Category Archives: Music

RAVINIA OFFERS A MAGNIFICENT DON GIOVANNI

When opera arrived in Chicago, Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni lagged behind in public approval. The Chicago Tribune reports that in 1867 “Don Giovanni has literally fought its way into public favor here. When first produced it attracted only musicians who recognized its intrinsic worth. But year after year Don Giovanni audiences grow larger and larger. […]

August 14, 2022 – 6:04 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Magazines, Men and Women, Music, Newspapers, Opera, Quotations, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on RAVINIA OFFERS A MAGNIFICENT DON GIOVANNI

Riccardo Muti is Saving Opera: Un Ballo in Maschera

The dean of opera critics has stated the problem best: “I have said that in today’s  operatic world too much territory is ceded to the realm of the eye; that even within this realm too much attention is  paid to physical production and not enough to performance and that auteuristic privileges  claimed by directors and […]

June 29, 2022 – 12:53 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Theater, Uncategorized, Videos | Comments Off on Riccardo Muti is Saving Opera: Un Ballo in Maschera

SINGING SAVES STONE’S CAMPY LUCIA AT THE MET

  In 1964 the literary critic Susan Sontag published the definitive work “On Camp”’ in which she defined the genre as loving “the unnatural, the artificial, the exaggerated.” In art, Camp’s exaggeration proceeds from both passion and naiveté, both of which opera director Simon Stone employed in his production of Lucia di Lammermoor at the […]

May 22, 2022 – 3:46 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, Books, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on SINGING SAVES STONE’S CAMPY LUCIA AT THE MET

HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE? Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Lesley Nicol AKA Mrs. Patmore

One person plays usually mean an actor portraying a famous person on stage. The most famous one person plays are probably Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain and Julie Harris as Emily Dickinson. Through the work of various  artists, solo performances developed as living artists played themselves on stage. The psychologically intense confessional comedies by Spaulding […]

April 3, 2022 – 3:44 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Movies, Music, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE? Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Lesley Nicol AKA Mrs. Patmore

EUN SUN KIM IGNITES LYRIC’S FIERY TOSCA

Chicagoans love their Toscas. Puccini’s opera has attracted passionate performers and audiences alike since it first arrived in Chicago. The latest incarnation will certainly join the distinguished  ranks of the best Toscas seen in the city. Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca is based on Victorian Sardou’s wildly popular drama La Tosca, made famous by Sarah Bernhardt’s world […]

March 24, 2022 – 2:23 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Politics, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on EUN SUN KIM IGNITES LYRIC’S FIERY TOSCA