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Author: Paul Hertelendy

A BLOODY BALLET HORROR STORY

A BLOODY BALLET HORROR STORY

Horror stories are rare in ballet, and “Frankenstein” (2016)  is one of the effective ones, in the vein of the old revenge plays ending with homicides and corpses all over the stage. I counted six who die by the final curtain, but I may have missed one or two. The work links posh gentility with lurid assaults. Thank London’s Royal Ballet for launching this work, adapted from Mary Shelley’s trail-blazing novel of two centuries ago—-very appropriate for marking, if not exactly…

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RESURRECTING FORGOTTEN OLD NEW-WORLD WORKS

RESURRECTING FORGOTTEN OLD NEW-WORLD WORKS

Chanticleer took chances with its latest program of New-World sacred music in Latin and Spanish called “Saints Alive,” leaving local audiences alternately bewildered and inspired. Its collection of forgotten works from the 16th to the 18th century  is immensely valuable, introducing composers like Salazar, Aruajo, Flores, Sumaya and good old “Anonymous” to our own early-music world, which has been far more European-focused. Appropriately enough, the current sites for these concerts are local missions and churches, including Fremont’s Mission San Jose,…

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GLASS TREADING ON OLD GLASS

GLASS TREADING ON OLD GLASS

Philip Glass has a unique hold on a huge, diverse audience, and he is one of only three or so living American composers with an instantly recognizable style. When the composer-synthesist played this week before a near-sold-out Davies Hall crowd, he got an instant standing ovation at the end. During the preceding nonstop 90 minutes, hypnotic and repetitious though his music be, I only saw one patron in more than 40 around me dozing off. Glass may just be the…

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LIGHTS, IBSEN, ACTION AT S.F. BALLET

LIGHTS, IBSEN, ACTION AT S.F. BALLET

Every time that “Ibsen’s House” is brought out at the ballet, which is not nearly often enough, it’s a stunner of a modern dance drama. Created a decade ago by Val Caniparoli, it features five couples playing out the tensions in a male-dominated society when the wife too yearns for a role, for latitude, even for freedom. It’s a social revolution that leaves you riveted with its electricity, even if you’re unfamiliar with Henrik Ibsen’s century-old plays like “Ghosts,” “A…

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THE DEATH OF THE STORY-BALLET TRADITION?

THE DEATH OF THE STORY-BALLET TRADITION?

The modern-day move away from the great tradition of story ballets continues. In the S,F, Ballet program (No. 2) that opened Feb. 13, the inviting options to go the story route, even in an American classic, were crushed in favor of modern-day abstractions. Abstract ballets are indeed appealing—but do they embody the only story worth telling in ballets created today? “The Chairman Dances—Quartet for Two,” based on John Adams music actually written for an opera, veered off into another direction,…

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IMMORTAL SEAFARER, DOOMED TO ETERNITY AT SEA

IMMORTAL SEAFARER, DOOMED TO ETERNITY AT SEA

SAN JOSE—Bounce up out of that easy chair and catch a rare “The Flying Dutchman,” for which Opera San Jose imported singers from as far away as Berlin. You might need a seat belt, because these are big-league (and big volume) Wagnerian voices, in a small 1,200-seat theater (about a quarter the size of NYC’s Met)—a rare treat for listeners, one that few companies can afford. In his fantasy operas Richard Wagner had the knack of creating bigger-than-life characters in…

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BISS’ IRON-MAN FEAT: SIX CONCERTOS IN THREE DAYS

BISS’ IRON-MAN FEAT: SIX CONCERTOS IN THREE DAYS

BERKELEY, CA—-The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has been a thriving outfit for some 59 years despite two burdens that most orchestras work hard to avoid, fearing unpalatable ticket sales: Lack of a conductor/music director, and the title  word “chamber” in place of “symphony.” Further playing down any star power, the group dons black no-necktie outfits, and it has two violinists alternating in the concertmaster’s seat. The saving grace comes on two fronts: an excellent ensemble, containing close to one-half women,…

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A GALA YEAR FOR PODIUM SUBSTITUTIONS

A GALA YEAR FOR PODIUM SUBSTITUTIONS

BERKELEY, CA—The music director’s pregnancy again brings guests to the local symphony podium—a declaration that you probably never once heard back in the 20th century. But we’re in another era. And Berkeley Symphony’s Joana Carneiro, who last year had triplets, is expecting again and forced to cancel, all of it making her among the most prolific conductors in all music history. This is a double positive, both for her and others, giving up-and-coming conductors too often mired in the “assistant”…

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MIXED-MEDIA CHAMBER MUSIC

MIXED-MEDIA CHAMBER MUSIC

BERKELEY, CA—-Readings and live music, a format once avidly pursued in various cities, is making a comeback. In the past month, local concerts have featured small musical ensembles with a live interview of Meredith Monk, or a discussion about Philip Glass, or simply readings of poetry and prose. We’ll see if it develops into a broader trend. That pairing is the meat-and-potatoes of the five-year-old Circadian String Quartet, an inventive  local group focusing on music “with folkloric or cultural significance.”…

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RARE RUSSIAN FAIRY TALE OPERA INVADES THE BAY AREA

RARE RUSSIAN FAIRY TALE OPERA INVADES THE BAY AREA

ALAMEDA, CA—In the S.F. East Bay, the tranquil community of Alameda is the home of a new opera troupe, presenting an ambitious double bill of Rimsky-Korsakov, half of it representing an important staging of a neglected work. Using the ballroom of an Elks Lodge and making do with a modest budget, the Island City Opera gave what was termed the US premiere of the one-act fantasy “Kashchey the Immortal” (1902), named after the evil wizard also encountered in the subsequent…

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