59:00 -0000

With a flourish and a grand gesture of au revoir, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra finished its 2011-12 Masterworks season last weekend with its usual pair of concerts: “A Touch of France,” covering four works by French composers. As usual, time permitting, I had the opportunity to hear both evenings’ performances, although that luxury is rarely necessary given that the pair generally differs only in what one expects from live music. On this occasion, however, the Friday evening performance particularly came alive in comparison to Thursday’s—perhaps because of its finality—in ways that were really quite exhilarating.

Experience and Youth Come Together for Knoxville Opera's Superlative 'Otello'

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:58:00 -0000

Knoxville Opera’s superlative Rossini Festival production of Otello last weekend fused the brilliance and solidity of seasoned operatic performers with a solid cast of younger singers possessing major, and truly exciting, vocal talents.

Tenor Michael Austin Takes on His 47th Portrayal of Shakespeare’s Conflicted Moor in Knoxville Opera's 'Otello'

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:32:00 -0000

With just a glance, even without a note of music being heard, one knows instantly why tenor Michael Austin is known in opera houses of the world for his portrayal of the title role in Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello—he looks exactly like the Shakespearean character listeners visualize.