A jarring buzz. The sound of a whip cracking? There are voices all around me. I am not sure where they are coming from. The voices repeat themselves exhaustively — sometimes in Russian. Lights flash on, then abruptly off. Random snatches of music enter my awareness. A man moves like a dream – glacially. Did…
Tag: Brooklyn Academy of Music
The Hunger
Someone once told me that you can tell how fantastic a music festival is if the number of bands you wished you could have seen is equally as long as the groups you did get to see. This rule certainly applies to the BAM Next Wave Festival. The list of what I wish I could…
Phaedra(s)
I set off a smoke detector as I left the Brooklyn Academy of Music last night, but it was not because I was smoking. It was because of the hot mess of passion Aphrodite stirred up in the poor Phaedras – all three of them — played with a sizzling ferociousness by the inimitable French…
the loser
This is how “preaching to the choir” might look, I thought, as I sat in the mezzanine, completely enthralled by the story that baritone, Rod Gilfry — who was terrific in Anna Nicole — sang to us last night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This was the world premiere of David Lang’s opera, the loser, based on…
Manon Lescaut
Well, this is opera, so it won’t surprise you that I found the whole story of Manon Lescaut slightly amusing. I felt especially guilty giggling to myself during Act IV, as poor Manon is dying of thirst and exhaustion in the desert outside of New Orleans. Yes, you read that correctly: A desert in Louisiana….
The Glory of the World
The winter season at BAM has begun, and I’d like to propose a toast to The Glory of the World. I had seen Big Love at BAM in 2001 (by the same writer/director team) so I was excited to see what they had dreamed up this time. It was a raucous party, that’s what it was. It…
The Hard Nut
There’s something seriously subversive going on in downtown Brooklyn this holiday season. It’s going to completely upend your cherished memories of elegant sugar plum fairies and dancing flowers. Purists beware — then prepare to be wildly entertained. I am talking about The Hard Nut, of course, and word on the street is that Mark Morris…
Continu
And so another exciting Next Wave Festival comes to a close — at least for me. I saw my final performance of the fall season last night at BAM. Sasha Waltz & Guests presented Continu, set to music by Edgard Varèse, Claude Vivier, Iannis Xenakis, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (A percussion piece by Xenakis was…
Steel Hammer
“He laid down his hammer and he died. Lord, Lord. He laid down his hammer and he died.” I have had Pete Seeger’s voice singing his version of the folk song, John Henry, racing through my head like a runaway train ever since I left Steel Hammer — a collaboration between composer, Julia Wolfe, and SITI Company….
Lulu
I chose four operas to see during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2015/16 season. This year I decided to see them all live in HD at BAM Rose Cinema because I am particularly interested in the pre-performance lectures. Yesterday I saw my first: Lulu, composed by Alban Berg with Frank Wedekind as librettist. This opera, arguably the…
You Us We All
Take a Baroque court masque (rich with fabulous wigs and costumes — and of course allegorical figures.) Add a heavy dose of pop culture (think Whitney Houston, Andy Warhol video of Edie Sedgwick, silver confetti, balloons.) Sprinkle with absolutely amazing vocals, text, and modern Baroque orchestration. Now shake it hard. Shake it even harder. If…
Savannah Bay
This evening, the BAM Fishman Space was transformed into a white room. In that room, two women struggle to unearth the difficult truth of an event that occurred long ago. Savannah Bay was written by French feminist writer Marguerite Duras. Her works for theater are rarely performed in America, so this was a special treat (it…
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