Category Archives: Uncategorized

STEPPENWOLF’S SEAGULL SOARS IN NEW TRANSLATION, NEW THEATRE

The almost half century old Steppenwolf Theatre opened its new 600 seat Ensemble Theater with a beautiful new translation of Anton Chekhov’s historic play, directed by the translator  Yasen Peyankov. The Seagull, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski for the new Moscow Art Theater, established the Russian theater as one of the finest in the world, and […]

May 7, 2022 – 9:26 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Quotations, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on STEPPENWOLF’S SEAGULL SOARS IN NEW TRANSLATION, NEW THEATRE

LYRIC OPERA’S MAGIC FLUTE: SAD AND SOULLESS

Chicago’s first Magic Flute played on Tuesday evening, January 17, 1865. Carl Anschutz (1813-1870) conducted. In January 1864 Leonard Grover (1833-1926) brought to Chicago the first real German opera troupe for fifteen performances at the recently remodeled  McVicker’s Theater at Madison and Dearborn,  among them Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The city’s German population was very […]

November 18, 2021 – 3:25 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on LYRIC OPERA’S MAGIC FLUTE: SAD AND SOULLESS

MUTI AND THE CSO RETURN

Classical music organizations have always looked for ways to expand their repertoire beyond the tried-and-true canon. New symphonies and operas have been commissioned almost from the beginning of the group’s founding. The problem is that the new works have a short life span; few, if any, ever have a life beyond their premiere. Artistic directors […]

September 25, 2021 – 8:16 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Current Events, from Paul, History, Music, Quotations, Uncategorized | Comments Off on MUTI AND THE CSO RETURN

A Macbeth to Celebrate

“This tragedy is one of the greatest creations of man!” thought Giuseppe Verdi as he began the long and often frustrating process of bringing his operatic version of Shakespeare’s classic to fruition. Tracing a composer’s creative process can help us appreciate his finished work. When composing this particular work, Verdi poured everything he had into […]

September 24, 2021 – 8:05 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Macbeth to Celebrate

A CHICAGO OPERA  CENTENNIAL

With the approach of the 2020-2021 opera season, we commemorate the centenary of the Chicago Opera Association[i]’s world premiere of Sergei Prokofiev[ii]’s For the Love of Three Oranges, December 30, 1921. The opera, ahead of its time, to say the least, had a rocky road to its opening. PROKOFIEV ARRIVES AND COMPOSES Harold McCormick (1872-1941), […]

July 6, 2021 – 5:44 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on A CHICAGO OPERA  CENTENNIAL